Wednesday, July 16, 2014

The X-Mas Present Cubby Project

Years ago, my brother-in-law decided to use the space above the closet as a place to store presents. This was both a good and bad idea. Good because it was an out of the way space to store things you didn't want people having access to. Bad because the space is way out of the way and thus impossible to place anything in it. He never made a door for it. He covered the opening with foam board and painter's tape. So the ugly hole loomed above the bedroom for years.
I took the foam board down, threw it away, and pulled off the tape, managing to pull a good chunk of painted wall with it. This space was dusty as hell with large chunks of plaster everywhere. And it contained one never been played with plastic, purple, toy guitar. As my niece and nephew are in their teens, I must assume after the hole was made, and the first present placed inside, Scott lost interest and forgot all about this.

I decided the space should be used. I make present all year. They were getting dusty under my dresser. The dresser was a fine place to put presents for out of town family, but where would I hide things for the family living in this house?
It was after I climbed up with the vacuum cleaner that I discovered the bag was so full no dust could be sucked up. We don't have any more bags.
I decided cleanliness was overrated and I wrapped things that didn't need to get dusty in thick brown paper. Then I wrote the names on the paper because I know when everything is wrapped up I won't remember which goes to who.
Long way down. I had to move my desk so I could get close enough to the cubby to put things in without killing myself.
It's a big ladder. There used to be a door over here. Sometimes I wake up and see people walking by my bed. I sealed the wall with magick so nothing can walk through. This is a common problem in houses where remodeling has been done to seal off original doors or windows. If I had thought about it, I would have sealed the space when we moved in. But as I never saw the door that was here, I tend to forget this area had a doorway.
Last, but not least, I used something pretty to hide the hole. This will do until Will makes a door. Before I covered the hole, our ac window unit struggled to cool the room. I realize this is just a thin piece of cotton cloth and not a proper closure, but it DOES make a difference in keeping cool air from drifting into the attic.
And look, it barely draws attention to the half painted ceiling.

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