Flatware Storage, Delivery Fails and Invisible Splinters

Welcome to the 441st Metamorphosis Monday!

How was your weekend? Hope you had a great one! Mine was really good, though it started out a bit discouraging. On Friday I was expecting the delivery of one of each of the cabinets pictured below. I’ve ordered two of the cabinets shown in the photo on the right below, let’s call it the “drawer cabinet” for the sake of this post since it has drawers. And I’ve ordered four of the cabinet on the left, which I’ll refer to as the “shelf cabinet,” since it’s all shelves.

Cabinet Storage for Home, Garage, Office, Basement

 

Little recap, in case you missed THIS previous post: I’ve been storing the dishes, glassware, flatware, etc… that I use when entertaining and creating posts for Tablescape Thursday in various cabinets and closets around my home. I’m fortunate to have a lot of closets, cabinets and storage space in my home, but I would prefer everything be in one place where it would be easier to find and access, particularly my holiday dishware.

So I’ve ordered six storage cabinets to place down one side of my garage. The garage opens up to my breakfast room, which in turn leads out to my screened porch, two rooms where I love to entertain and create table settings for Tablescape Thursday. So the garage is really the perfect spot for storing and accessing a lot of my tablescaping goodies.

 

Delivery Ups and Downs

The first drawer cabinet arrived this past Friday around 11:30 AM via a monstrous, big truck. I couldn’t believe it when it pulled up to the front of my home, it looked like I was moving or having several rooms of furniture delivered.

I was outside pulling weeds around the mailbox when the truck arrived. The shelf was on a wood pallet and the delivery guy asked if I wanted him to leave it on the pallet. He said some folks like to keep the pallets. I declined since I’ve read that they are sometimes treated with harsh chemicals or can harbor insects, so I wouldn’t want to build anything with the wood.

The delivery guy used a lift-gate thing on his truck to lower himself and the cabinet to the ground. From there he pushed the cabinet to my garage using a hand-cart. After he left I got busy unpacking the large box, reading the instructions and sorting/counting all the parts and pieces. There were a lot of parts and pieces! lol

Storage Cabinet with Drawers for Garage, Home, Basement or Office

 

A short while later, the bird feeder I ordered last week arrived. I couldn’t wait to attach it to a post I had painted a few days before, and I knew exactly where I wanted to place it in my front garden.

Lazy Hill Bird Feeder with Dish for Mealworms or Seed

 

When I opened the box I found this inside: the Loretta Bird House. It’s a cute house, but not the Loretta Bird Feeder I ordered. I went inside long enough to visit Amazon online to complete the info for a return/exchange. Unfortunately, they didn’t have any more available at the price I had paid except from a seller with less than stellar feedback, so I may wait to reorder it.

Update: Just ordered the feeder again, should have it by the end of the week, I hope. The Phoebes on my front porch may have fledged by then, but I’m sure it will come in handy for other birds.

Lazy Hill Loretta Bird House

 

I got back to work on assembling the drawer cabinet in the garage. It’s been super hot and muggy here this past week, but I just kept drinking water and persevered, determined to get it built. I love putting something like this together, although this cabinet had a few tricky parts. It’s not hard to put together, just very different from anything else I’ve ever assembled.

If you buy one of these, be sure and read all the instructions, including the ones in teeny, tiny print. If anyone is interested, I’ll post a tutorial sharing the tricky parts to watch for on the assembly. This cabinet is available here: Cabinet with Drawers.

Storage Cabinet with Drawers for Garage, Home, Basement or Office

 

A short while later I was interrupted by another cabinet delivery. UPS was here with one of the shelf cabinets. As I walked  toward the truck to ask the UPS guy to bring the box to the garage door which was closer and easier to access, he asked if I had a scale. He was exclaiming over how heavy the box was as he struggled to get it off the truck. He felt there was no way it could be just 145 lbs as stated in the info he had on the package.

Apparently, the cut off for delivering something via UPS is 150 lbs, or at least it is for their regular drivers. I later found out that the drawer cabinet (not the one he was delivering) does weighs over that, that’s why it had been delivered that morning via a delivery company on a giant truck and not via UPS.

Cabinets for Storage in Garage, Basement or Home

 

As the UPS driver struggled to get the shelf cabinet out of his truck, I could see the box was broken in the middle and actually bending over. Knowing there were two long cabinet side walls and two long doors inside the box, that was not a good sign.

When he got the box to the garage, he weighed it on my home scales and it showed 139 lbs, although it was difficult to weigh such a long, bending/broken box. Again, I told the driver that I was concerned about the cabinet since the box was literally bent and gashed open at the spot where it was bent. He offered to open it and told me I could refuse it if it was damaged.

He opened it and we could see both side panels of the cabinet was broken in half. I signed saying I was refusing it and the delivery guy struggled to get it back to his truck. I wish I had thought to take a picture of how it looked to share it with you, but it was so hot and there was so much going on, I didn’t think about it at the time.

Three deliveries and two fails…not the best start to the day. I worked all day in the hot garage assembling the drawer cabinet. The work was enjoyable, despite the heat. It was quite the workout, all the pulling, bending, lifting, etc…  Even after it got dark I continued to work, determined to see something productive and positive come out of this frustrating day.

