BackPackRack

For a while now, it's been bugging Maura that the kids' coats and backpacks wind up in a heap on the bench by the door. Last week she bought one of those over-the-door hangers, a seemingly reasonable solution to the problem. I, on the other hand, saw it and thought it would be much better if I just made a rack that would fit better and not block the window on the front door.

Maura pointed out that this has become a trend: she finds an off-the-shelf solution (shoe rack, spice rack, cd rack, growth chart, various tables, etc.), which I dismiss in favor of a something I make myself that costs slightly less and winds up taking 2-10 times as long before we can actually use it. Of course, if I didn't make these things, it would be hard to justify all those power tools. Chicken, meet egg. Plus, in this case, it could also count as a mother's day gift. Score!

Anyway, Megan and I made a project of it. We made a simple peg board from some wood that I think I scavenged from Trinity, dowling from Megan's cd rack, and paint from the Northampton house. Megan help me cut the holes, sand and paint.

While we were working on it, Megan decided she also wanted to make a little table for her dolls, so we threw one together as a side project. It's basically an oval pegboard with the pegs in a square instead of a line. We haven't quite finished yet - she's tells me she's going to paint it pink, green and purple. Maybe a job for next weekend.