My beautiful new barn has been with us a week now. I’ve waited patiently while the floor was waterproofed and the outside painted. Now it’s time to load her up!

I was so tempted to just go to Home Depot and buy some new shelving units, rather than making do with what I have. Time is money, after all, and I told myself I “deserve” to splurge a little. Besides, it’s for a good cause and it’ll be much quicker than all the prep and cleaning I’d need to do if I use what’s on hand.

(sigh) But where’s the making something of it in buying new shelves?

We have a couple of old plastic shelving units that are still plenty sturdy. The only problem is they’re disgusting. See what I mean?

During the continuous shifting of materials this last year, these ended up stored under our back deck, where they became the home for every wayward spider (oh, the cobwebs!) and were showered in dirt every time we swept. But that’s not their fault – that’s mine. Just like the weather and temps aren’t to blame, now that it’s too chilly to stand outside and hose them down.

So, what’s a girl to do?

I brought one inside today and put it in the bathtub, where I discovered hosing it down wasn’t enough. The dirt required me to get up close and personal before it would budge. Likewise, all the spider sacs (ewww!) just glistened when I sprayed them with water, so I donned some rubber gloves and tried to think of England.

Thankfully, it was worth it.

Scroll up and down a few times to fully appreciate the transformation. It’s a gross process, but I’m glad I didn’t waste money on new shelves.

There are two more shelving units that need some TLC before I can put them to use, but my stomach is only strong enough to give one Silkwood shower per day, so they’ll have to wait until tomorrow. Right now, I’m off to rescue a set of leather bound reference books that a former coworker needs to get rid of.

Heaven knows I’ve got room to store them!