Thrifty Consumer or Stage 1 Hoarder

I love Pinterest.  Some of my favorite things to source on Pinterest are DIY projects using shipping pallets.  I'll be the first to admit that 98% of the things that I pin never come into being.

I've made the odd recipe and I attempted a gingerbread cityscape in a jar for my mom for Christmas. Complete with antique blue glass jar and snapping glass top - very classy.  The jar was beautiful, the cookies were delicious (mostly because I added cocoa powder), but in my haste I cut all of my little skyscrapers too big and not one of them fit inside the jar!  I was forced to give her the cookies on a plate with an empty jar...less than stellar.

 

Mine looked exactly like that - just picture all of the cookies on a plate and an empty jar and voila!

So, when I approached my husband about the possibility of building a small fence out of recycled shipping pallets he was, at the very least, dubious.


Caleb: "Where are you going to get them?"

me: "The dump."

Caleb: "You're kidding right?  And, where will you put them?  I seriously hope you're not planning on stacking them up in the back yard.  What  are we hoarders now?  Just because it's free doesn't mean it's good."

me: "I could always put them in the basement."

Caleb: "..."

I admit, this is a solid argument against "collecting" pallets.  They are cumbersome and moderately unattractive especially when piled up in your too-small backyard.  But (and this is a big BUT), their inherent value can't be denied.  For the most part, they are structurally sound, often single-use shipping pallets which are made of solid wood and can be easily modified or broken down entirely. 

Build a pallet fence by Clay Sawyer.

I've moved on from the idea of building a fence since we a) don't need one and b) don't own this house but, I never gave up on the pallets.  In fact, I'm quite sure we can easily break them down in order to construct our raised beds.  My looming concern now is that I am ill-equipped to tell whether or not the wood has been treated.  The last thing I want is to build an edible garden bed out of wood soaked in toxic chemicals which then leach out into the organic uber-soil that I just spent multiple dollars and hours preparing.

Any must see Gardening Boards out there?  I'm always looking to feed my addiction.

One of the many DIY Pallet Boards I follow can be found here.