Where's The Trash Can ?

Some years ago, I noticed that my brother-in-law had a cool trash can holder.  It was a specially made wooden contraption that held the kitchen trash can inside it, thus keeping the smells inside and little kids' hands outside of the garbage.

In typically Josh fashion, I decided to construct my own trash can holder.  After studying the design I built one out of scrap wood (mostly particle board), and we used it for a year or two before it basically came apart at the seams.  I promised Karen (and myself) that I would re-build it ... and then somehow 5 to 7 years went by and we still had no trash can holder.

Enter Spencer's grabby hands (and smelly diapers) and I found inspiration and commitment to revisiting this oft overlooked project.

So over these past few weeks, I have constructed version 2.0 of our trash can holder.  Today I *finished it, including routing some edges, sanding, cleaning, staining and re-assembling.  So I figured I'd share some pictures in my blog.
*I still want to put a coat of polyurethane on the exterior so it will last longer.

The most fun part has been watching the kids go to throw things away where the trash can used to be only to realize it isn't there anymore!  But even with the extra trips to the new location, everyone seems pretty happy with the trash can holder.
I'm just glad it's done!  :)


Song Of The Day:
Thank goodness for the group Garbage and their song "The World Is Not Enough" or I might have had a hard time finding a tie-in song for today's post.  It's not my favorite James Bond theme at all, but at least it doesn't suck and the group name works for my trash can post.

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Doesn't My Wife Deserve A Nice Shoe Rack ?

Among my many hobbies is an interest in making things out of wood.  I can't carve or whittle, but if it is made of wood, and of relatively basic construction, I am reasonably confident I can re-create it.  I also, often, have my own ideas on things I would like to own, but would rather build them myself than spend time and money looking for something that meets my vision.



This is my original shoe rack which I made
about 3 years ago (just from scrap wood)

An example is the picture on the right.  I was tired of the pile of my footwear cluttering the corner of our closet.  So shortly after we moved into this house, I crafted my own shoe rack to fit into the space available.

Whenever I am making a project for the first time, I use leftover materials, rather than nicer wood, so there is vitually no cost.  This allows me to forgive myself too, if the project doesn't turn out.  Mistakes in pieces of left over scrap wood are not worth being sad over.

Once I "know what I'm doing" I'll use better wood, even purchasing specific styles or pieces to achieve a desired look or design.

An example of this would be the shoe rack I made this past week for Karen (pictured below).  Some of the wood was "hand me downs" from my dad's workshop, but they were certainly not scraps and worked perfectly into the design and space I had available.

This is the 90% finished shoe rack I made for Karen.
The design has improved and obviously she has more shoes.

My next project is a trash can holder for the dining room and kitchen.  I made one out of MDF before, which didn't take long to break down.  But that's okay because it was my test project.  I am finally ready to make a long-lasting one, with some nice wood that I also salvaged from my dad's stock.  Thanks old man!  :)


Song Of The Day:
What better song than "Knock On Wood" by Amii Stewart for this wood-themed post?  I'm a big time hater of most 70's or disco music ... but some tunes are just too good even with that terrible tie in.

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What will JC blog about next ?

Here's a list of topics I am considering for future blogs ... if any one (or multiple) sound more interesting please vote and I'll be sure to write those sooner than later ... thanks!

Music Blogs:
 - Trends or favorites by year or by decade
 - Songs I like, by genre
 - One-hit wonders I just can't get enough of
 - Favorite CDs/Tapes (in their entirety)

Basketball:
 - "Fighting" stories
 - Scoring vs. Passing (as related to "young and quick" vs "older and slower")
 - Stetson Hills vs. Oakwood

High School Stuff:
 - Sports (quitting basketball team, why Track and Cross Country, etc.)
 - Card Club in the hallway
 - Breakfast of skittles and Welch's Grape Soda
 - LONG lunch periods (ditching 4th and 5th hours)
 - Cars (Babemobile, the Dodge Caravan, Case's Ark, the Trans-Am)
 - Quitting choir before the BIG concert (and being begged to come back)
 - Asking out Prom Dates (thanks for the flower but no thanks for the dance)

Driving Pet Peeves:
 - It's called a run-on lane for a reason!
 - Round-abouts are supposed to make traffic flow SMOOTHER!
 - Turn signals are a nice way to let other people know you are slowing down
 - The left lane is THE passing lane ... move over!
 - If you want to check out the accident, PULL OVER!

Movies:
 - Favorite animated movies
 - Favorite quotes from animated or live-action movies ... "You're killin' me Smalls!"
 - Romantic comedies that I'll watch over and over and over again
 - Stupid guy flicks that I'll watch over and over and over again
 - Cult Classics that I just love
 - List of movies that make me want my money back

Differences in Choirs (Stetson Hills vs Oakwood vs A Shade of Soul vs Spectrum)

Woodworking (projects I have done, why I love it, my ultimate but realistic woodshop plans for the shed)

Home Improvement projects I have done

Scouting ... memories from my youth ... differences between den leader and Cubmaster

Puzzles are so relaxing for me ... but don't try and help if all you do is "hover"

A history of Case Christmas letters (and ideas for the next two decades)

Family Halloween Ideas list (with 8 of us there's bound to be some great ones)

A history of my Hairstyles and why I wore it like that

A compilation of my various Halloween work costumes (including pictures if available)

Food:
 - favorite to eat
 - favorite to cook
 - things that will never pass these lips ... ever!