Back in the Backyard

It's been a couple of months since we finished the french drain in the backyard, but that doesn't mean we've been ignoring it.  Matt has been working on building a shed! 

Since we don't have a garage, we've been using the laundry/mechanical room as storage for yard supplies and the lawnmower.  It has been incredibly annoying to drag the lawnmower in and out of the house every time we need to use it. 

We bought a 12' by 8' shed, which came in pre-built sections.  It was delivered in our driveway on a pallet.  Matt has spent several weekends (and weekday evenings) working on it, and it's finally finished (ok, not quite finished, but useable)!

In case you forgot, here's how the backyard looked when we got the house:

There was also a toilet behind the playhouse that we didn't see until we moved in.

 Here is the yard with the shed:

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There is still some trim to put up, and there are shutters and planters for the windows, but it's currently functional! 

I'm so happy that we have a place to put all of our outdoor equipment and tools.  And now we can finally clear out the family room and start getting to work on that!

Dining Room Buffet

So we actually have had this buffet for a while, but I haven't posted about it, so I'll do it now. 

A few months ago I bought an Axium Buffet from Overstock.com.  I had been looking for a dark, modern-looking buffet, and this was it.

I read the reviews and the most common complaint was that it took a while to put together (most people said 4-5 hours).  I'm actually one of the weird people who love putting furniture together, so this didn't deter me. 

It arrived about a week after I ordered it in 3 very large boxes.  It came in about 200 pieces, including hardware.  No problem!  I gathered the tools I needed and got to work. 

It took me about 4 hours overall to assemble.  I did it 95% myself, but Matt had to help me lift some pieces when it started to get too heavy.

I love how it looks, and it's held up really well for the past few months.  I still need to figure out exactly what's going to go on top of it, but I'm not in a hurry.  

Laundry Room Organization

Since we've had the house we've been focusing on the upper and main levels.  We use the downstairs, but it's more of a storage space for the time being.  Especially the laundry/mechanical room. 

Now I'm not proud of this, but here is what my laundry room looked like this afternoon. 

We were able to move some stuff, like the lawnmower, into the shed (more on that soon).

Yes, our laundry supplies were kept in an old Yuengling box.

More old beer boxes :)

So yea, we've basically been throwing stuff in the laundry room and trying to forget about it.  I finally realized today that this can't go on, when it took me 15 minutes to find the paint I was looking for.

So we went to Target and picked up a 5 level wire storage shelf for $39.  It was kind of annoying to put together with only one person, but I managed. 

Once the shelves were installed all I had to do was put everything on it!  It actually didn't take as long as I thought it would, and I was able to consolidate a lot of stuff and get rid of some stuff.  The whole process took me about 2 hours, and the laundry room looks soooo much better!  We were able to move the laundry detergent off of the dryer, so now there's actually space to fold laundry.  And it will be way easier to find what we're looking for when it's all right in front of you. 

Matt is happy with the final result, too.  I think he thought I was a little nuts for starting this project on a Sunday night, but I'm happy that I did it.  There's actually a good amount of space in the laundry room, and now it doesn't feel as claustrophobic.  Yay for organization!