winter home projects

 Every winter I try to knock out a few home projects while our calendar is pretty bare. This winter the projects were pretty small, but a couple challenged our

abilities a little:

1. Pendant lights over the island (I got the easy install pendants and was gifted the glass part)

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2. Foyer light. There was just a can light there, so we updated it a bit with a cool light I got for $20. Chris did not shock himself this time (like he did a month ago when we installed a different light).

3. Extra shelves in our master closet and "planning nook" area. Pretty boring.

4. Laundry shelves and baskets for each person. I was super excited about this (I may have been the only one). Once I realized our laundry room had space for some slim baskets next to the dryer, I wanted each person to have their own for easy sorting. I also got a couple extra, since they fit. I think this may also be helpful when we need some extra buckets/containers for projects and when we go to pack for bigger trips since everyone could fill their basket with clothes and I could pack them. We made sure to get a removable/changeable shelf system in case we need to move the washer or dyer for maintenance. I'm very pleased!

5. The most fun project was last! I got the idea to make a rock climbing wall in the basement. There is a large wall that you see right when you walk in and, since it's also near the entrance of the playroom, we couldn't really put any big furniture items there. I thought it would be the perfect resting spot for our two Nuggets (since they are portable and often somewhere else being used anyways) and the rock wall behind them would be a bit of an art piece and a climbing wall. I painted some mountains on two sheets of plywood, we attached all the rock wall holds (after I spray painted them blue), and finally we attached the plywood walls to three 2x4s that were screwed into studs. This will allow us to remove it someday a bit easier. The ceilings aren't that high, so it's really too easy for Savannah and Camden (we challenge them to go all the way up and then side-to-side). It is perfect for Jonas (and eventually Levi) and the Nuggets underneath are a nice crashing pad.