My downstairs neighbor's incessant smoking finally drove us to switch our bedroom with our daughter's. (A 3 year-old with a smoker's cough tends to get strange looks at the library storytime) I kept procrastinating because part of the switch involved dismantling a large handmade futon frame that was a refugee from a loft we had built in Fort Point. Even though it was an awkward monstrosity of polyurethaned pine and metal reinforcing "bandaids", it was a reminder of days without kids and spontaneous night-life.
Finally, after transferring about 2 metric tons of stuffed animals acrosss the hall and dismantling and re-mantling the crib, I decided to just tackle the damn thing with a Mikita and, two afternoon sessions later, I was triumphant and the former slumber-barge lay in pieces next to our garbage bins.
One of the side effects of being somewhat of a compulsive clutter-buster is that there always seem to be a few random items that constantly turn up in storage bins and closet bags because I just can't bear to toss them for some reason. Take, for instance, a purple and gray nylon floppy hat. If I were to actually use it as a hat, it would only make me look like the nerd I really am. But, it's a hat that was purchased for me by a friend while in Vietnam in order to help me avoid paying the "roundeye-tax" and everytime I see it, I am reminded of: 1) My friend Phong, who was the coolest guide a girl could have, 2) Travelling throughout the Mekong Delta by motorbike with my husband and 3) Touring the Cu Chi tunnels whilst in the early stages of food poisoning.(not fun, but memorable)
Long story short, I can't toss the hat, but I really wanted to get rid of the old crap lumber and recycle the brass l-brackets, so I grabbed the hat by the brim, filled it with about 5 pounds of used woodscrews and l-brackets, added a manual screwdriver and ta-da! Instant toolbag!
