Carport Clean-Up, Dan's Workshop, and the Milking Room

It’s been years since we kept a car in the carport. Instead it has been a storage area for tools, equipment, lawn mower, wheelbarrows, welding equipment, and everything else that needed a home. And as if that wasn’t bad enough, there were several piles of building scraps and other paraphernalia that really gave the yard a cluttered, unkempt look.

Funny how you know something is an eyesore, but as time passes you get used to it. We lamented that from time to time, but it wasn’t until we got the goatie girls moved into their not-quite-finished new barn that we could do anything about it. Then it was time for a change.

It started with me moving the old milking room out of the former goat barn (aka “The Little Barn”) and into the new. More space and a different room shape kept me busy for quite awhile, trying to figure the best place for everything and getting organized.

It hasn’t worked out like I planned on paper, mostly because I hadn’t planned on such a large drying rack for herbs (the shelves you see on the left in the photo above). I planned on a standard 18″ x 36″ shelving unit, until I found those shelves on craigslist for just $50.

They measure 24″ x 48″ so they take up quite a bit of room, but I’m not complaining!

While I worked on that, Dan tackled the carport. Everything got pulled out and either moved to the Little Barn or discarded. It’s amazing how much junk can be accumulated over time; stuff that potentially might be useful someday and broken things that theoretically could be fixed.

His next step was setting up a proper workshop in the old milking room. His make-do space in the carport was finally at an end.

And the carport?

Well, the girders and ceiling joists are in pretty bad shape (photos here). They need repair, but it’s still standing. I was pretty sure the only thing holding it up was the tarps we’d attached to serve as walls! The plan is to use it to store firewood on the pallets you see on the ground on the left.

All of these changes seem huge: the piles are gone, the junkiness is gone. It’s a big visual change and a psychological one as well. All very welcome.