Canesisters 2023 journal - turning my Disasters into Delights

[canesisters]

Adding this in just so I won't forget

Friday (1/20/23) was Blossom's first official day learning that buckets have yummy things inside and to come when she's called. I've tried offering a bit of calf manna or starter WHEN she comes in with Eva but she's been unimpressed.
I fed Eva and locked her in. Then took a bucket with a little bit of Eva's warm beet pulp mash out into the paddock to her. I coaxed and called and cooed and got her to check out the scary bucket. She found the little bit of warm mash and seemed to be enjoying it.
The next 5 seconds happened in about .02 'reaction-seconds' - somehow she jerked her head back JUST RIGHT and got the handle hooked behind her ear, yanked the bucket out of my hands and was OFF in a panic with her head completely inside her very first feed bucket!
Thank God she pretty much kept circling in the same small area in the paddock and did not run into the fence or the woods!!! It really only lasted about a min before she stopped and just stood there & I could snatch it off.
That was IT! She was having none of it and took off in a canter out to the pasture. It took me almost 1/2 hour to get her to let me approach her and scratch & rub on her and she was not going to let that head-grabbing calf-eating bucket within sight.
Sat AM we tried the bucket again - NOPE!!! Not even a little bit! Nope! Gone......
Sat evening she Happened to come in with her Mom and I tried a flat feed pan. That was Much more acceptable. Last night it was dark when I got home and she was already bedded down in the woods.
Tonight I'll try again and see if I can get her to come into the barn while I'm whistling so she'll start associating that with feed.
babies... always something exciting

 

[farmerjan]

They ALWAYS manage to get into some sort of "difficulty" just when you are getting them started on something....

 

[Ridgetop]

As a paint marker my only option for labeling plastic that will be exposed to extreme temps (100+ summer / VA version of COLD in winter)?

I use paper labels that are on a single sheet to be printed on the computer. When I relabel areas/boxes (rearrange storage) I just stick another label on top. I buy large CLEAR plastic storage tubs to store specific equipment. I also buy medium and smaller CLEAR storage boxes to use - down to shoebox size for small stuff. The clear boxes made it easier to find stuff even with the labels. I also use silver duct tape. I can remove the tape to relabel. This type of storage is for very large items that I wrap and seal in plastic bags. I use a bold Sharpie to write on the labels/tape.

I have a 10 x 20 concrete "milk shed" with wall-to-wall heavy shelving just for storage of the larger boxes of equipment, and a 12 x 24 tool shed with cabinets and shelves where I store the power tools, hand tools, and smaller boxes.

I am in so CA where we have hot summers, and the inside of my storage areas get well over 100 degrees. The labels are fine as long as you clean the area where you are applying the label. If you get too much humidity you might have a problem with labels peeling off.

I emptied out all my storage areas, cleaned, sorted, and removed all the unused and unusable stuff some years ago. It is somewhere on my posts including before and after posts. I feel the pain you are going through getting organized. I would say it is so much easier afterwards, but it only made it easier for family members to raid my tools. If you are the only one using the storage, it will be wonderful for you. If you are not the only one - lockthe door.

All my drywall tools, fiber tape, etc. are in a labeled box. Same with plumbing tools, small and trade specific, hoses, sealant, etc., ceramic tile installation tools. I have 3 boxes of painting tools, larger box of electrical outlets, switches, back plates, tools, and specialty screws. Smaller boxes in different sizes hold knee pads, tools for laying laminate floors, the tool for shooting metal bolts into concrete for building (it uses a .22 cartridge), a box for hinges, another for cabinet knobs, and all the miscellaneous items that 30 years of remodeling and building has left me with. We will be moving most of this to Texas over the next year. I can't get rid of any of it because we continue to remodel both our own properties and those of our children.
Like me, DS1 is a fanatic putting tools away, but the others . . . .

 

[canesisters]

WOW @Ridgetop all of a sudden my mess doesn't seem quote so overwhelming. You had a LOT of stuff. Good stuff!!.. but a lot to sort & store. I can see where that would require clear, stackable, storage.

I would love to buy all new containers.. but that is not in the cards (or wallet)
I'll be using what I already have - and if I'm honest, kind of enjoy the challenge.
Most of the tool cases are black with a little bit of a texture.
I'm trying out something tonight to see if I can use a stash of big, plastic cat litter jugs laying on their sides as drawers on the open shelves.
Will post picts if it works.

 

[Ridgetop]

Try thrift stores, estate or garage sales, and dollar stores (for smaller containers). I also save plastic mayonnaise jars to sort and store different size nails, screws, bolts, etc. and gallon sized economy ice cream containers. I bought a lot of these over a period of years, not all at once. I grab extras when they go on sale, and I also rotate them around when cleaning out old clothes, children's toys, etc. Eventually they get brittle and shatter, but tht taes years and exposure to the sun.

 

[canesisters]

Today's project

Several of the drawers we filled up in the tool reorganization made for some REALLY heavy drawers... in some really cheap pieces of furniture. I feel like either the bottoms or the fonts were going to break - or both.
So I went through some of the hord of 'gotta be useful somehow' stuff & came up with this.
Litter jugs!

Clothesline tied through the open shelves to keep them from tumbling. Flap cut in the side. Stack, slide, sort of covered drawers. For now; regular wrenches & adjustable wrenches and regular & Phillips screwdrivers.
Frees up space & weight in the drawers.

From crowded jumble to easy to see - and much lighter

 

[Baymule]

Brilliant!! I love it!

 

[Ridgetop]

I love it! Use what you have first is always the best way to go. I recycle coffee cans, plastic ice cream pails, clear plastic jars, etc.

 

[canesisters]

Tonight and tomorrow's project - the scrap lumber storage!!

I have a 10x10 space with a BUNCH of scrap lumber in it. Everything from 2x4, 2x6, 4x4, a couple of 6x6, trim pieces, demo-ed stuff that is still half nailed together, and who knows what else....

IF ANYONE HAS IDEAS FOR STORAGE OTHER THAN STAND IT UP ON PALLETS - LET ME KNOW!!!!
(I'm not sure that I can build racks.... but I might try???)

Right now there are several (rotting) pallets in there and the wood is standing up on end leaning against the back wall all hobble-de-gobble. I can't hardly see what's in there let alone access it to USE it.

There is another 10x12 stall next to it that is ALSO storage (gardening and fencing stuff) and I'm seriously considering tearing down the stall walls and just leaving the whole side of the barn open. Not having to get in through the stall door would make it easier to access. And I could then possibly store the wood along the whole 20' wall???

Here's an excel sketch of the barn. I started in the tool room. Them cleaned out above and below the raised storage. Have been picking at the next open area (mower, dead generators...) and will start the wood storage this weekend. The faint blue dotted line is the wet area that spreads from the corner of the tool room across the barn and off the other side toward the pasture.

 

[Baymule]

Buy or make brackets to hang on wall, stack lumber on them?