Cabinets for Storage in Garage, Basement or Home

 

So here’s how the drawer cabinet looks assembled. Ignore the empty boxes on the top, those are just sitting there temporarily until I can order an extra shelf.

 

On Saturday I decided to play, trying out some of the items I planned to store in the two drawer cabinets. The plan was to store my chargers and napkins in one drawer cabinet and flatware, napkins and tablecloths in the other one. You’re not supposed to place more than 40 lbs on each shelf, so I weighed various stacks of chargers to come up with the right pairings for each shelf.

See that stack of chargers on the top shelf on the left. That one stack weighs 29 lbs! Ceramic and glass chargers are very heavy. Rattan, plastic and grapevine chargers are much lighter. I have chargers made from all those elements.

I plan to add another shelf since that would allow for more storage. I drove over to the local big-box store to see if they had shelves that would work, but the ones I saw there were not wide enough and were much too shallow. I’m pretty sure I can order extra shelves, so I’ll call the customer service number tomorrow to get that done. I think all my chargers will fit in the top of this one cabinet after I add one more shelf.

Dishware and Charger Storage

 

While I wait for the other cabinets to arrive, including the other drawer cabinet, I decided to see how this style cabinet would work for my flatware collection. My flatware was one of the other things I had planned to store in this cabinet.

In this older photo (sorry about the blurriness) my current flatware storage is visible there in the very top of the closet. Each time I need to access it, I have to pull out a stepladder and a flashlight since it so dark on that top shelf. Then I have to kind of poke my head up into the closet to see what’s on the very top since the bins are stacked 5 bins high. Not a lot of fun!

 

Here’s how it’s looking so far in the new cabinet. Again, I need to order another shelf from the company that makes this cabinet. It comes with two shelves but I really can’t stack more than two rows of flatware on each shelf since flatware is pretty heavy and the shelves aren’t supposed to hold more than 40 lbs each.

See those empty bins along the top? I don’t have plans to buy more flatware right at the moment, but if I come across a great deal on a unique or pretty pattern some time, I want to have the matching bins available. I found these bins in Home Depot today. I had planned to use my old bins, buying just a few more for any future flatware additions, but unfortunately Home Depot no longer has them. So I just went ahead and replaced them all since they are only .98 cents each. I like the white lids on these, ties them back to the cabinet nicely.

Once I get the extra shelf for this cabinet, I may use that shelf for platters or dishware and store the currently empty bins away in the basement until they needed. Or, I may spread out my existing flatware bins over all the shelves, so that the current shelves aren’t supporting quite so much weight. I’m barely within the limits of what each shelf is supposed to hold. Stainless/metal flatware is heavy!

Flatware Storage Ideas

 

I found additional shelf supports in Home Depot yesterday, you can see those sticking out of the side walls above the top layer of bins in the photo below. Once the company that makes these shelves opens Monday  (they aren’t open on weekends) I’ll order another shelf for this cabinet and the other drawer cabinet that will be delivered Tuesday.

Flatware Storage

 

By the way, if the spacing on the shelves/bins looks a bit odd, it’s because I’m working with the existing shelf-support holes in the cabinet walls. If I eventually begin filling up the other bins with flatware, I may get brave enough to drill new holes in the cabinet walls in order to evenly space out all the shelves. I could even get two rows of bins on the bottom shelf if I did that. Not looking forward to doing the math on that task, though. I’d be so irritated with myself if I miss-measured and drilled new holes, and they weren’t perfectly spaced out and level. Ugh. So I’m going with the current spacing for now.

 

I’ve started filling the two drawers with dinner napkins just to see how much would fit in each drawer. I’ve been storing my napkins in a chest that was part of my son’s old bedroom set growing up. The drawers in that chest are wider from front to back than the drawers in this cabinet. But the drawers in this cabinet are much deeper and a wider from side to side, so they hold close to the same amount as the chest did.

The drawers are so deep, I could probably fit all my napkins into two drawers, but I’ll most likely spread them out over three of the four drawers in the two drawer cabinets. That way I’ll be better able to access them if they aren’t packed in so tightly. I’ll use the 4th drawer to hold either tablecloths or napkin rings…not sure which, yet.

Napkin Storage

 

The other cabinets will be arriving tomorrow, except for the one re-ordered to replace the damaged one. I’m not too worried about the other drawer cabinet since it will be delivered on a big truck with the equipment to handle heavy packages, but I am worried about the shelf cabinets since they will be coming via UPS and those cabinets are at the max weight of what they deliver for home delivery. I’ll let you know how that goes, hopefully they will all arrive in one piece.

Update: Don’t worry about the shelves tipping. They are level since I adjusted them with the feet as the directions indicate and as soon as the other cabinets arrive and I get them all built/assembled, I will be anchoring each one to the garage wall with the anchor/screw provided with the cabinet.

Flatware Storage in Clear Bins

 

I can’t wait to share all the cabinets with you once I get them built and filled. It will take time to get them all assembled, but it should go faster now that I’ve put one together. I think the shelf cabinets will also be easier and faster to assemble since they don’t have drawers.

