Getting started on those shelves in the freezer room!

I started in the freezer room, planning to get all my shipping supplies and boxes onto shelves and hopefully be more accessible that what it has been in the past. My goal is also to get the majority of the boxes off the floor and out of the pathway and onto shelves. This is actually all my stuff pulled out so I could work in the space underneath the staircase.

How difficult and time consuming can it be to hammer metal pieces together to create shelving and then insert a piece of wood for the shelf? Much harder than I anticipated!

Thursday evening I put together one of the smaller shelves (72"h x 36"w x 18" d) and it took me three hours to get that thing put together! Yes, THREE hours! At that rate, it would take me forever to get all eleven put in place.

I started by actually following the directions by starting with the bottom posts and attaching the ends and sides. Then they said to continue building up, adding each wooden shelf as you go. After trying to get all four uprights to stand up straight while hammering in the side pieces is impossible. Yes, totally impossible, unless of course you have six hands. And I was home by myself.

I finally did get that one together and set up in the freezer room where I have all my boxes and shipping supplies. Before I went to bed, I threw some things on the shelves so I could at least get around in that room and be able to ship out orders this morning.

This afternoon I went back to work on another unit. This time I stared building it sideways on the carpet in the other room. It works so much better. I can put a whole side together on the floor, which holds the uprights in place. Then I can add the ends and sides much easier! It still takes a while to get one together, but at least it's not three hours.

After I put the metal pieces together on the floor, I could stand it up, crawl inside and walk it into the freezer room. After it is in place, then the wooden boards just fit in. I put two shelving units (72"h x 36"w x 18"d) together, boxing in the area underneath the staircase to hold extra boxes.

I have everything labeled and organized into hopefully a logical place. I love the organizing and cleaning part, but could do without the building/lifting/moving. But I created so much more space by getting almost everything off the floor and onto shelves! It just looks so great - I love it already!!!!
I climbed up on the freezer to take a photo of the finished shelves and Skittles jumped up there just as I snapped the button. Yep, she's been crawling around on everything I have spread out all over the place. She's a little more clingy to me since Tibbles is gone.


Can you actually see the cement where the step-stool is sitting??? That was completely covered with boxes and such, clear up and onto the carpet! It looks so nice and free to have that much of a pathway instead of just squeezing in and out! I even straightened up some of the shelves on that wall.

You know how one thing leads to another? Yeah, well that happened too. I put a couple things in the fruit room and decided it wouldn't take but a moment to straighten up this a little too. So, yep, I did that too!

I didn't spend too much time on it, but putting away some jars, taking some things off the floor and onto shelves, boxing up extra candles (I'll have to tell you about these - they are the BEST smelling candles I have come across and they are wonderful!!!) and sweeping up the crickets on the floor makes a HUGE difference! Don't you think?

Then I started on Dad's den and put together the larger shelving unit (72"h x 48"w x 24"d). And it gets even harder......but for now, my hands hurt, the muscles in my arms and legs are aching from hammering and running up and down the stairs and I'm more than ready for bed!

Tomorrow it's back to building shelves with hopefully renewed energy....