Mom Cave!

You may remember back in January or February that we had a realtor come over and look at the house. His recommendation was that we not move, but find a place to make better use of the space here. One suggestion was that if we needed to use Sweetie's office as a bedroom, we could move the laundry to the garage and use the laundry room as a small "man cave." Well, Sweetie balked (and not unreasonably -- he has WAY more stuff than could fit in that little room). But it got me thinking... I wouldn't turn down my own space just because it was small. Heck, I don't have ANY space right now. To do a craft project, I have to haul all my stuff out of the garage or a closet, then put it all back before breakfast (as my crafting space is usually our table) which means I sometimes just don't do it.
So I sat on it until summer, when I knew I'd have some time to meet workers at the house, but here is summer. And here is my mom cave in progress.

The first thing I realized I'd have to do is find an alternate place for the food and appliances we have stored in there. There's a small broom closet in that room which was mainly being used to store re-usable grocery bags. Really. It was stacked with bags full of other bags. And there were a few odds and ends besides, but basically it was dead space.

(This is a dramatic re-creation, as I had actually already cleaned it out.)

I cleared it out and added shelves, so now we have a wee pantry.





Step two was to make room in the garage for the washer and dryer. There was a large storage rack there with my craft stuff on it, so I just move that out of the way, figuring that I could empty most of it into the house once the mom cave was complete. We have nearly filled the perimeter of the garage with these racks, so I was lucky that we still had a space for one, but we did. I move it nearer the door, and it was out of the way for a while.

Step three was to find a new place for our cleaning supplies, most of which lived in the laundry room. After talking to the contractor, it sounded like the washer/dryer would have to be closer to the center or the right side of the wall, but that left the left side free. I moved the rack from the laundry room in there and filled it with cleaning supplies. I also mounted the stick vacuum and moved some things from a less-accessible garage closet onto the rack.

I forgot to take a "before" photo, so here's an "in progress" and an "after."



Step four! I needed a place for my craft stuff in the Mom Cave. This was a bit of a misstep on my part. Okay, a couple missteps. First, I was going to get a small rack from Ikea, and I actually went there, put it on a cart and everything. But there's an as-is section near the front of the store with some good bargains, and I saw a unit that would fit in the space (tricky, as it needed to be fairly narrow) and was much taller, plus it had a drawer. It was more money ($90), but 40% off its original price. The mis-steps were as follows: First, I was kind of stoked that it was already assembled. But... I drive a station wagon. That was a fiasco. Second, I was kind of stoked that it was already assembled, but... it's 9 feet tall. I couldn't get it through any doorway in my house. So I stuck it in the garage and had to de-assemble it to get it inside. Third, I figured that since it was so narrow, it wouldn't interfere with the guys' work on the cave. But it did, so they had to move it several times. Loaded with stuff. One thing Ikea furniture is not is sturdy. If it survives another couple of scoots across the floor to patch the drywall behind it, it will be a small miracle.



Step five: Get rid of some of my shit. You know, if you make a glittery John Deere square-dancing skirt to wear when you are in a riot grrl band in the previous decade, no rule says you have to keep it forever. I sorted, I tossed, I gave away. I still have too much stuff, but I'm working on it. And I freely admit I have a problem.

Step six. The dudes come! It was a lot of work we were talking about, so I was amazed they got almost all of it done in a day, but they did. They had to knock holes in two walls, close off plumbing in one room, add a drain in another area, run electrical to the garage, add a 220 outlet, move the actual appliances, hook them up, create a vent, and patch and mud the two wall-holes.







I just realized I haven't yet photographed the new laundry area, so I'll do that soon. Maybe when I can post pictures of the finished Mom Cave!

Happy Anniversary

Today is my and Sweetie's 7 year wedding anniversary. In many ways, it feels like we just got married. It has been the easiest 7 years (and 9 years together) of my life. Here's why. You know all that stuff I've enjoyed doing in the last nearly ten years? Ripping out the lawn to put in a garden, learning to bake bread, to can, to pickle, creating a Mom Cave, kayaking, having a baby, buying a new home, making changes to said home, traveling, going camping...? Well I may seem like the Dharma of the Dharma & Greg equation, but I'm not some sitcom lady who does crazy stuff while her husband looks on disapprovingly. In fact, I usually have the germ of an idea, talk to my Sweetie about it, and he says three things: "Cool. I think you should do it. What can I do to help make it happen?" And whether the answer to that last question has been "use this kick-tool to tear out the lawn" or "agree to use our tax money for it" or "be patient with my kitchen messes" or "go get a sperm motility test" or "feed the cats while I'm gone," the answer is always yes. He's not only my sounding board, but he's my constant support and encouragement. And even though I sometimes mess up and measure wrong and leave messes and do things in a half-assed fashion, he almost never laughs at me or tells me "I told you so." In short, just about everything cool about me is because he's standing beside me. Thanks for standing beside me for nine years, including up there at the altar. My life is better because of you all the time.