Cabinet Storage for Home, Garage, Office, Basement

 

Invisible Splinters

Anyone know how to get out an invisible splinter? I was pulling some weeds last week and I must have pulled or gotten into something that’s thistle-like. I had several of these super fine, almost invisible, blond/light-colored things that got stuck into several fingers. Most were still sticking out a little and though they are almost invisible because they are so light-colored and fine, I was able to pull them out.

But one got pressed deeper into my index finger on my right hand and it has added a new complication to building and tightening screws, especially since I’m right-handed. The frustrating thing is I can’t see the splinter, but my finger is slightly swollen where it’s located. Trying to remove it with a needle is like shadow boxing with a ghost. It’s so light-colored and so fine, it’s impossible to see, and I think it’s pretty deep inside my finger.

If you have any ideas on how to get it to the surface, let me know. I’ve never had a splinter that I couldn’t get out, but it’s hard to remove something that’s pretty much invisible deep under the skin.

Pssst: I post almost daily to Instagram. Follow Between Naps on the Porch on Instagram here: Between Naps On The Porch.

Looking forward to all the great Before and Afters linked for this week’s Metamorphosis Monday!

Metamorphosis Monday

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Comments

  1. Hi Susan – To get rid of invisible splinters, buy bacon and wrap the raw slice around the area like a band-aid and then cover with a glove or duct-tape. The bacon will dry out and the salt will draw the splinters out. Best to do at night while you sleep. Also works on glass fragments, fyi. (Great job on your cabinet – looks so nice!)

  2. Julie Williams says

    At the farm stores and some pharmacies, there’s a salve called Corona (yellow jar or tube, red lid). A small blob on a band-aid for a day or more helps soften and draw out these stickers. We get them all the time. Very annoying. Julie W

  3. Wow this is a big undertaking for you! I have to have a fan running to keep me cooled a bit when working in the garage. That UPS guy was silly to bring that all the way to your house with the obvious problem and then have to return it to the truck and then he wanted to weigh it? The box had to of been scanned more than once so the weight would be known. This storage will be fantastic and having everything together will make it so much more enjoyable to work with. I applaud you for your ambition!

    • A fan has helped but the humidity was the real issue. Thankfully, it’s better now, hope it stays that way the rest of the week as I assembled these cabinets.
      lol I know, that was kinda weird. The box just feels so impossibly heavy, like it’s 200 lbs. I think it’s the awkward shape of it being so long.
      Thanks, Liz! I really do enjoy this stuff! I was born to organize! lol 🙂

  4. I hate the hassle of receiving damaged goods and the return process. Plus the waiting for a replacement. And you have TWO on the same day! But you will be so organized for the fall/winter festivities and their appropriate tablescapes. For a splinter, I’ve heard using a piece of duct tape and pulling in direction it’s pointing (logical, duh). Or a drop of elmer’s glue, let dry and then peel it off, pulling splinter with it. But I have no personal experience with either.

    • I never knew that Elmer glue trick…interesting! So many awesome suggestions for splinter removal. I’m learning so much in the comments on this post. Thanks, Mia!

  5. Hahaha, “I don’t have plans of buying more flatware at the moment….” You can’t fool me! The cabinets look outstanding – hard work, but I’m sure the following ones will go easier. I know they mention weight restriction of 40# on the shelves, but did they say anything about overall distribution? Reason I ask is because my daughter toppled a file cabinet when 2 drawers on top were opened simultaneously….makes me wonder if you shouldn’t have some weight in the lower drawers. Just my weird compulsion kicking in. I know that stuff’s heavy, and I worry about it every now and then the way I have mine stored – both in the basement and in the kitchen cabinets (and everywhere else I stash my stuff). You’re going to love all this organization. It’s inspiring!

    • Btw, I’ve hear putting clear nailpolish on an area where there’s a splinter may help lift it off by leaving it off a while. Also, maybe duct tape left on awhile. Sounds painful. Good luck.

    • LOL Well, you never know when some might just jump into your buggy when you’re looking the other way! 🙂
      It seems to be well balanced, I did use a level to make sure it was level side-to-side and back-to-back.
      Once all the cabinets arrive and I get them put together, I’m going to anchor it to the wall with the anchor kit that came with it, just in case.

  6. Susan, when you start these monster projects it always leaves me exhausted.
    Looks good though and frighteningly organized. To make it even better you take us all on a good read. You go girl. Stay cool. This week will be a scorcher.

    • Thanks, Kem! When I was in the midst of putting this one together, I kept envisioning 5 more boxes arriving and thought for a moment I may have lost my mind. lol But they don’t all have to be built in one day, although knowing me I want rest until they are done.
      Thanks! Will be drinking a lot of ice water this week! Stay cool!

  7. Emily Smith says

    Soak your finger in hot salt water for 10 minutes, repeating until the splinter is visible. This always worked for my daughter when she was young. Hope it works for you!

    • Emily, that’s what was missing…the salt! I soaked it the other night in hot water, but forgot to add the salt. I should have know better since I got an infected finger once in college and that’s what helped. Thanks for that reminder, will try that today!

