Pallet Mania

I was driving by Woodstock Home and Hardware and couldn't help but notice a massive pile of pallets. I've gotten them there before and they are very cool about giving them away. If anything, it makes their lives easier because they don't have to deal with them. Spring is a good time because they sell a lot of mulch and fertilizer that is delivered on said pallets, so they end up with a lot of them. They leave them in a pile outside and told me to help myself. I was stoked.

I use them mainly for stacking wood, and believe me, they take a beating. After a couple of years of sitting in the mud, rain, and snow, they start falling apart. I try to dry them out in the spring but let's face it, nothing really survives nature's wrath. As a consequence, when they start to collapse, I need to replace them. I have also a third compost bin that we will need to employ at some point, and it will require a shelter to keep the bears out. That's how it works in theory, that is.

The biggest problem I have, as always, is transporting them. Enter the Mighty Fit. In a testament to the beautiful versatility of this car, it has a fair amount of cargo space, enough to do the farmer's market, transport three people to the hockey rink, equipment and all, and believe it or not, at least 4 pallets. The trickiest part was getting them in. I started by angling them in, but found that at a certain height, they went straight in. There's that magic moment when it fits into the cargo hold and it's like a ray of sunshine coming through the clouds. I picked up 4 when I dropped N off at his buddy's house, and then 4 more when I brought him home from LAX. I would get more if R didn't think I was completely insane for having pallet OCD. Truth be told, I was a little surprised, and still am, that they just give them away. There's a little time, effort, and material that goes into them, and to just burn them afterward seems like a shame. Then again, what else are they going to do with them?

Give them to me, that's what. Until the next time, thanks for reading, and thanks to Mike Mozart for the pic.