Putting it all back together (Part 1)

How difficult can it be to measure out the walls and install some L-shaped shelving? And since the pantry and closet back up to each other, I can use the same plan and measurements from one into the other. Right? Why would I have thought that anything could be simple?!?

Well, remember that I told you about my biggest challenge in my goal of subtraction? Somebody, and I won't name names, always comes up with a "bigger and better" plan than mine and has to put his two cents into the equation. (Yes, Tim Allen's Home Improvement character lives right here in my home!)

My plan was to use the shelves from the closet, cut them to complete the pantry, add the white tracks and white brackets, and voila...a neat, tidy, white pantry. Then I can put up brackets and tracks on the other side of the same wall, add more white shelves and use the laundry room closet for all my cleaning supplies and linens. So I washed the walls and floors and started measuring and marking my tracks. I tried to start at the top and work my way down, one shelf at a time, putting supplies back up as I went. Here's a pic of my initial work (my first two rows) before "help" arrived:

I didn't think it was looking too bad. In fact, I was quite satisfied with it.

Then my no-names-mentioned, home improving, Tim Allen-type person decided he knew a better way and could do it twice as fast. The results were staggering to put it lightly!

My choice of shelving: the closet kits with basic white tracks and 12 inch white brackets with basic white 12 inch shelves...same as before, but run all the way across one wall and halfway down and across the other wall to leave room for the taller items like the washer and dryer, vacuum cleaner, brooms, mops, etc.

His choice: the super industrial strength stainless steel tracking and brackets with standard white shelves. He even went out and bought these supplies for me. What a guy!

He was pretty smug about all this until he put it up and the shelves wouldn't fit in those 12 inch brackets that really weren't 12 inches at all, but more like 11 5/8 inches. But no worries, I was told, he could just trim up those shelves to fit those brackets. (Now why do all that when my standard white brackets were working just fine? Or why not just take the darned stainless steel ones back and exchange for the cheapie white metal brackets?) Well, I was told, "because these are better." So the entire project was put on hold awaiting all this trimming and cutting that had to be done.

I TRIED to go play with my digital scrapbooking while he worked, in between all the "Honey, come here" and "Honey, hold this, hand me that" and "Now, put this there, no over here, well, maybe try this, no try that"s that kept me jumping up and down out of my chair and running back and forth to the garage. I finally gave up. I spent the afternoon playing Home Improvement Scrub Nurse to the Dr. Tim Allen Character. Do you think he wanted to hear any of my concerns or suggestions along the way? I even tried the sweet, suggestive wifely voice, "Honey, maybe we should..."
All I got was "NO, just hang on; I know what I'm doing."

So with all the new and improved equipment ready, we carried it all out of the garage and upstairs to the closet....