  8. Lisa Boyle says

    Hello Susan, i have used Elmer’s glue to remove invisible splinters and slivers – with great success. If they aren’t too deep you are supposed to spread a layer of glue over dpit, let it dry and then peel it off. The glue is supposed to draw out the splinter. You may have to repeat the process pne or two times, but I have found that it works for me. Hope it works for you, too.

  9. Lisa Boyle says

    Hello Susan, i have used Elmer’s glue to remove invisible splinters and slivers – with great success. If they aren’t too deep you are supposed to spread a layer of glue over dpit, let it dry and then peel it off. The glue is supposed to draw out the splinter. You may have to repeat the process pne or two times, but I have found that it works for me. Hope it works for you, too.

  10. Doug Denny says

    I think we are twins separated at birth. I just love your organizing skills. I have organized friend’s homes and they all tell me I should go into business. If all I had to was organize it would be fun, however with a few jobs that I did all I did was organize 100 pounds of stuff in a 50 pound space. I find that people have a rough time purging. We have a few really nice Consignment shops here in Virginia making it easier to “turn over” some items that are too good for bargaining yard sales. I think you and I have very if not the exact same taste. Recently I have found a new web site called “Everything But The House”. Along with that site as well as Max Sold I can now afford items that I could never afford before. It seems as though decorating items and furniture go in and out of style. I recently purchased a Henredon-Ashton breakfront for $120. (I actually felt bad for the owner) You have the best ideas and decorating sense. Reading your blog is truly one of the highlights of my week. Doug in Arlington, Va.

    • Thanks so much, Doug! I will check out those sites, those sound really interesting! It’s so funny because I really, really love this stuff…organizing. I remember when I was in college and trying to figure out what major to choose, I took one of those long, detailed tests and it listed any occupation that involved organizing would be a good one for me. I was still clueless on what my major should be, though. lol You are so good to do that for others, it’s a big job and you’re right, people do not like to let go of their things. It’s so freeing, though…when you do!

  11. Margaret Robinson says

    Hi — Love the new storage! Hard work, but satisfying I’m sure. I’ve got Rubbermaid storage units like this in our garage for exactly the same thing and love, love them! Good luck with setting everything up just the way you want it.
    h tha
    Actually, my concern is your finger – since you can’t see the splinter, wouldn’t it be better to go to the doctor. The swelling indicates something not right and the longer you wait, the harder it may be to take it out. Good luck with that too!

    • Thanks, Margaret! It’s not too bad, and it’s only in that one spot where the splinter must be. I’m going to try some of the suggestions and I bet I can get it out today. I want it out before I assemble anymore bookcases because it really gets in the way.

  12. You have mad skills Susan, my husband and I put together a cabinet half that size and it took us hours! Fed Ex delivered it by mistake, and we called to tell them and they said they’d be back to pick it up. After sitting by the front door for 3 weeks we decided they weren’t coming back and decided to put it together and keep it. The box was so heavy it was easier to drag it inside than to try to send it back, hopefully they thought so too and just sent the customer another one. I am green with envy over your organized storage, fabulous!

    • Thanks, Jenna! I think I will love it once it’s all done.
      The instructions that came with these cabinets are pretty vague. It’s really just pictures and then every so often they give you a tip or something to look out for. But once you understand what the picture is showing, it’s a cinch. The next five I put together will go much faster, I think. Such a good workout, too! lol
      I bet they didn’t want to pay the price to ship that cabinet that your got by accident, back. I think it’s pretty pricey to ship really heavy items. That worked out well for you guys, though! 🙂

  13. So sorry for splinter issue. I have no solution but Hope you find someone to help. I love your storage cabinets. I have put together several similar cabinets for my sewing room. I have found that if I roll my linens I can see them better, & can store more in the small storage area I have. Thank again for cabinet info.

  14. I hope your finger is ok by the time you read this. My son-in-law got a splinter from a Sable Palm. My daughter read on line to make a poultice with baking soda which did help to get it out but it got infected and he went to the doctor. The doctor said Sable palms are notorious for infections and my son-in-law was put on an antibiotic for a week. So take care..

  15. I think most everything that comes through the Atlanta UPS facility is destroyed. At least that had been our experience. US mail and FedEx seems to come in much better condition.

    • Well, if that same guy gets the other 3 cabinets and the replacement one, I bet he will come up with a better strategy for loading/unloading it. I got the impression the damage happened that morning when he was trying to load it. He’s not a very big guy so that package was just too much.
      I talked to Amazon over the weekend to see if they could have them all delivered by ABF, the company that delivered the unit with the drawers.
      They said it was too late, that the other cabinets had already been shipped. But he took a detailed report down since I told him that most of the negative reviews on Amazon are all about the units arriving damaged. He seemed to say that if more arrived damaged, they can request they be delivered a different way. I hope they will do that if anymore do arrive damaged. Thanks, Pam!

  16. You are a genius and a work horse! I don’t see how you do the things you do, all by yourself.
    I love your new drawer cabinet. It’s perfect for all your table scape items. Can’t wait to see it all completed once your new cabinets arrive and you have everything organized.
    I’m so sorry about the splinter. I know how aggravating that is. You might want to go to the doctor to see about taking it out. You don’t want it to become infected.

