![\"\"](\"http:\/\/ruffledfeathersandspilledmilk.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/aloe.jpg\" "\\"aloe\\"")
<\/a><\/p>\nThen I had to move the old linen trunk that sat in front of the couch because it just wasn’t up for Netflix.\u00a0 First of all, it sagged in the middle so it could not be used as a beverage holder without spilling.\u00a0 Second of all, it was too high for our feet to be put up comfortably.\u00a0 Third, the blankets were inside of it, which meant everything had to be taken off the top to get a cozy little afghan or neck pillow.\u00a0 I pulled out all the blankets and pillows, washed off the dog fur, and stacked them in the upstairs linen closet for easier access.\u00a0 Then I put the trunk downstairs into the junk room<\/span> office.<\/p>\n Where I hope it will be used for holding the ammunition cases that I am always tripping over.\u00a0 Ladies, if you’ve never ruined a good pedicure by stubbing your toe on a metal ammunition box crammed full of bullets, left in the middle of the room, on your way to get a piece of tape from the office desk then you married well.\u00a0 Congratulations.<\/p>\n The next morning, with the trunk gone, while sipping my coffee and waiting to get the kids up for school, I considered new options for an ottoman\/coffee table in the beach room.\u00a0 Of course, I hit Pinterest, the perfect coffee companion, but I wasn’t buying into any of the easy!\u00a0 simple!\u00a0 cheap! stuff they were promoting.\u00a0 All of it looked expensive and time consuming.\u00a0 I almost got sucked into a project<\/a> using milk crates and sisal rope but milk crates were only 10″ high and I wanted something taller.\u00a0 Besides I\u00a0 have a variety of nearby thrift stores and they are always worth checking.\u00a0 With one project on my to do list I decided I would also knock out a few others.\u00a0 I needed to move the kids’ ball collection into the mud room and wanted to add an under-the-counter trash can to the chopping block table.\u00a0 I also needed to test a recipe for a party coming up that weekend and needed some ingredients from the grocery store while I was out.\u00a0 So I made a list, gathered my stuff, and then started getting the kids ready for school.<\/p>\n I had 2 kids on the bus and gone when Big came down and announced he was sick.\u00a0 Of course.\u00a0 Because kids are always sick when you’ve planned a day of getting stuff done.\u00a0 I gave him ibuprofen for his headache and told him he should take a shower because that would probably make him feel better.\u00a0 That didn’t work.\u00a0 He still felt nauseous when he got out.\u00a0 I made him go online to show me he didn’t have any tests that day (he didn’t) and I conferred with Pretty who stated he had been feeling sick the night before when I was at work (reliable info.\u00a0 probably.\u00a0 maybe.).\u00a0 With my due diligence completed, I sent him off to bed, told him I’d wake him up at lunch time and take him in to school if he felt better by then.\u00a0 I made sure that he was asleep without vomiting, and then I drove Pretty to school (she missed the bus), dropped off Middle’s lunch at middle school (because he forgot it on the counter), and went to the gym feeling like my entire day was derailed.<\/p>\n Luckily, I am optimistic person because when I left the gym I hit the Goodwill that was just down the street.\u00a0 Because maybe, just maybe, I might find the perfect ottoman and get at least some of my plans accomplished.\u00a0 As an incredible reward from the universe for abandoning my sick child at home in exchange for 45 minutes of cardio, that Goodwill had the perfect table.\u00a0 For $8!\u00a0 I mean, it had a broken leg but it was totally fixable.\u00a0 It was solid wood (not pressboard!!!) and matched the beach room decor without any need for paint or stain.\u00a0 I grabbed it and headed home where I found Big still asleep and not laying in a pile of his own vomit!\u00a0 Bonus!\u00a0 Jesus loves me!<\/p>\n I did the barn chores, cleaned the house a bit, and then carried my new table up in front of the Netflix.\u00a0 It was still too high for for resting comfortably so I hit Pinterest again.\u00a0 I had formulated all sorts of crazy ideas for putting the table on casters and then making slide out ottomans so we could easily switch between the two when, thank goodness, my common sense kicked in.\u00a0 All I needed to do was make the table lower and that could easily be accomplished by cutting the legs off a bit!\u00a0 Which is the sort of thing you can do when The Other Half isn’t at home going, “What the heck are you doing?!\u00a0 Why are you cutting the legs on that table???”\u00a0 Problem solved.\u00a0 I was about to hit the shed for power tools when Big woke up. He came downstairs and I suggested he try his lunch (which I had already packed that morning) so he could go back to school.\u00a0 But he only managed a few bites of his sandwich before he felt sick to his stomach.\u00a0 So I ate his fruit, chips, and cookie (not his germy half-sandwich! ugh!) for him and asked him if he felt up to going to the store with me to help me find the right products for my projects.<\/p>\n Then I made him drive us because he needs to get more hours on his permit so he can test for his license.\u00a0 And everyone should practice driving while feeling nauseous.\u00a0 You might need that skill to get to work one day with a hangover.\u00a0 Not that I’ve ever gone to work hungover.