"New" Pantry Shelves ~ DIY

"We need to just throw that stack of boards on the on the burn pile."

Those were the words of Mr. LB in reference to my stack of miscellaneous boards that I've had for - err, uh-hem, well, not sure how long.

They are stacked behind the shop, under the lean-to taking up valuable covered  (dry in the winter) space. 

My response: Internally = Gassssp! Cough! Sputter!

Out loud= I'll get on that ASAP.

So as part of the "Make the Stack of Scrap Disappear" effort,

I made a set of small shelves for the pantry.

I've been having to rearrange with every season 

keeping empty jars and longer-term canned goods out in the shop.

The first step was to pull out boards to see what I had enough of

then think about how I could put them together to make them work.

For the shelf parts, I used 2X10s that had a coat of grey enamel on them.

I got the paint stripper out and started on those.

Once I got the thick part of the enamel off, I took a sander to them.

Then for the sides and back, I used old 1X4s that are old enough that they are actually 4 inches wide.

They had been dark green at one time then white at another time

though it was difficult to tell for sure since most the paint had chipped away.

I did measure my existing pantry shelves 

since I wanted the space between the shelves to be about 1/2" more 

so I could stack two small-mouth pint jars if need be.

I decided it was going to have a rustic or primitive look to it 

no matter what I did so just ran with it.

Once I got it assembled, I took the sander to it one more time 

just to knock off any extra loose chipping paint.

Then I wiped it all down and put a coat of polyurethane on it.

I know I was going for rustic, 

but A: it will be in the house and B: it will be holding food type items

so I wanted it to be sealed and washable.

Surprisingly, it went together pretty easily.

I was concerned about getting it square since that can be a challenge at times,

but I must have done something right this time.

It's now in the house and I am working on rearranging the pantry yet again.

With any luck, we will be doing tomatoes soon so will be adding those

as well as spaghetti sauce and chili during the same time.

Never mind that this is where the unsightly internet router is and that there is still no trim on the window.

Evidently, utility room window trim is pretty low on the priority list.

I was going to do it before taking these pictures, 

but we are out of the correct stain so will have to get more 

in order to finish that project.

In the mean time,

my stack of scrap lumber is dwindling which I'm sure Mr. LB appreciates.

By the way,

he likes the shelves and how they turned out.

That kinda surprised me since he doesn't usually care for such a look.

In the end (or for now at least,) I decided to put my herbs and such

on this shelf and have the food items on the big shelves.

As the season progresses, we'll see if it remains functional.

One thing is sure nice, I like having more room

 in the house and up off the floor.