The Shed.

We have a small, 4x6 shed attached to our house. I'm estimating the dimensions... it's probably more like 4x5. In other words, it's small.

But it's still 20ish square feet of space that is currently NOT BEING USED WELL.

Specifically, it's home to a bunch of stuff we have NOT accessed since December. Know what that means? We probably don't need that stuff (with the exception of canning jars, which I have needed and taken some out).

It's a pretty dank place. It stays dry, but it's just cobweb-y and dusty.

My plan? WHITE PAINT MAKES EVERYTHING BETTER.

Seriously.

I'm going to empty that sucker shed out, dust and clean like mad, and then paint everything white inside. Then, I want to put up shelves. Unlike our house, where there's nary a wall stud to be found (no joke), the walls in the shed are wood. Heh! let the shelf hanging begin.

Yes, this is another project where we will not be able to recoup the cost. There is no point in taking these shelves with us. But, here's my plan.

I already have a gallon of white paint from another project. We need the space, but not so much that we will cram stuff into the shed. The shed has a lock, but not a great one, so we're limited to putting things of limited value into the shed. So, 1/3 to 1/2 will be gardening things, and 2/3-1/2 will be food things.

The plan is for the food side to eventually bear some resemblance to this (thanks HDTV for the image):

This will also make things a LOT easier come the holidays, when we need to constantly be pulling from the jams and sauces for presents. Last year, we had them all in a few big tubs, and, let me tell you, it was chaotic.

Granted, the shelving will be much more simplistic, but you get the idea. There already is a rickety shelving unit in the shed, so I'm hoping it's clean-up-able and POSSIBLY paintable.

Plus, it's nice for our own purposes. We'll easily be able to spot what we have and don't have. Right now, a substantial amount of the 10+ cans that I have from last year are stuck in the corner part of our L-shaped kitchen. You can only access them by sitting on the floor and REACHING into the depths of the unfinished cabinet area. Bleh. I think I have 2 rhubarb cans, 6 tomato cans, a mincemeat and mayyybe something else, but I really don't know. Why? Because no one can see it.

Though, I should also note that it's supposed to be in the mid-90s this weekend.

But it needs to get done. Everything is connected.

• Cleaning up the shed= I can get the other shelving unit in the shed to put in the laundry room.
• Putting the shelving unit in the laundry room means I can finish cleaning the laundry room.
• Cleaning the laundry room means I can take out the bags of craft supplies currently cluttering the house.
• Cleaning the laundry room also means I can wrap up and move the grafonola, currently dusty and residing on our kitchen table (It had been on the bookshelf that we sold yesterday).
  
• AND, it means that the canned goods I have made and will make this year will have a home.
  

And yes, maybe things will change and maybe we'll only be in this house another 6 months. But this weekend should even make moving easier. We'll be moving out of clean, organized spaces. Much nicer than moving nasty, organized spaces.

Plus, I want to get the shed done before fall. I think it stays pretty dry in there, but because we had it so piled up with junk, I'm not 100% sure. The paint and the cleaning will help me identify any problems.

So, here we go. Organizing, cleaning and painting in 90+ degree heat. Woot.