New shelving unit

This is mayonnaise.

We buy it in gallon-sized jugs at either Costco or Cash & Carry. I seldom use mayo, but Don’s a sandwich guy, so he goes through it fairly rapidly.

When the mayonnaise is used up, I clean and save the jugs, because over the years I’ve learned they have endless uses. Everything from holding milk (when one or the other Jersey is in full production mode)…

…to storing water to storing nails and screws to storing cornmeal to — well, you name it and I’ve filled a jug with it.

What this meant was the pantry got a little overloaded with jugs. This photo doesn’t reflect it, but at one point I had probably twenty jugs, all labeled and full of useful stuff.

Now let’s back up a bit. When we installed our wood cookstove, it required us to move the Hoosier cabinet to a different location.

This meant we had an open spot next to the Hoosier to sort of frame in the entryway by the door. At first Don thought he would build a woodbox (so we could load it with firewood for the cookstove), but as it turns out, a woodbox hasn’t been necessary. Instead, he decided to build me a small shelving unit to hold some of the jugs overflowing the pantry.

That’s one of the many wonderful things about a woodworking husband. He can make something useful from scraps.

After measuring the size of the jugs, he cut pieces of old barnwood boards to appropriate lengths.

It took him no time to frame it up.

It had to be extra-study, however, to handle the weight of the jugs. To do this…

…he installed a full back.

I think the barnwood is very handsome.

The shelves hold jugs two deep and five across, so ten jugs per shelf.

On the bottom shelf, for the moment, I have ten gallons of water stored until such time as I need the extra shelf space.

It was a small project for Don, but it’s a miracle of efficiency for me. Love his skill with wood!