  17. I don’t know how to remove the splinter, but I was thinking about your shelves and weight. Do you think that you could get small curtain tension rods and put them under each shelf to give them more support? I know that amazon sells short tension rods.

    • Thanks so much for the suggestion, Linda! I was thinking of adding some little supports pieces under the shelves around the outer walls, but for right now they seem to be doing fine. Each shelf has around 38 lbs on it, which is under the 40 lb limit, so I think it will be okay, especially once I add that extra shelf.

  18. Katherine G says

    Your organizing looks like fun! a suggestion on napkins…a la Marie Kondo:
    instead of stacking, turn them on their sides – then you can easily see everything and fit more in the drawer.

    • Katherine, I love that idea! The only negative might be the depth of the drawers. I just experimented by turning them on their sides and the same amount fit in the drawer as I had in there before, and I can see them much better, so I love that idea! I still have a lot of space on top of them, though, since the drawer is quite deep. I may just lay some napkins across the top to fill in that empty area that’s wasted space. Wish they had made this unit with three, less-deep drawers instead of two really deep drawers. They didn’t have napkin storage on the mind when they designed them, I guess. lol

  19. You are so talented with the assembly of the cabinet! Your dish collective is impressive. I heard if you take the outside of a banana peel and tape it around the splinter it will work its way out I think they said to apply at night and in the morning it should come out. I haven’t tried it but just thought I would pass it along to you.

  20. Regality (aka The Quing) says

    I have one of those invisible splintery things in my right index finger. Got it a coupla years ago and have just learned to live with it. It doesn’t bother me most of the time except when I accidentally press on the finger just wrong. If you are really lucky, there’ll be a tiny pus-y infection that you can break with a sterilized needle and extract Mr. Invisible. If you’re not so lucky, welcome to my exclusive club. Membership is free.

    • Love your postings! Use a peel off facial mask to remove invisible splinters. I used that for jumping cactus that was in my foot!

    • Wow, how have you put up with that for two years! I don’t think I could do it. I thought I had gotten it out at one point, then I pressed the wrong way and OUCH! There must be some way to get it out. I’ll let you know what finally works for mine.

  21. I agree with one of the commenters about the safety of your cabinets with all the weight they will be holding. Putting weight in the bottom areas is a start, but with so much expensive inventory, some of which is irreplaceable, I’m sure, I think I would somehow attach them to the garage wall and I would also beef up the shelf supports. Those little pegs holding the shelves will at some point wear out, I’m afraid. Just a suggestion ….

    • I don’t want to put dishes in the drawers, need the drawers for napkins and tablecloths. But don’t worry, Pat. Once all the units arrive and I have them assembled, I will be anchoring them all to the garage wall with the anchor kit that comes with the cabinet. I just have to wait until they all get here so I can get them positioned on the wall. The pegs are actually metal, so I think they will be okay as long as I don’t exceed the 40 lb recommendation. Thanks though for thinking of that!

  22. Thanks so much for the party! I use scotch tape for those invisible splinters.

  23. I have custom cabinets in my library and needed more shelves. I found that Home Depot will cut their melamine-covered boards to your specifications. The edges aren’t quite as smooth and pretty as a pre-made shelf, but functionally they work quite well. At that time, it was a cheaper and faster option for me than buying custom or pre-made shelves.

    • I was wondering about doing that. I didn’t have time to check the day I was in Home Depot, but that is good to know! I called the company that makes these shelves today to just check pricing and it’s $32 for two shelves, including shipping.
      I’m going to wait and see if I want to add more shelves to any of the other units and then I think I’ll probably order them from the company just so they will match exactly. But it’s good to know that HD option exists! Thanks, Chloe!

      • Happy to offer the alternative! I can’t wait to see the finished project.

        • I am getting some extra shelves for my laundry room cabinets (which match my kitchen cabinets) from Home Depot as well. They are much cheaper for the exact same thing my cabinet maker Aristokraft offers! I just bought some shelving like this for my mom’s home, which we are renovating to sell. They will cut it for you so that is nice! If they have the exact width you need, that is great! They will only cut lengthwise, not rip cuts (due to safety issues). I love seeing your projects and I am a super organizer person as well. When I retire, I’d love to organize other peoples homes!

          • I actually meant to say if they have the exact depth you require. They will cut the width (side to side measurement).

  24. Get some Prid Salve. Dark orange tin and the salve itself is black. You can get it at any drug store or Walmart. It’s a drawing salve and it will pull the splinter out overnight. Love a good organizational post!

    • I just ordered some on Amazon. Even if I manage to get it out soaking in Epsom salts in the meantime, it would be good to have that on hand for the future. It will arrive on Wednesday, so I’ll try it then if the soaking doesn’t work. Thanks, Missy!

      • Missy is right. Prid salve is a drawing salve made to pull the splinter or even infection out. It will help swelling too. Just put on a small scoop and cover with a bandaid. I’ve used this with success for years with my child and grandchildren.

