Minnesota Closet Reset

Stephanie wanted to hang some new Elfa shelves in her hallway underused coat closet, so her first step was to remove the wood and hardware that were supporting a closet pole and a shelf.  Sadly, that did not go so well as the supporting studs were not where she expected them to be.  When she tried to pry the wooden support boards out of the closet, she ended up leaving large holes in the wall.  That's when the call to her Dad went out.

The worst hole was in the back of the closet
where Stephanie's prying hammer caused a bit of damage.

Super Dad came to the rescue this weekend.  We left here, in the pouring rain, on Thursday morning. Thankfully, about half-way across the state, we drove out from under the storm clouds and were able to finish the long drive without the rhythm of the slapping windshield wipers.

The side of the closet also required a bit of patching.

On Thursday, Rick spent time installing patches of drywall and mixing up drywall compound to patch the holes.

By the end of Friday, the patching was complete.

While he was at it, he decided to use more of the drywall compound to fill and to tape the joints on the drywall he installed in her utility room/ kitty loo in the basement.  (After all, what self-respecting cat wants to use a litter box in a room with just rough drywall on the walls?)

Lucy gives me the Evil Eye as she protects her new catnip-filled
bananas.  She is probably wondering why I am not helping to complete
the kitty loo in the basement.

On Friday, Rick sanded the first coat of plaster, and then he applied the second coat to fill in the repaired areas of the closet.  He also continued work on the basement drywall.  The basement took longer because he had to install and plaster a rounded corner.

Rick applies primer paint to the walls on Friday.

He and Stephanie went out to purchase paint for the basement room while I stayed at her house and tried to sweep up and mop plaster dust from her beautiful hardwood floors.

Saturday was the day for painting the closet and then going shopping for supplies to stock it.  Rick finished the painting early, so we were off for a shopping trip to Sam's Club for paper goods and to Kohl's for some clothing.

We love to buy clothes in Minnesota because there is no tax on clothing.  Apparently, Wisconsin feels that clothing is nice but not mandatory because we have to pay 4% tax on luxuries like clothing here.  And Florida must consider clothes not necessary at all since we have to pay 7.5% tax on clothing there! Minnesota must be that much colder because they feel that clothing, like food, is essential to life, so no taxes on necessary fabrics and shoes to cover the body.  Rick bought four pair of shorts at the Kohl's store in Rochester.

Each day, Rick worked a little more on taping
and plastering the walls in the basement. 

After shopping, we returned to Stephanie's house where Rick and she hung the Elfa closet system.  We love Elfa and have it in all of the closets at Gladys, so installing the system did not take very long.

A place for everything, and everything in its place.

Then Stephanie had the fun of filling the shelves with paper towels, toilet paper, cat food, and occasionally-used bulky baking items.  In the end, the closet was a success with room to spare.  Mission accomplished!

Stephanie even has room left over to add more to the closet.

Rick completed mudding the basement, but we did not have enough time to complete the walls.  Stephanie wants to put some waterproof panels around the cat litter boxes and behind the utility sink.  Then we will paint the rest of the walls.  That work will have to wait for our next visit later this summer.

Stephanie is all smiles after a job well done.

Super Dad takes a much needed rest.