CD Shelf - A music archive

I love music, my main collection is in  the form of the Compact Disc. CD's are a format that I have grown up with and that suits my needs. I love the feeling of purchasing a new CD and opening it, playing the music, and experiencing the artwork and sometimes lyrics inside that comes with my purchase.

My first ever CD purchase was from the video store in Picton, I was browsing their small collection and saw an album I would likely never see again: 'Primary' by 'Rubicon'. A band from Auckland that found a small amount of popularity in the early 00's due to a song called 'Bruce'. I had to have it, even just to say that I was one of the few people in the country/world to have it.

Some of my collection is from compiling full discographies of an artist as I have done with Shihad, The Datsuns, and Alice In Chains. My CD collection is mostly of Kiwi and Rock music, with a few exceptions, sometimes when browsing a CD store I will see something different that I buy purely out of curiosity, and that purchase sometimes becomes a favourite, like Chirs Jasper's 'Superbad' album.

Iron Cactus shaped CD rack

Flimsy CD rack

My organization of the physical CD's has always been done using CD racks, the CD rack has been my chosen piece of display furniture as it enables many CDs to be stored in one place and is easy to access. Sometimes however, CD's fall from the rack, and make a mess, and it turns out they aren't they most space efficient. The two CD racks above are no longer in use as they are not very practical.

It was time to reorganize.

I decided to build a simple shelving unit specifically for the purpose of storing my CD's. I had some pieces of timber perfect for building such a shelf so I got to it. I measured the two side pieces and the back piece so they were the correct height, I then measured six shelves to be the same length as the width of the back piece. I screwed the sides to the back piece and then measured out the correct spacing between each shelf before screwing them together.

My new shelving unit made of recycled timber.

Now I could display more of my CD's in a smaller area (150 approx). Also this purpose built shelf allowed space for the CD's which were not standard size. e.g. the box for Korn's 'horrific little mutations'* album and the Supergroove box set of EP's.

Five empty shelves

I am very happy with this CD shelf. It suits its purpose extremely well and fits the look of my bedroom which is full of other handmade wooden furniture.

When it comes time for me to leave the flat that I am in, this shelf will be easy to move without having to remove the CD's, another convenience that will save time and energy.

The finished and full CD shelf next to my other CD rack.

I might need to make another of these shelves soon enough.


*The Korn album I am referring too is better known as 'untitled', named this way so that the listener could name it as they see fit.

Korn 'Untitled' or 'Horrific Little Mutations' or anything you want to call it.

Our New Flat and the Dungeon.

Shellie and I and three other friends got together and decided we need to get a place to ourselves. We began the flat hunt. After a few good flat viewings, being disappointed when we missed out; and a few terrible flat viewings and counting our lucky stars that we can afford not to have to put up with that level of filth; we found a place in Wadestown on Weld St.
We spent an exhausting Saturday moving in and then over some celebratory beers we fittingly came up with a name for our house “The Forge”.

The forge is the perfect residence for us at this stage of our lives. Each of us has a large enough bedroom. There is enough parking space for our cars and the scooter. There is a space out the front of the house ideal for BBQ’s and sun bathing. The location in Wadestown is close enough to everything, plenty of fast food eateries, a dairy, a bus stop, a taxi stand, and only a five minute drive to the city. There are plenty of green spaces nearby including the Ahumairangi hill, perfect for weekend runs, and Trellisick Park, which has plenty of walking tracks and picnic spots.

The property also includes a space beneath the lounge which had been neglected and deemed a spot for rubbish storage. When I first saw this area of the house I was excited, I could make excellent use of such a space.

Halfway through sorting the junk and adding my own belongings

I spent the night of Wednesday cleaning out the space which has the flat has dubbed “the dungeon”. There were all sorts of lost treasures and junk buried in there. Old benchtops, doors, a bed base, pieces of a couch, a mirror, timber, shelves, a sink, a playstation, a creepy music box, gardening tools, a watering can, storage bins, the list goes on.

A creepy music box

A big mirror

The first thing I did was using a scrap of GIB clear away the masses of spider webs throughout the space. I stacked all of the wood in a corner, out of the way. I didn’t bother to remove the rubbish and other junk, but I did stack it neatly out of my way.

Accumulated cobwebs

Next I gave the place a good sweep. There was years of dust piled up across the floor, hidden within every nook and cranny, and throughout all of the shelves. I just swept it under the floorboards, as underneath is the ground; dust is dirt so to the dirt with the dust.

As the tidy up continued

All along the front wall of the dungeon is a huge display of shelves, these provide the perfect space to put all of my D.I.Y. bits and bobs, and things I usually put in the garage.

Storage and Workbench

The dungeon provides a space for my belongings which I don't mind getting dusty, this includes things like Outdoors equipment, ropes, tents etc.

The mountain of rubbish which previous tenants left behind.

