Self Care...

It's the buzz word of 2020.

Self care.

It's a hard thing to pin down. There is no real answer, or wrong answer.  For some it's getting their hair or nails done, for others it's meditating, yoga, or eating right.  Searching for my care, I've done all those things over the years, the first two leaving me feeling as though I wasted money, and the latter landing me in the hospital for six days. For years I hid what made me whole because it wasn't the correct answer, or it wasn't socially acceptable.  Now of course, I'm too old for such nonsense, and too tired to care what anyone else thinks. Truth is, the cleaner and more organized the house is, the happier I am.  So I clean, often, which not only benefits me, but everyone that lives here. Which begs the question, is it really self care, if it's for other people as well?

My other go to is right brain activities, those that create, tell a story, or problem solve. Taking what would otherwise be trash and bringing new life into it.  I belong to the Local Buy Nothing group on FB.  If you're not already in the know, search it up with your town's name and you'll find it on FB, as nearly every town has one. People post things they are getting rid of, or searching for, be it services, goods, or ideas, for free.  In January someone downtown was cleaning out her MILs basement.  I should mention that I live in one of the most historic places in the country, so sometimes you find some very old things downtown. This was one of those times. Behold, the trunk....

It was in rough shape. The handles are long gone and the rubber from the wheels had worn completely down to the metal ring.  The oil cloth covering was covered in white mold and starting to crack and peel, and the inside paper lining had a weird yellow fungus going on. And it smelled, lord, how it smelled. Now, a smarter version of myself would have done some research before taking a crowbar to it, but this version of me did not.

The nails are all square, with tiny hooks on the end that break off when you try and pull them out.  By the second nail, common sense finally chimed in and I called my Dad who explained it was a specific type of construction done before screws, that ensured the nails would hook in once set and not pull out. So my dreams of painstakingly taking every nail out, stripping it down and rebuilding, was now out of the question. Armed with a razor, putty knife, and degreaser spray I went to work...

The oil cloth came off the outside pretty easily, but the paper inner lining was far more stubborn.  I found that soaking it down with the degreaser after scraping the easy to remove stuff worked quite well. Best $3 I spent so far, clearly, as about 80 years of grime and unmentionably grossness is now in the driveway.

Now we're getting somewhere.  Thankfully, the weather agreed with me and for a few days it was able to dry out.  At that point, I decided to do a light stain just to give the wood some depth again.  Again, a smarter me would have researched what happens when you try and stain 104 year old wood with no conditioning. It soaked it up like paint peeps.  It was not good. At. All.  So I sanded, and sanded. And. Sanded. Until the color variation was just right. I also darkened the hand carved 1916 with a bit of alcohol ink I had on hand.  It just made it stand out a tiny bit more. After a quick wipe down, the taping began. One roll of painters tape, a full advertisement catalog, and Three. Hours. Later....

Even the dog was over me and my antics...

She did move once the spraying began, no need to alert the authorities. First I started with a iron gray metallic spray paint ($5) which just didn't quite do the trick.  So I tried a spattering of black.  

Still not right.  Finally I went with a flat matte black, which when sprayed light enough allows the gray metallic to show through in places.  The unveiling was fairly dramatic...

But wait!  There's more...

The smarter version of me finally did some research and decided on a conditioning balm ($21) instead of a varnish that could peel or yellow. This blend of hemp oils and other good stuff conditions the wood, and allows a soft sheen while smelling good. Which was great because the weather had turned bitterly cold again and the whole project needed to be moved inside...

Y'all, I can't say enough about the Wise Owl product.  I am now scouting out what else I can use it on.  I have no idea why it has taken me so long to discover it, but it was a game changer. And I found it on eBay, so I got it on a brand new, but no box, discount. 

I enlisted the husband's help to attempt to remove the old casters from the bottom but after a snap and crack of the bottom rail it was determined that they were staying in place.  Instead of adding to the height, I grabbed 4 screw in feet ($3) that can be set just a hair higher than the wheels, saving my floor and not adding to the height of the trunk. 

But wait!  There's more!  We still have an entire inside to go!  I started by spraying the upper half of the base a matte dark brown as well as the inside sides of the lid and the center crossbar. Then I bit my lip and invested $31 in cedar planks...

I went with a staggered pattern for two reasons.  One, it is more forgivable and two, I was too cheap to buy an additional box if I didn't need to. And then, the biggest investment of my free project, the lid. I scoured Etsy for days until I finally found it.  A 1903 map of the villages of  town. I carefully trimmed, and trimmed, dry fit, and pasted. When everything had cured I coated the cedar planks in the Wise Owl salve....

I. Am. In. Love.

Seriously.  About half way through I realized this was the first project I was doing totally for me.  I wasn't being paid.  It isn't being sold (much to my husband's dismay).  It's not for someone else to use or enjoy.  It was just for me.  All in, the project has cost just over $100.  Many things I had already in the garage, and of course, the labor and trunk was free.  All that's left now is replacing the handles.  Sadly the tin end caps ripped in half while I was removing the remnants so I had to order new ones. The smarter version of me discovered that an old black leather belt cut into 8" strips are the perfect replacements for the straps. The less smart version of me donated all of ours two weeks prior to realizing that. I may go to the donation center and buy it back for 50 cents.  Not the first time I've done this buy the way. 

I still have to figure out where it will live in the living room.  It's to store our extra towels and blankets and pillows, so having them easily accessible is key.

But for now, just having it sitting there makes me happy. 

A trunk, now fit for a queen's adventure, as my Mum says.

Or at least, for the queen's towels.