We don't need no stinking big projects!

As I said in our last update, we're operating under something of a self-imposed sequestration, and we've put major projects on hold until we get our fiscal house in order.  Well...what am I going to post on, you ask?  We have been able to squeeze a few small projects into the budget.  That's a good thing, because we really don't do too well at sitting around.  ;)

One small project that's been needing to be done but kept being put off (because I was dreading doing it and I managed to put it off because I was working on big projects) was the re-plumbing of the drains for our kitchen sink.  The garbage disposal was completely locked up and useless, and was constantly causing clogs on the right side of the sink.  We have a dual basin sink.  We decided to rip out and not replace the disposal, as we have a septic system and figured it'd be better for it in the long run if we didn't.  At the start of the project I thought I could remove the disposal and plumb the drain to tie into the existing plumbing.  Yeah...that didn't happen.  The J bend wasn't your typical removable J bend.  It was glued PVC, and it was leaking.  Still, I thought I could salvage some of the original work.  After more than a few false starts and trips to the hardware store, I wound up cutting out all of the old work and re-plumbing it all the way back to the stack, including new drain/basket assemblies in both sides of the sink.  Didn't I say that I was dreading this project?!  I did learn (re-learn) a valuable lesson.  Though it might seem cost effective up front, plumbing to tie into existing fittings isn't worth the time and effort.  Once I decided to go all of the way back to the stack this project immediately simplified itself.  We also now have the added benefit of all new plumbing and no old headaches.

Another small project we ticked off our list of to-do's was organizing our linen closet.  We have a pretty darn small linen closet, at about 36" wide x 16" deep.  We had hanging organizers in there, but they didn't give us the ability to use the entire depth of the closet.  It worked fairly well for a while, but that was back when we were just coming up here once a month.  Now that we're living here, it is definitely time for an upgrade.

Before

With storage space being a premium we really need to maximize what space we do have, so we bought a simple closet organizer and got to work.  Here is the completed project...less the linens that are now filling the shelves.  We even managed to create a space for stowing the vacuum cleaner and attachments. :)

After

The only other project we tackled since the last update was getting our camper ready for the camping season.  I spent a Saturday scrubbing down the entire exterior, and fixing a few things that needed fixing.  Shelly will spend this week prepping the inside.

We're going on our first outing of the season this coming weekend, meeting up with friends from the camping club.  So, that means that not a darn thing will get done around here next weekend.  I think we're okay with that.  :)

Until next time!