Lowe's for shelving material

Yesterday I went to Lowe's to pick up material for building the garage shelves. I was quite pleased to get all my stuff for only $82. It's way cheaper than any of the comparable shelving units I've seen, and I'll have 40 linear feet of 16" deep shelving that is really sturdy. Since I'm mounting it to the garage wall, everything can be off the floor as well. I like things off the floor for a few reasons. First, we want to eventually have the concrete garage floor cleaned and polished. The prior owner of our house stored junk in the garage for decades, so the floor is in great condition (no stains and almost no cracks and no chips). The more we can store off the floor now the less we have to move when that day comes. Second, we live in earthquake country, so any shelving unit could topple and wreak havoc. At least this way, only the items on the shelves will topple, not the shelves themselves. Third, I think rooms look more spacious, airy, and neat with things off the floor. Even though it's a garage, I won't want to work in there if I hate being in there. Finally, it's a clutter prevention thing. Mess breeds mess. A pile on your floor invites more things being thrown in it. It's like a law of the universe. By putting everything up off the floor in a specifically designated spot on a shelf, it will be much harder to mess it up.

Yesterday's trip was quite a big ordeal, so I didn't unload when I got home but did it today. I am dreading the prep for the shelf job - there is so much to move out of the way, but it will be great when it is done. I am so looking forward to actually unpacking and moving in (after 2.5 years).

The staff at Lowe's is so much better than at Home Depot. For tricky things like this where I need advice and a lot of stuff, it's worth the extra 10-15 minutes each way to go to Lowe's. Lowe's has more staff and fewer customers, which is great. They actually work really hard at answering your questions and are pretty knowledgeable. Instead of sending you to some distant aisle to find something, they walk you there. If someone sees you looking puzzled, they will stop and ask if you need help. I never get this kind of service at Home Depot.