I Win at Pinterest!

So, I can't take all the credit.  I might have had a teeny tiny bit of help.  Or a ton.  Or maybe all I did was find the pin, accompany my husband to Lowe's, and then make it look pretty.  Whatever, I totally win at Pinterest.

So last Saturday, I was trolling around on Pinterest while Mister watched something sports related on tv.  Allstar weekend.  That's what it was.  I vaguely remember asking him if Lamar Odom made it this year bc he cries when he doesn't get picked and he looked at me like I had a toe growing out of my forehead.  Apparently Mr. Khloe didn't play this season?   Cuz I pay that much attention?  So back to Pinterest.  I found this pin:

Classy Clutter's Pull Out Pantry Tutorial

Brilliant, right?  A pull out pantry utilizing the space between your fridge and the wall!  My pantry is tiny.

And this is the after picture, so when you get to the bottom of this, imagine all that stuff crammed in here with what you see in it now.

So I showed that pin to Mister and told him we should build it for our house since we have about 6.5" of unused space surrounding our refrigerator.  He said it looked doable to which I replied, "So what're you doing today?"  He laughed and said "Not building a pull out pantry".  Again I replied, "So what're you doing tomorrow?"  He just smiled and kind of shook of his head.  I took that as a yes.

Sure enough, after church the next day, with measurements and the shopping list Mallory at Classy Clutter so kindly listed in her blog, we headed off to Lowe's.  We bought all the raw materials we needed (and a shamrock for MDA) for about $85.00.  We got lucky and found a large piece of bead board with a crack in it in the clearance section to use for the back board for only $7.00.  We ended up being able to cut the part with the crack in it off.  Lowe's even cut all of the 1x6 boards for us for free, too.  The only thing they wouldn't do was cut the dowel rods.  

I headed home with Little to put him down for his nap and Mister headed to a friend's house to cut the dowels.  I started to get annoyed the closer it got to 6:00 because Mister usually stays home with Little so I can go to church.  It's hard to pay attention to the sermon with Andrew squirming and making noise so Sunday nights are my time to actually get to listen.  I ended up having to take Andrew to church with me since Mister was still at his friend's house.  To my surprise and complete delight, he texted me at the end of service a picture of the completed pantry!  He had stayed over at his friend's house putting it together!  I FOUND A PIN ON PINTEREST AND MY  HUSBAND ACTUALLY BUILT IT FOR ME!!!!!!!!  How often does something like that actually happen?!?!  Umm, I can now count to one time in this house!  Obvi, I was no longer annoyed that I had to miss parts of the sermon shushing Andrew.

I went to Target the next day and found some contact paper for the shelves and backboard.  I was just going to paint the back, but after painting the sides and trim, I remembered that I loathe painting.  I got the high gloss black paint at Wal-Mart and the green is left over from when I painted the house. I had to buy rollers and painter's tape, too.  Grand total of all materials for the entire project was just under $100 and since I have odor triggered migraines (paint fumes) and a toddler (so I could only paint during nap time and preK and for about an hour at a time to try and avoid the migraine.  I failed.), it took me 5 days to get it all painted and covered in contact paper.  It would take someone without those 2 obstacles 2 days with drying time.  And yes, the migraine was well worth it.

So here is what the Palmer version looks like:

Just showing that you can still open the fridge while the pantry is pulled out.

 No, this pantry is not 100% sturdy.  It is too tall and skinny to be left to it's own 4 wheels for stability.  To make sure Little won't be able to pull it over on himself, Mister Gorilla Glued a strip of wood trim to the floor, just behind the front wheels.  This way the back wheels catch on it and the pantry cannot be pulled out far enough for it to fall over.  It is still wedged between the fridge and the wall safely.  Plus it is too heavy for Andrew to pull at all - but this way, if I forget to push it back in and run to do something in another room, he has no way of tipping it over.

Do you love it?!!?  Remember all of that stuff used to be inside my tiny pantry along with what you see in the picture up top.  I freed up an entire shelf just by moving my cooking oils.  And there is still so much room in the pull out!  I only put those paper towels in it so it wouldn't be empty in the pictures!

So if you click on the link under Classy Clutter's picture to do this for yourself, here is what I would add:

~  if you use Lowe's, buy the 1x6 boards instead bc Lowe's 1x4s are actually .75 x 3.5 which are too narrow for bigger canned goods (so natch, these 1x6s are really .75 x 5.5)

~ contact paper on the shelves instead of paint bc you are going to scratch up your shelves with use

~ make sure you get a substantial handle bc the pantry gets heavy 

~ she doesn't talk about adding a stopper or some sort of tethering system, but you definitely want one since the pantry is not quite sturdy enough on it's own

~ think about skipping the backboard all together and just doing a second set of dowel rods on the back side (an open concept for your pantry!  lol)  *This is probably what I will do next time bc covering that board was a beast.

So a huge thank you to Mallory at Classy Clutter for posting this tutorial!  Here is a link back to her site again, if you missed it above: http://www.classyclutter.net/2012/05/build-your-own-extra-storage-diy-canned.html

And an even bigger one to my husband and Cliff who built this monster for me last weekend.  And yes, Cliff, I am working on your next projects.  You saw that was plural, right?  Be careful what you ask for......  :)

And now for your viewing pleasure, the vocal stylings of one mister Andrew Thomas Palmer.  Take it away, Little!

Our Little's League member of the week:  Ayla Grace!  (Or as Little calls her "my girlfriend")