  25. Please give us a follow up on the splinter. I read the comments and I am always surprised by the ideas.

    Love your storage space.

  26. Susan, I see someone already told you my idea of turning your napkins on their sides in a drawer. You can fit many more in that way. I took a couple of pictures I may email you. You can fit many more napkins in a drawer that way. I won’t share, however, how many drawers hold napkins in my house! LOL! Hope that splinter works its way out soon. That is one miserable feeling. The Elmer’s glue idea sounds good; hope it works. I, too, have found UPS to be very rough in handling of boxes. Hope the rest of your cabinets come in intact. Are the shelves made of MDF?

    • Thanks, Martha! The drawers are really deep so it leaves a good bit of wasted space above them, but I do like the idea of being able to see them better, so I think that’s how I will display them. Wish the unit had three more shallow drawers instead of two deep drawers.

  27. Selma C. Kessler says

    Susan, I knew eventually you would want to consolidate your storage. 🙂 The new cabinets look great! You can probably modify the cabinet to support more by adding a cleat along the sides of the cabinet and using thicker shelf material. That would limit your flexibility, though, so maybe best to just organize by weight. I have a feeling you will figure out the perfect balance.

    • Thanks, Selma! I know once I finish, I will love it. Should have done it before now! I like the cleat idea…would be especially great for the shelves that will be holding heavy chargers.

  28. If your splinter does not come out ( I had a tiny one on my foot from going out barefoot for a minute..and could not see it!) try Neosporin or something like that. It seemed to help. So sorry your delivery was messed up. Had that happen to us two weeks ago. Ordered two new leather recliners that are sleeker and smaller than our old ones. We need something to watch movies in our new space and something that would help with getting used to the television over the fireplace. The delivery day came, one came in and was perfect…then the delivery man said ” did you order two exact same chairs???” Yes, we did – but one was on a different base but in a box marked incorrectly. Like you, I refused delivery – and the store ordered a new one. I was worried about the color (deep wine) would be off no being made together. They decided to replace the base and the new one is coming tomorrow. Fingers crossed! Also learned from you how to put more shelves in the cabinet. Have a beautiful solid oak television cabinet that I cannot give away. I am going to repurpose it as a clothing cabinet in our new walk in closet. Thanks for a all your great posts….now back to packing for me !

    • That sounds like a great way to repurpose it, Ann…love that idea! Hope your chair worked out when it was delivered. So far I’ve had 6 cabinet deliveries and have only been able to keep two of the cabinets. So many have arrived with numerous pieces damaged, dented and chipped. Not a good week for deliveries, I’m afraid. Definitely slowing down my progress on this project.

  29. Kathleen Workman says

    Dear Susan, re your splinter: I’m not a physician, but a word of caution based on personal experience. Please seek immediate medical care if your finger develops a red rash, like a sunburn that expands or grows longer, your finger swells, feels warm to touch and is painful. Those are signs of a Staph infection and can become serious quickly. We all have staph bacteria on our skin. When a foreign body like a splinter breaks your skin and stabs into your tissues, it can carry bacteria inside with it, causing a localized infection first with those symptoms. If not treated with antibiotics, the infection may spread. You don’t want blood poisoning when the staph infection is no longer localized, but enters your blood stream. I don’t want to scare you, just inform you. I was totally ignorant about skin staph infections and almost waited too late. You are a wonderfully independent woman. That’s one of the reasons we enjoy your blog so much. You are focused on your cabinet project. Don’t just “put up with” the discomfort, thinking it’s just a splinter. If you want to treat it, and none of the symptoms I described have occurred, buy one of the drawing salves recommended. Wash your finger well with soap and water. Dry it well before using the salve. Cover with gauze or bandaid loosely. Sterilize any needle, tweezers, etc. you use. If you cannot get the splinter out the next morning, call your doctor and explain your situation. You need to be seen by a doctor immediately to prevent further infection. The fact that it is red and sore indicates inflammation and possibly a developing infection. You could go to Urgent Care. Call before you go and explain so you can see how busy they are and wait time. That might be your quickest option. Let us know how you do. Get that finger fixed so you can use your talent to assemble storage units and inspire all of your readers. We care about you.

    • Thanks, Kathleen…appreciate all this good info. I ordered some drying salve a few folks mentioned that will pull out a splinter. While I’ve been waiting for it to arrive, I’ve been soaking my finger in hot water with Epsom salts. The splinter may be out now because the swelling, which was just in one spot, seems to be gone now. Also, I can press on my finger now and it doesn’t hurt, other than a little soreness from where I was picking at it trying to get the splinter out. So I think it may be finally out. I think the hot, salty water pulled it out somehow. Thanks for sharing all this excellent information. I know it has helped everyone who has read it the last couple of days!

  30. Just a safety note…..your cabinet looks too top heavy……need to put more weight in the drawers to balance……or else the cabinet may topple. Save the silverware for a shelf unit on the bottom shelves.

    The splinter…….soaking in hot water helps to bring it out, then use duct tape to pull it out or the Elmer’s glue method. I’ve used both and they work!!!

