mmm...Manual Labor.

This past weekend, I reglimpsed what I was trained to do.
The theatre company that I work for had to move from one storage space to another because the original donated space was no longer being donated. This, while being a huge pain in the patoot, was also the perfect opportunity to get some much needed organization in our storage methods. I planned and plotted, consulted and contrived. And I invited (begged, pleaded, cajoled) my friend Robb to join me. He too, is a big fan of the organizing.
For those of you not a-tall interested in behind-the-scenes of the theatre world, just don't even bother to read the rest of this post. It will bore you to tears (too late?). For those of you who are interested in behind the scenes of the theatre world, well, there's about a 50/50 chance you'll be bored to tears as well. Feel free to drop out at any time. You've been warned.
I only mention this because I know that there are a few of you out there who, like me, get a ...yes, I'm gonna say it,...Thrill, out of solving two or more problems with just one solution.
Our problems were:
-too much scrap lumber (we don't want to throw it away, 'cuz we bought it, but it's too much of a pain to keep dragging back and forth to the theatre on the chance it might get used, so it just piles up and gets in the way)
-lack of portability of scenic elements (stock pieces must be loaded and unloaded one at a time, creating a drain on time and manpower)
-little or no organization of stored items.
The solution was to use the scrap lumber to build some racks and cases out of it. With the additional purchase of some casters (wheels) and some clear plastic containers, we were able to make the racks and cases easier to move (Six Flats At Once!!). And, we turned a podium from a previous show into a wheeled cabinet to store the ( Labeled ! ) plastic boxes in, so that we can roll all of the tape, tie-line, screws, miscellaneous hardware, extension cords, bolts, lightbulbs, paint supplies, etc. to the theatre all in one container. Did I mention that it has wheels?
We did have to give or throw a staggering amount of stuff away, but now we can see and get to everything that we have. And that makes it far more likely that we'll actually use some of the stuff again, instead of buying and building all new stuff.
I know this may all be staggeringly boring to most, but to me, and perhaps one or two more of you (Adam? Grant?), I know you can appreciate my glee.