Swedish Modular MacGyver

I run a non-profit. We recently got some large government grants and felt rich enough to buy some new furniture. Saddle up, we are off to IKEA!!

My staff convinced me IKEA furniture would be hip and affordable. They didn't mention that they had no intention of helping me build it. I wear many hats at work. Hadn't intended to spend 36 hours with particle board and an allen wrench, but you do what you must.

Remembering my experience single-handedly building the playscape in the backyard, I felt I could build 3 desks, 4 bookcases, and a modular refigerator. Then again, the playscape kit had a picture of a smiling man with a cordless drill and estimated it would take 4 hours to build. It literally took me 134 hours and 23 minutes over six weeks. And I had an alarming amount of leftover parts. I don't actually let the girls play on it.

So, I delegated the furniture building. Some rose to the task, others whined. Jessica opened a box and immediately announced that two, critical wood pegs were missing. She was fast and slick, I never saw what she did with the pegs. But I was determined. I would not be stopped by the lack of two ounces of balsa wood, two ounces that apparently mean the difference between a functioning bookshelf and a teetering deathtrap. I looked in the surprisingly large pile of leftover IKEA parts and found extra pegs. And learned that there are different sized pegs. And that they are not easily "whittled." Nor do they stand up well to pencil sharpening.

So I kept looking. Cardboard? Not rigid enough. Glue? Need interlocking parts. Legos? Really just a stupid idea (but fifteen minutes of fun!).

With the timer winding down and the bomb about to detonate, I reached deep. Above the sink is a surprisingly large pile of leftover food and drink supplies. Sweet & Lo, pepper, straws, lemon packets, hot sauce, and a pair of chopsticks. Yes, chopsticks. I found my perfect substitute. I finished the bookshelf! And had a large pile of screws, nails, and some sort of hinge left over. So I gave the bookshelf to Jessica. And suggested she not put anything heavy, like books, on it.