    • Thanks, Cleo! Don’t worry, the cabinets all come with an “anchor kit” so you can anchor it to the wall. Once I have them all assembled and in place, I will definitely anchor them to the wall so they won’t be able to ever tilt over.
      I think the hot water with Epsom salts did the trick on the invisible splinter. It took two soakings but I think it’s finally out. What a relief! 🙂

  31. THAT was quite a weekend!!! Go for it!! franki

  32. I agree that it might be a good idea to attach the cabinets to the garage wall. I also think it would be a great plan to decide where you actually want shelving and then create cleats to sit the shelves on, rather than the shelf pegs. I would go further and add a cleat along the back of the cabinet to help better distribute the weight. This plan would also mean that you would customize the shelving to exactly what you need to store. Only downside is that it is no longer adjustable. If you create exactly what you want, on the interior, being adjustable isn’t necessary. I like your plan. Have fun getting it where you want it.

    • I like the cleat idea, too. Oh, that’s true, good point about the cleats preventing future re-arranging!
      Don’t worry, I’ll use the anchor kits that came with the cabinets to anchor them to the wall.

  33. I can not believe you put those closets together….you are superwoman. Would it be possible to fix them to the wall in the same way as kitchen cabinets? Then no concern for falling over. Organizing is one of my favorite things and our garage is off of the laundry room right next to the kitchen. It has finished painted walls and a beautiful durable speckled painted floor. A three car garage, I use it as a storage and staging space for holidays, etc. Poor cars stay in the driveway. You are going to love your new “pantry”.

    • Thanks, Jill! Don’t worry, they came with an anchor kit that I will use to make sure they are attached to the wall where they can’t tilt over later on. Oh, I so want to have my garage floor done like that! In 2-3 years when my son/dil are ready for the furniture I have stored in the garage, I can move it all out and have that done, that is if I’m still living here by then. I love it when garage floors are done that way, so easy to keep clean!

  34. I noticed a couple of people mentioned your cabinet might be top heavy. Some of these cabinets have built in brackets on the top. My office bookcases came with two built-in brackets but two were lost during our recent move. I used some simple L brackets left over from another project to secure my bookcases to the wall. Each L bracket had four screw holes. I had to anchor the screws into the sheetrock for one of the brackets but the other went into a stud. Just check the depth of the top of the cabinet to be sure you use screws that won’t come through the top.

    As for the splinter, it sounds like you got some helpful advice. I was told years ago to use hosiery to get out a splinter like that. You know how the slightest rough place on a nail or cuticle will pull a thread in hosiery. Well, they suggested that running the hosiery over the area with the splinter would cause the hosiery to snag on the splinter and pull it out. If you have some you don’t really care about, it might be worth a try.

    • Thanks, Vicki! Yeah, I will definitely anchor them. Fortunately, they come with an anchor kit, so I’ll use that to anchor them to the wall. I think the splinter may be finally out…what a relief!

  35. I started putting my napkins on edge, yes the skinny, folded edge, side by side rather than flat. You can see them and put many more to a drawer.

  36. Tardevil says

    From what I’ve read and tried, you just make a baking soda paste with water and let it sit for awhile. It works for stings and some splinters. Good luck!

  37. Thanks so much for the party!
    Hugs,
    Debbie

  38. My mother always said to soak it in vinegar..no one will get near you because it’s not the best perfume! I had glass splinters in my index finger maybe 10 + years ago and nothing helped. I ended up going to the er and they got in there and dug around, and it didn’t hurt – but they weren’t able to get all of them, so don’t wait too long. At the end of a full day playing on my laptop, that finger HURTS! My middle finger is not great with the mouse….

  39. Angela W says

    How to get rid of invisible splinter – I was taken to the emergency room one summer after I literally satin a patch of cactuses. I couldn’t see them at night, as we were settling in to watch fireworks on top of a hill in Colorado. The emergency personnel put Elmer’s glue on my affected areas, put gauze on top as a wrap and blew it all dry. Once dry, peeled off the gauze and a good portion of those sticklers came out. Hope this helps!

  40. I don’t know if you are planing to store pottery, porcelain or ceramic dishes in the storage units in the garage but you might want to rethink. Having them outside exposed to extreme temperatures can cause crazing. That is little crackly lines through out the surface of the dish. I live in Roswell,Ga. and experienced this very thing having stored various dishes in the garage in the summer and winter. Your organization project looks great…have loved following your blog!

  41. I wish I could do exactly what you are doing and get all of those cabinets! It is going to be wonderful! It is hot and humid here too, and I want to organize our garage but will have to wait til it cools a little. Our garage is so small to me, we had an oversized garage with 2 BIG closets in it and I sure miss that!

  42. Cynthia Raines says

    Susan, I love your new cabinet – great job! I know you will do what it takes to make sure they are anchored. Too much at stake not to, right? Sorry about your finger and the splinter. I enjoyed reading all of the removal of splinter suggestions. Let us know what really worked and hopefully soon. Also liked the napkins on the side and the rolled linen tips! Glad you’re getting the correct bird feeder. By the way, I’m on my 4th dried meal worm cake – they devour it in about a week! Amazing!