\u00a0 But I saw it in a movie once.\u00a0 Anyway, we got our supplies and came home.\u00a0 I gave him another ibuprofen because I didn’t want his headache to come back and prevent him from helping me<\/span>.\u00a0 He got out the jigsaw, some kind of funky square, measured the table legs, and cut them down 4″ so the table was the perfect height.\u00a0 He also used a steel plate to attach the broken leg back together.\u00a0 Voila!\u00a0 Perfect $8 table.\u00a0 Please note it already came with a drink stain on it so now we can all put our drinks on it without coasters without feeling bad.\u00a0 Awesome!\u00a0 It also has a second shelf underneath to put the various remote controls out of sight.\u00a0 I’m the only one that ever puts them on the shelf but, whatever.<\/p>\n Now it was on to the ball collection.\u00a0 Years ago I constructed a thingy to corral all the kids’ balls.\u00a0 I kept it in the junk room<\/span> office and like every other organization project, I was the only one that used it.\u00a0 I constantly gathered basketballs and soccer balls and footballs from the counter tops and kitchen benches and window seats and floors and put them in the thingy.\u00a0 While ranting like a lunatic the entire time.<\/p>\n I also kept a large basket under the chopping block table in the kitchen where the kids could toss loose balls.\u00a0 The space wasn’t good for much else and I figured the more options the kids had, the more likely they were to put the balls away after they used them.\u00a0 Hah!\u00a0 The majority of the time the kids left balls on the mudroom bench where they were supposed to sit and take off their shoes when they came in the house (also a pipe dream).\u00a0 Whenever you walked past the bench or pulled a coat or purse off the coat hooks or the dogs went in and out the mudroom door, the balls rolled off and around the floor.\u00a0 So they had to be picked up again and again and again throughout the day.\u00a0 Since even my worthless defiance had limits I decided to let them have that space for their balls.\u00a0 But I would make a thingy underneath the bench to contain them so that they wouldn’t roll around and there was still a place to sit and take off your shoes (which will never happen).<\/p>\n Big pried the bungee cords off the old thingy to use them on the new thingy and then helped me secure the legs of the bench to the floor more securely to support the tensile strength.\u00a0 Then we carried all the balls out of the junk room<\/span> office and kitchen and put them in the new thingy.\u00a0 Love it!<\/p>\n Now the balls are right next to the door where the kids want to leave them, they are out of the way, and my spinning wheel got the old thingy’s spot in the junk room<\/span> office.\u00a0 Where I can look at it every time I need to go into the junk room<\/span> office for a piece of tape and wonder if I will die of old age before I ever get the time to use it.<\/p>\n With the piddly projects done, and all the balls out from under the chopping block table, it was time for the big project.\u00a0 We kept the trash can right off the kitchen because we never had room for it in the kitchen and I didn’t really want to look at trash while I was cooking.\u00a0 I dreamed of the cabinet trash cans that everyone else in America has but new cabinets are not happening here.\u00a0 But the base of the chopping block was the perfect empty space for the trash can now.<\/p>\n I love this chopping block table because my dad made it years ago, and everywhere we moved, we took it with us.\u00a0 It has wheels so it can be rolled out of the way or moved closer to the counters and it’s the perfect size for preparing food and cooking with the kids.\u00a0 With a few tweaks and ideas off Pinterest I figured I could convert it to an under-the-counter trash holder with some extra storage, too.\u00a0 Big measured and we went to Lowe’s to buy the wood and have them cut it to size (suckers!).\u00a0 While we were in the parking lot, Big’s boss called to say another kid had called out sick and asked if Big could come work the grill when he got out of school.\u00a0 I told Big that if he was too sick to go to school then he was too sick to go to work, especially handling food.\u00a0 Then I made him drive home and start putting together my cabinet idea.\u00a0 Because that’s the kind of responsible parent that I am.<\/p>\n He did an amazing job.\u00a0 I painted but he attached everything with hinges and screws and paracord to let the doors hold open halfway or be opened entirely if needed.\u00a0 Just so you know, no one peed on the floor under the butcher block.\u00a0 I moved the dogs’ water dish to get a fancier picture and it spilled everywhere.\u00a0 Then I was to lazy to wipe it up before taking the picture.\u00a0 Because apparently I just don’t do fancy.<\/p>\n There’s a trash can on the sink side so anyone prepping or working on the kitchen counters has access to trash.\u00a0 There’s also a shelf that holds the Lysol wipes, spare Walmart bags, and paper lunch bags.<\/p>\n The other side also has a trash can that can be reached from there for anyone prepping food on the chopping block or anyone at the kitchen table or passing through the kitchen.\u00a0 The shelf on that side holds the trash bags.\u00a0 Please note that I was telling the truth about the dog water.\u00a0 Because you can see it in this fancy photo.\u00a0 Keepin’ it real.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n