Just A Little Housekeeping...I Feel A Remodel Coming On!

I know, I've been a little quiet here in the "blogosphere"; but for very good reason....I'm finally getting ready to do a little workshop remodel!  Yeah!!!!

Anyone who's ever been in my workshop will appreciate the magnitude of what I've accomplished in the last two weeks....Wait, I think I hear a collective "OMG".  When my mom saw it yesterday that was her reaction; followed by, "Where's all your stuff!!!!"  Answer:  "In my storage unit."

Well not entirely true; some items were donated and some sold to Consignage Home.  Time to get rid of the Sanford & Son decor and treat myself to a real working workshop.

Our home was originally built by the local veterinarian who had an animal rehabilitation hospital out here.  This building was a sort of indoor-to-outdoor kennel.  It was full of cages that we removed right away.  The plywood walls and windows you see above (we added those a few years ago) used to be a chain link wall  so the animals would feel like they were outside.

The plywood and tarp walls to the right (also added a few years ago) used to be open to allow the animals to go outside and down some steps where the cages continued outside.  They had a couple of tigers so they needed a large area with a sally port system.  Yes, we removed a lot of cages!  Once I have a real wall here where the tarp is, I'll have more workspace and we'll put a wash sink where the wood is now on the left side....yeah!...now I won't have to make the trek over the stepping stones through the breezeway through the garage to the mudroom every time I need water!

Although we had made some improvements, I'm excited about having "real lighting" instead of the string of construction lights I have now.  Power outlets around the walls will be nice; although I do like  the drop down power cord in the center of the room.

Believe it or not, this is where I've been hauling stuff in and out of my workshop from the driveway...yes, I have to traverse a curb from the driveway and maneuver the stepping stones.  In the winter, that 4x4 leaning on the wall is actually laying across the threshold to keep mud and rain from washing into the workshop.  I connect a piece of tubing from the downspout to the drain to catch the rain gutter water and keep it out of the shop...not the best setup but it works.  However, my nickname is Grace for a reason.  I tripped and sprained an ankle twice last year and I'm getting too old for that!




This will be my new access to the shop once we do some new concrete work and move the fence back on the left and widen that half of the gate.  Then I'll be able to get my truck down to that carport down below.

Right inside the fence to the right is this little covered area where we used to keep the ride on mower and yard tools.  Once we do the concrete work here and put a wall where the tarp is, we can solve the "flooding mud into the workshop" issue and it will offer me a little protection from the inclement weather.  It will be a great new entrance to haul my projects in and out and will be the perfect place to store my reclaimed wood pieces.  A little shed will go on the other side of the tarp for all the yard stuff.





I like the natural light I get here from the east wall and it's pretty seeing the trees outside.   So, I think this may have to be a wall with windows above the block wall.  Once that tarp outside becomes a wall, I don't know if I'll need an actual door....






Once we had the propane tank moved from the other side of that block wall, I knew we were moving forward so I had to drop everything and start clearing out so we can get the work done.  I still have a bit to do but now you can see why I haven't posted any fun projects for a few days.

We had built a couple of closed in "clean storage" closets but they were filled with sporting/camping stuff and bins and bins of holiday decorations. ...you know, those places where you open the door at your own risk and have to make sure you have the vacuum running to suck up all the cobwebs and black widows before you can even think about going in.








It was a good exercise to go through everything just to see what I have....I found lots of "to do" projects and let go of things I'll probably never get to.

After a week of sorting through, organizing, building gorilla racks and labeling bins, I now have all my parts and pieces in a clean room that won't get filthy every time I use a saw or sander.

I feel very fortunate to have this large space to work in and a husband willing to make improvements to make my experience more pleasant and productive.  Since we live in an area that is very hot in the summer and very cold in the winter, it has been a difficult place to work year 'round.  If we get this thing buttoned up before winter I'll be able to work out here whenever I want....

...saving the world one piece of junk at a time...