  43. It looks so organized already! So there is a light at the end of the tunnel, lol. Poor thing about the splinter, they are the worst! Gooseflesh over here!! The hubby suggested you take a 1-ply piece of tissue and slowly pull it over the area to see if it catches on anything. That may help you decipher where the splinter is embedded. If the swelling becomes progressively worse or you start to run a fever, you may need an antibiotic. You may have to wait it out until enough infection (eek) gathers, then you can squeeze it out or hopefully it will come out on its own. I hope you get it out!

  44. Susan, The cabinets are a great solution for storage and, like others, I am impressed that you did the assembly. It may be just an optical illusion from the camera angle, but on my computer the shelves with the silverware boxes appear to already be bowing slightly toward the center. When I had similar shelving, the initial bowing progressed with time and temperature/humidity and eventually the shelves pulled out from the side brackets. I know it is wonderful to have all the silverware organized and together, but you might want to consider removing some weight from each shelf. I think the 40 pound weight capacity might be a bit overstated. I look forward to seeing the row of cabinets when you are finished. MM

    • Thanks, Marie! I’m not sure if it’s an optical illusion since I took those pics with my cell which has a wide angle lens, or if they are bowing a little. I just flipped the shelves over since they are finished on both sides and I moved one set of flatware that was a couple of pounds heavier to the very bottom shelf which is a “fixed” shelf and in some of their diagrams online stated it would hold up to 50 lbs. I also rearranged the flatware where the heaviest ones are on the outer edge and the lighter ones that are just 2-3 lbs are in the center. Hopefully that will help if they were bowing. I have around 27-38 lbs on each shelf. My Ikea Billy bookshelves have a tendency to bow in the center, but the supports haven’t ever pulled out, so hopefully these won’t down the road. Hopefully the changes I just made will help.

  45. Susan, your organizational skills are superb! My flatware is stored middle shelf between blouses on top and skirts on bottom in my closet. I’m definitely taking notes. Would love a “flatware” cabinet! Ha! my cute word spoons arrived and I absolutely adore them. Now my sister wants a set. It’s always nice to gift something that is wanted!

  46. This is amazing! I love how you want to match the flatware boxes with the white cabinet! I am SOOO like this too! I might have a dumb question, but I have to ask: Sometimes when I purchase napkins they are sooo gorgeous when I buy them, then when I wash them, they are all wrinkly and awful. I try ironing them, but after that first wash, they just never look the same. What should I be looking for? Nothing cotton?? Forgive my ignorance….

    • Thanks, Mamey! There are no dumb questions, so never worry about that. 🙂
      I’ve had pretty good luck washing mine in my handwash basket that came with my ancient GE washing machine. I usually just wash them in cold water in that little basket and I haven’t had too much trouble with fading. Some are going to fade with time though, just like some clothes tend to do. You can also spray them with a sizing spray while ironing them, and that will give them more body/weight like when they were brand new.

  47. I am so looking forward to seeing your garage project when it is finished. You are such an inspiration.

    As for your finger, there is a drawing salve you can pick up at your CVS or Walgreens called PRID. It is a black drawing salve so if you use it you will want to cover it well. I became aware of it when The Dallas Morning News ran an article on gardener’s arthritis and this was recommended. There is an article on this condition in this web site.

    Hope you are all better soon.

    https://quadrust.com/gardeners-beware-of-plant-thorn-arthritis/

  48. Use PRID drawing salve on your finger covered by a bandage. After a few days
    it will work the splinter out. It works for splinters or if you have part of a tick left in after removal.

  49. Mina Flor Teatime & Garten says

    Hi Susan, I loved to see how you did store your beautiful things. It is a Great Problem for me, therefore I decided to buy nothing till I have the ideal place to put everything. A few months ago I read about the Konmari-method of organizing. I am fascinated about Marie Kondo! Did you ever heard about her? Since this time I have been clearing room after room. Yesterday I finally finished all the cabinets and drawers in bedrooms, bathroom and kitchen. It take me a Long time to do it. But now every cabinet sparks joy, when I open it. Thank you for your Great post! I Love read them!

  50. Dear Susan,
    Maybe all your delivery problems are a blessing disguise. My woman’s intuition says these cabinets are not for you.
    The delivery handling is not admiral, but is the product going to serve you well because it will be holding “precious” cargo.
    Many years ago my friend had a lovely display cabinet made by a very good furniture manufacturer where she put her collection of Lladro figurines. One night she heard a terrible noise; she discovered the shelving had let loose and broke 85% of the collection. It was a terrible disaster.
    The thought of this happening to you crossed my mind when looking at the various broken pieces of particle board. Would these cabinets hold your dish collection without the possibility of a disaster like my friend had. I don’t think so. If I were you, I would cancel the order and begin a new search. Check your local lumber yard, contract you favorite contractor and share what you want and need. The cost may be more but the quality will be there and you will be much happier.

    Good Luck!!!!!

  51. I’m anxious to see your cabinets with all your beautiful dishes. I’m curious, what are you going to use the cabinet where they’re stored now for? I was wondering do you have a large pantry as well? If you do, I wish you would share that with us as well. I’m desperately wanting me a pantry.

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