Writing is harder than building....

So, I'll be the first to admit, I'm no writer.  I've done a lot of things over the years....even sold vacuum cleaners door-to-door....but writing is something new for me.  This all started when I posted a project progress blog on one of the wood working forums I frequent.  I posted the link to my facebook page, and my friend (who happens to run the Gear Acres Blog), after reading it, convinced me to start this blog.  She feels that I have something here that lots of do-it-yourself-ers will find useful and I hope she's right. Hopefully this gets easier as we go along.

So, since Melissa bought this house about 4-1/2 years ago, we've done little things around the house, but nothing major.  We both have pretty demanding work schedules (hers demands more work, mine demands more time), so it took a long time before the lack of space really caught up to us.

To save money on bills when we moved in, we elected to forgo the luxury of cable TV.  I honestly didn't watch much television anyway, and although she missed having access to all of the popular shows everyone discusses around the water cooler, she reluctantly admitted that it was a good decision.  Well....late last year, she finally caved, and informed me that she had ordered a digital cable package from our local provider.

At first, I was skeptical....who needs cable anyway?  Then, a few weeks in, I find myself watching all sorts of DIY shows, house hunting and design shows, how-to stuff.....anyway, I was hooked.  So, once I started seeing shows about first time home buyers, and the compromises they have to make, it reminded me of how much I HATED having to compromise when it came to home buying.  Truth is:  Most people want a lot of things in their first house that they simply can't justify or afford.  I should know.  I had done this twice already, and lived through the same experience with Melissa as she bought her first house.

But something is different now.  The home improvement shows I've been watching have rekindled an old love for wood working.  I mean, I honestly haven't built anything substantial from wood since high school wood shop class....so it's been a loooooong time.  But I suddenly decided I was going to test my skills, and build some stuff for this house that will make our time here more enjoyable.

Most of my motivation comes from the fact that I've gone through the compromises of affordable small house purchases three times now.  I'm finally just fed up with not having things the way I want them to be.....the way they should be.  So I decided that if I can't buy a house the way I want it, I should build it....

First thing I've decided to tackle, is the small walk-in closet in the master bedroom.  A lot of people would tell me I'm a fool to complain about a walk-in closet.....a majority of home owners would probably love to have one....but the problem with ours, is that it is too small.  It holds a ton of stuff, even for the small space it contains, but it is just a mess.  So, I took to Pinterest (something, as a man, I told myself I'd never do) for ideas.....quickly became frustrated with the lack of down to earth designs and small space ideas, and eventually started brainstorming.

In my next few posts, we'll discuss the design phase of the closet remodel.  There were some snags along the way, but in the end, I think I found a viable solution.....and we're really going to kick this closet up to the next level.