As it is a long room it is ideal for small target practice. I have a toy BB gun and the space is ideal for shooting cans with the gun.

One of the flat mates  has a dart board which he has allowed to be setup in the dungeon. I measured up the hooks and then put a couple of nails into the wall studs. I hung it on the wall and it provides an excellent environment to practice accuracy with darts.

A beautiful piece of artwork.

A couple of things that I haven't gotten around to are fixing the air ventilation system which has been poorly attached and even more poorly duct taped. So with a friends help I'll do a better job of taping it.

Fantastic Ventilation; Yeah Right!

There are also a few wires that hang down from above my head that lead to the lights and other electrical outlets, I want these well away from my head space so that I don't pull them down, removing the light source in there or electrocuting me.

It's my space and I'll put what I want in it

Ultimately the dungeon is a space for me to play with my tools. I am always looking for projects to do with which I can use my tools, I stapled some pieces of cardboard to the wall so I could write up my upcoming projects and have them in front of me as a reminder. I have a few projects planned, so watch this space updates.

Making a Bookshelf out of scrap.

It feels like the Happy Valley Tip Shop is my second home recently. I love the place; there is so much cool stuff that has been salvaged from the landfill that they will give away for a couple of dollars. On my latest trip there I managed to purchase some recycled timber pieces I thought ideal to build a shelf out of.

Earlier this year, a generous Auntie needed to find a new home for her previously treasured Early Childhood Education (E.C.E.) books. They were offered to my partner Shellie as she is currently studying E.C.E. and so two big boxes of books ended up in our house taking up floor space.

The timber from the tip, as well as some leftover pieces of decking timber from around the property were the perfect materials to create some storage furniture for the books.

Decking timber from around the property, it is a bit green.

Timber from the tip shop.

The timber needed some prep work, cutting to the correct lengths and sanding down certain areas. The decking timber had previously been used as a deck and was replaced, the old stuff which I used had a tinge of green to it from twenty years of moisture and mould buildup. This was sanded off with a belt sander pretty easily.

RYOBI electric belt sander.

While I'm showing off tools, below are my RYOBI tools that I have purchased recently. They are a fairly expensive purchase, yet are hard wearing, and a long lasting investment.

Battery and charger.

The bag can holds some tools, I have four batteries, an impact driver, a jigsaw, a multi-tool, and a radio.
Also seen here are a sharp saw, and a measuring tape. Both essential to a handy-man's toolbox.

I began to cut the pieces to their correct lengths with saw. I follow the old adage that my dad has told me time and time again, "Measure twice, cut once".

The small pieces of decking timber will hold the sides together, and will have the shelves nailed to them.
The earmuffs and visor keep me safe from loud noises, from powertools, and even hammers. The visor protects my eyes and face from projectiles e.g. splinters.

Each of the two sides of the bookshelf were created by nailing joining three lengths of decking timber together as one solid piece.

The two bookshelf sides.

Two saw horses helped to stand the two sides up while I nailed the shelves to them.

How to join it all together.

Seen here is the final shelf. This was an easy project that took only a couple of hours. If you have a lot of belongings with nowhere to put them, or are striving for a tidier house, this is an easy piece that can serve your needs.

The finished shelf

Does it look like recycled timber? Yes. Does it serve its purpose? Yes. It does what we need it to, as students we are looking for practicality. We don't need to own expensive brands of furniture to give us a certain financial status, we are content with practicality. The aesthetic of the book shelf is simple, clean, and functional. There is some textural beauty in the corrugations of the decking timber. These were sanded with the belt sander, giving the tops of the corrugations a clean and not green, fresh timber look, but this is contrasted with the dips in the wood which still show the old, dark, weathered timber. These little details appeal to me. I find that recycling of materials into something practical is beautiful.

The book shelf is full.

There is one more thing I would like to do to this book shelf, in accordance with my manifesto, and that is to inscribe into the wood the origin of the materials, as far back as I know; and the processes that these materials undertook in becoming the bookshelf you see now.

The timber shelves would have a history to them, a past life, a purpose for which they were previously used for. As for the decking timber, it knows twenty years of family life; twenty summers of family BBQ's and childhood adventure; twenty winters of rain, wind, and sometimes snow. These stories are something I would like to celebrate in the creation of this book shelf. 

Job done. I no longer have education books all over the floor.

Storage - Shelves/Containers

Have you ever seen those television shows about people who seem to hoard lots of things who have the inability to be able throw anything away?
I reckon a lot of people are like them only different. I will admit I hoard things, useful things, and maybe some useless things. Pens. String. Ribbon. Broken cellphones. The only difference between myself and these hoarders is I know how to store my stuff without it looking like I live in filth.

http://thecorp.org/blog/2014/04/a-hoarders-guide-to-spring-cleaning-2/

When I buy music I am a sucker for a physical compact disc. I love opening the case, admiring the artwork, and then displaying the CD for all to see. For this reason I use CD racks, eclectic shaped, yet, densely packed CD racks. They don't look like mess, they look like furniture. (More frequently CD cases are being made from paper rather than the classic smashable plastic case).

