DIY Home Recycling Center

Hey Kiddos.  Guess what?

I actually completed the project I said I was going to complete in Friday's post.

It's okay if you're shocked. I'm a little shocked myself.

And the best part? I made it entirely out of stuff I already had on hand. Most people probably don't have a 4'x8' sheet of plywood on their porch so if you wanted to make one too you'd have to buy some materials.

I didn't actually have a 4'x8' sheet of 3/4" plywood either. I had a 4'x8' sheet of 1/2" and a 4'x8' sheet of 1/4" plywood that I laminated together to make a 3/4" plywood. You should just buy a piece that's already the correct thickness, but I somehow ended up with these and I can't remember what my original plan for them was so I made what I needed.

I started on Friday after work by ripping both sheets down into 15 1/2" widths so I could pick them up by myself (if you're new here I'm seven months pregnant and I've finally realized that I can't do all the things I used to be able to do easily AND make a baby. I work slower, I take more breaks, and I ask for help a lot more than I'm used to). Then I glued them together into 1x16s, a brilliant invention of the lovely and talented Ana White, with regular wood glue making sure I glued the rough sides together. I stacked all three in a pile and added some other wood I had lying on the porch on top to help make sure they dried flat.

Then Saturday morning after we put together the crib (photos coming soon), I cut my 1x16s and built my recycling center according to Ana's Laundry Basket Dresser plan. I didn't have any metal angle and had some leftover particle board from the closet organizer I built over a year ago, so I ripped it to 1 1/2" widths and fashioned 2x2s by layering two of them. The particle board was already 15" or so wide so I just ripped in the direction that meant I didn't have to cut them. I finished off the afternoon by applying wood filler.

Sunday morning I sanded them down and gave them two coats or Glidden's Parchment White (leftover from the board and batten in the bedroom).

I let them dry while I helped Austin with yard work. Later, I moved them into the laundry room and slid in the baskets I bought back in December or so when I originally planned this project. I even sorted our recyclables into them.

It almost gives you the impression we're organized, huh? We'll go ahead and call this the original "Before" for the laundry room. I can't handle you knowing what this corner looked like prior to this weekend.