Project Spice Rack

On Saturday as I was putting away the tupperware containers in the cupboard, I had the thought that it would stay a lot more organized if we took all of our spice jars off the same shelf and made more room for the stacks of plastic. Almost simultaneously I had the idea to use the leftover wood from our garden gate that sticks out by our chest freezer to make a spice rack. I shared my plans with Andrew and he suggested cutting the board in half and making a shelf with a piece on the front to keep all the jars from falling off.

On Sunday I lined all the jars up on the board and realized there was not enough wood for our original brainstorm. Then I remembered the wooden dowel leftover from Andrew rebuilding the glider for me last Christmas.  It was the exact length we needed for all the jars to be lined up side by side. Andrew drew up the plans to use the garden gate wood for the shelf and two sides that would hold the dowel in place.

At 1:00pm Monday afternoon Andrew deposited his thesis, making his masters graduation official and him a free man for a few weeks before he starts the PhD program.  He went straight to the wood shop and built the shelf in a few hours. He had it installed in our cupboard just before dinner and filled it with our spice jars. Emily helped with the final touches and holding the screws.

I LOVE how it turned out. I love that Andrew was excited as I was (or extremely supportive of my plans) and built my idea within 36 hours of my proposition and now it is a functional and beautiful reality in our kitchen. I love that it solved two problems: used scrap materials taking up space in our home and cleared up space for a more organized cupboard. Seeing that spice rack makes me think of him and all he does for our family. It is a good reminder for me in a place I spend a lot of time doing the mundane tasks to keep our home running that we make a fabulous team.