Centre: Cast iron, cactus shaped CD holder.

You've seen the shelves I made from old timber, Storage using shelves is a space-wise way to not only hold things, but also to have easy access to them. Without good shelves everything would be stacked up and the things at the bottom would be lost and forgotten about. Or scooped into a heap and thrown away.

Seen above is a picture of some more shelves that we use in our small house. It may look somewhat messy but you can see some organization amongst the chaos, from bottom to top we have shoes and tramping packs, my toolbox, craft materials, clothing, bags, linen, kitchen appliances, non perishable food and drink, outdoors gear, hats etc.
Every little section is sorted into an efficent storage space, for example, here is how I keep my shoes ordered in an old beer crate.

I have found whilst living with stuff it is easier to sort your stuff than to not. Using containers to store your belongings is a practical way to contain your stuff that means easy access to it whenever you need it. I use a range of containers to achieve organized cleanliness, many of which are recycled junk. We use lolly tins for hair ties, bobby pins, and earrings. We use plastic moisturizer tubs for scout woggles, old cards and ribbons.

A Wooden box to house lose cords and headphones,

A decent metal toolbox is a useful container in a number of ways, it can lock so the tools stay safe from people who know not how to use them, and keeps potentially dangerous tools away from accident prone people. It is waterproof, inside and out, and it can be carried anywhere I need using the side handles. But as a toolbox is intended I can throw my tools into it and close the lid.

A thing of near-retro beauty that I do not want to part with is my old apple I-mac Computer. But it takes up a lot of table space. Using scraps of wood from around the property my partner Shellie knocked together a shelf that holds the moniter up and allows the keyboard and mouse space to slide underneath.

By using old old and recycled materials you can become more efficient with the space you have available. Organize your stuff and your life will become less cluttered. By keeping and organizing objects instead of throwing them away you begin to accumulate resources that will one day when needed be given a second life instead of merely being thrown out, you don't have to buy the material when you need it brand new.

Recycle materials - DIY shelf.

When things are no longer needed it is easy to throw them away. Send them to someone else to deal with. Get them stuck in the ground where they will live for thousands of years. Out of sight out of mind.

What is harder to do is to put those things to a new use. Harder, but not too hard. Re-use of things is environmentally sustainable. Instead of sending things to the tip the minute they become unusable, you can either fix them or put them to a new use.

In my household there was no longer use for a large bathroom shelf, it was old, it had been painted a few times to give it a sense of new life, but after years of using it it was decided that it was taking up too much room.

I claimed it as my own before it was chopped up and used as firewood; and with it I reshaped the timber so it would fit into a new space; I measured the space and the lengths of wood and cut them appropriately. Next using a belt sander I stripped back some of the colour creating a marbled colour effect and discovering the shelf's previous colour history. Bare, Red, Blue, and now marbled. Next, using some leftover screws I screwed the timber back together, replacing the old rusted nails and staples that were previously holding the shelf together.



There, my finished shelf; smaller, more practical and it didn't cost me a cent.

D.I.Y. in this sense is useful in a number of ways, environmental sustainability is just one of the benefits. Obviously the price is attractive; paying nothing for a shelf is incredible value and definitely beneficial for your financial state of being.

Another benefit is upskilling. By following your nose (in a safe manner) you will discover a range of skills and techniques that you will use throughout your D.I.Y. work. These skills can range from the use of power tools, to the designing of furniture, to cleaning up after yourself. Skills that improve ones character, and also skills that can be applicable for employment.

Another important aspect of Reusing items and D.I.Y. is the physical doing. Actually using your own initiative to take on a project, physically do it, seeing it through to the end, and using the completed piece is incredibly rewarding. There is a sense of achievement that is earned in doing. A sense of pride in telling other people 'Yeah, I did that'. In addition, this sense of achievement can be increased when the project has been undertaken as a collaboration, with friends, family or colleagues. Doing D.I.Y. encourages cultures of making and in turn more D.I.Y projects.

Sometimes when items such as clothing are on their way out towards the scrapheap they can be reused in the most creative of ways. For a white trailer trash party I created a costume out of two pairs of old ripped jeans, I sewed them up crudely and reshaped them as hillbilly dungarees. They looked atrocious. Needless to say, I fit right in.

Reuse of old things in such occasions as dress up party's when needed is a cheap alternative to buying more stuff that of course will end up in the trash,

What a party! The dungarees were made to last the night and they barely did that. So where does a worn denim monstrosity go? Into the bin and to the tip? Of course not. I tied them to a pole and used them as a torch for a bon-fire. Giving the denim one last good use before never seeing it again.