Family

The New Shed And The Playhouse

Way back in March of 2007, I started building a playhouse for my kids.  Two year later, the playhouse is (almost) complete.  (I actually completed most of the playhouse in just a few weeks, but I let the kids play in it for a while without installing sheet-rock.  This past March, my Dad came up, and he helped me finish out the inside.)  The playhouse still needs one more coat of paint and I have a few pieces of trim to install, but my kids are really enjoying playing in it.

Here’s a pic of the playhouse, as it stands today –

cimg1199

Don’t you love the bright blue!  My kids picked it out.  The color definitely makes the playhouse easy to find in our backyard.  As you can see, there’s a piece of trim up top that still needs painting, and, tomorrow, an electrician is coming to run some electricity to the playhouse, so that the kids can have some lights and run a fan.

I also have a new “playhouse”.  Actually, I have a new shed / workshop.  I purchased it last week, and I got a really good deal on it.  I’ve been looking for a shed for almost a year, but I never really found one that I liked (at a price we could afford).  Two weeks ago, I was driving by a local dealership that sells prefabricated sheds, and I noticed that there were three slightly older-looking sheds near the back of the dealership.  I pulled in and asked the guy who was running the dealership about the three sheds in the back.  Lucky for me, they were “returns” – and I was able to buy a 2007 model for several hundred dollars less than the 2009 model.

Here are a few pictures of my shed / workshop –

cimg1193

cimg1194

I spent some time today wiring the shed with an overhead light and two receptacles.  I’ve also added some pegboards, and I even re-purposed an old shelving unit that I found at the dump.  I simply cut off it’s back two legs, slid it in-between two studs, and the screwed it into place.  Now, I have a nice little place to store various things for my lawnmower.  Oh, the shed is at just the right height.  All I have to do is put down two car ramps, and I can easily back the lawnmower in or out of the shed.

When he gets here tomorrow, I’ll also have the electrician run power to the shed.  Now, I have a (much-needed) place to store our stuff, and a place to work on future projects.  I’m super-happy with my purchase.

I realize that this post has very little to do about personal finance, but after a week away with a kidney stone, I really missed you guys.  I hope that you are all doing well, that you are living on budget, and that you are moving forward with your debt reduction!

I was just about to hit publish and then I had a thought.  Tomorrow, I’ll write about the financial side of my purchase, and let you guys in on my thought-process- how I decided between buying/building a shed, whether to purchase new/used, and what other financial impact the new shed might have.  Stay Tuned!

3 thoughts on “The New Shed And The Playhouse

  1. Hooray! Our family just got our shed in the yard yesterday too! We traded an old and damaged boat for the shed and since the boat was worth more, the owner of the shed’s best friend (who is interested in some fishing trips and also an electrician) improved the wiring on our porch (brought it to code), repaired a florescent light in the garage and ran a line out to said shed! We are SO excited about the exit of the decrepit old boat, the new space in the garage and the fact that very little was spent on the transaction. ~ G

  2. awesome new shed!

    Kidney stones, huh? I remember when my father had those, and that was the most pain I’ve ever seen him in. Hope all is returning back to normal. 🙂

Comments are closed.