As I was writing this new pallet wood projects guide for my ebay assignment last night, it kinda made me chuckle.
I started the writeup with,
“Ahhh… the lowly good ‘ol pallet.”
Isn’t that the truth though? What’s lower than some pallet you’ve found piled up in some ditch?
Well, that ditch divin’ pallet lovin’ junker now writes for a company like ebay! And you can bet that makes my head shake in amazement.
Allow me to explain why…
I remember the day clearly. I was on a mission to build a blogging office with nothing to use. It was just a vision at that point. I measured the area, and mentally took note.
The next day I went to work, I came across a bin of loose pallet boards. A pallet all intact wouldn’t have had the same effect. The work was done for me here! It was free loose WOOD!
I was near tears finding it like this because I had a neck that wouldn’t tolerate the extreme pounding of a pallet apart. So I placed each board on the ground, side by side, measured the works, and swallowed hard. It was the PERFECT amount with one board to spare.
I got the wood home, but I had no apparatus for the works to stand on. So I prepped the wood by removing the nails, sanding it down, then washing it, and put it aside for another day. This plan obviously wasn’t going to happen overnight.
The next day I went to work, I found two sawhorses in that same bin. One was in super rough shape, as if someone had started to burn it, but then decided not to. But I didn’t care. I looked at those sawhorses and squealed!!!! A group of workers turned to see if I was ok. I was MORE than ok. These would be the legs for my desk!
After racing home that day, I had to dream up a structure for the frame of the top. I turned my head, and there was the perfect candidate… the ladder in the garden would be the framework for the desk.
And then I pieced everything together. Sawhorse legs, ladder frame, and pallet wood top. My desk was born.
Thing is, I wasn’t a builder. I couldn’t build a straight line if you paid me a million bucks. Or even two. But I found my way around it by just stacking up stuff that appealed to me.
I ended up with a super sturdy desk and a prebuilt wall unit from Ikea (from my mom’s garage) that I LOVE and still have. It’s crazy rustic, but it makes me smile every day I sit here.
Most folks that desire a custom made desk would likely draw up some plans, buy new wood and go to town on it. Thing is, I needed a desk, but didn’t have any money to buy wood, nor the ability to build to that quality. And I surely couldn’t afford to hire someone to do it for me!
But I didn’t allow that to stop me. I just figured it out.
Ever notice the more you’re in struggle mode, the more creative you need to get?
Struggling can be a massive blessing. And every time I land in struggle mode with something I need to learn once again, it makes me smile. Because I ultimately know, something amazing will become of it!
Even though today I could buy or build a new desk myself, I don’t desire to. Because not only do I actually love my desk just the way it is, this one has heart, and is a large part of my story.
And just maybe, because of that struggle, it’s a large part of why I am writing for ebay today…
You can read the entire desk building series HERE.
Dream Box Building challenge #4:
As you build whatever it is that you are building in life, you will approach some sort of inner struggle or inability to do something yourself.
I challenge you to pack away the easy button, and figure it out yourself this round. What heart and soul kinda blessing will come out of your struggle today? Trust me, something will. 🙂
– – – – –
How has struggling blessed you?
Now.. how about a quick little visit to my friends at ebay to read my latest guide? I promise you, I put my heart, soul and non building skills to work in it! 🙂
Visit what dream box building is all about HERE
Visit all dream box building updates HERE
Donna, oh how I love your story and the really message in your post today. I see many people never pursuing their real passion in life because of how difficult they think it may be, when sadly they never even tried.
nice post donna and you are so right necessity is the mother of invention xx
Donna
You are so right!
Being forced by circumstance, to improvise & tinker & try . . . is the best way I know to learn and improve.
Just like you, a lack of $$$ has actually mean that I am richer for experience.
Thanks to years of low funds, I now know how to
* install paving, including haunching the edges
* grind steel and stone
* chainsaw a tree
* remove a stud wall
* build and plaster a stud wall
* polish floorboards
* install automated reticulation (irrigation)
* install and plumb soakwells
* paint any part of a house (inside & out) professionally
* construct retaining walls
* construct ‘forms’ for concrete pours
* all manner of garden landscaping techniques
* erect fencing
* string and tension wire for espalier
* mix different types of concrete
* build all manner of wooden furniture
And to think, if I had been wealthy I would NEVER have learnt these skills.
I count myself as SO lucky to know so much and be so self-sufficient.
Thank you for sharing your knowledge – I’m off to read your Ebay piece.
<3
Pia
So amazing! I am so proud of you!
And thanks for clicking through to my other story. It equally as uplifting! 🙂
When I bought my latest house, I knew it needed work. The only reason I bought it was because my new boyfriend wanted me to stay in town. My boyfriend promised to help me do the work. Once I moved in, though, his offer of help was quickly withdrawn and less than a year later he was no longer in my life. By then, he had encouraged me to completely gut my bathroom so it would be much quicker for him to do the renovation… guess who did the renovation? guess who had to buy a full set of tools in order to do it? guess who is now celebrating her new tool knowledge and construction prowess? That relationship was the best thing that ever happened to me bar none! Celebrate the setbacks, they are leading you someplace really cool and the sooner you look forward instead of back, the sooner you’ll get there!
Anne, your answer deserves to be shouted out from the roof tops!
I’m so proud of you every time you build something new. It’s always over the top! I’m not quite there yet but I’ll continue to learn from you until I am. 🙂
That is the nicest compliment I have ever gotten. You have been such a huge inspiration for me and to know that I’ve inspired you is amazing!
There’s nothing we can’t do when we set our minds to it. We need t-shirts with that on them… 🙂
Just built 2 little toolboxes because of your inspiration! Thanks for your shared talent and ideas.
You seriously need to write for Proverbs31 Women. They are looking for new writers all the time. Great testimony and I hear you when you want to keep your old, put together desk. Reminds you where you came from and keeps you level. I’m just getting myself into pallet art and enjoying it. You’re an inspiration in many ways! Thank you! Have a blessed weekend! -Bev
Really enjoyed reading your post Donna as it was one after my own heart. The Interior Frugalista evolved from decades of thrifting and DIYing out of necessity. I didn’t have the budget for things like new curtains, furniture and home decor. If I wanted those things I had to figure out a way to make them. I taught myself how to sew, paint, and build things. Stretching a dollar became my passion and I challenged myself to see how far I could stretch it. Like your desk, our house is filled with things that have a story and that gives me great joy. So kudos to you for not letting a tight budget hold you back from creating a home that you can be proud of!
Oh my, my! You are a woman of my own heart! People often ask me how I know how to do so much. I tell them, ‘ because if I want it, I have to find a way to make it or do it myself.’ From, putting together custom parties, upcycling vintage finds that were headed for the garbage, to building my own pallet deck, you name it, I’ve probably done some version. I have a BIG family on a lower middle class single income. (I had to quit my career as a nurse due to my children’s health issues.) My 12 years as a nurse was great, but the necessity to be a VERY cheap DIY’er both before and after, has taught me so much. And I have fun every minute of it, well, except ripping apart those darn pallets…. Thanks you for sharing!