Mystery Project Revealed

We have a lot of canned goods in our pantry. A lot. So many that it sometimes gets confusing. What do we have? How do we rotate our cans, so that the first ones in are the first ones used? (FIFU) Sometimes we actually end up going and buying something, because we can't get to the ones we have without a major pantry reshuffle.

To further complicate matters, the metal shelving unit that we had in our pantry had so much weight on it that it started to buckle, and once one shelf collapsed, the entire thing developed serious structural issues. I bent it back into shape, but it was slowly sagging again, and I knew it was just a matter of time before the whole thing came crashing down all over the floor, so it suddenly moved to the top of my to-do list.

After exploring a few options, I decided that I wanted to build a self rotating can rack.

I got a whole bunch of wood for free, from a very nice man, via an ad on Craigslist, and set to work. I finally got it done. It is 6 1/2 feet tall, 34" wide, 18" deep and holds 430 cans.

I am in the middle of completely emptying and restocking our pantry, I have boxes, can packages, tubs bottles and canisters spread out all over our floor, up and down the hallway, in the dining room, the living room, and every spare inch of floor I can find, while I sort, date, categorize, and organize our entire pantry.

But I can only do a little bit of lifting at a time before the pain gets too much, and I have to sit down and rest, so this is a long and drawn out process that my patient and tolerant wife is handling much better that I have any right to expect.

You can see all the details in my tutorial I will be publishing tomorrow.