I got this idea from all those wooden pallets that you see in industrial areas and behind stores waiting to go to the garbage or where ever skids go to after their time is done.  Often you'll see a sign that says free firewood indicating a huge pile of these skids, but unless you want a big fire that you don't want to sit around for too long, they are not great for campfires.  It seemed like such a waste to trash the wood, and yes I know its not "good wood", but I have two things to say about that....God doesn't make junk and Reduce, Reuse and Recycle! So in the spirit of recycling I'm making a recycling depot for the back yard.   This project has been simmering in my head for some time, and I haven't had the time to pop it together, fortunately our weather is finally cooperating, so today is the day!

The family ran down to the Home Depot just before lunch so I could take advantage of Caleb's naptime to get it done.  The premise behind my plan was to take what they had and figure out the actual plan from there.  The basic principal was going to be a rectangular box, taking advantage of the shape of the pallets. Upon arrival we dug out a fabulous base I wish there had been two as it was such good wood and of such solid construction it would have made fabulous mini patio for our BBQ. Then we located three side pallets, and two pieces of plywood, threw them in the van and headed home. 

Construction was fairly easy, I had the general area I knew I wanted to locate the base in. The ground was level enough, but the weight of the base ensured that the mud packed down a little to ensure that the overall project wouldn't be rickety.  I then placed one pallet one each side on it's side, nailing one of the pieces of plywood to both pieces to keep animals from sneaking in the back. 

For the roof I removed one of the slats from the door pallet, ensuring that I had the blocks still attached. This piece I flipped onto the back of the roof to create a slope when the roof was attached to ensure runoff from any rain.  I screwed these pieces in.  Then I placed the roof on and hammered it to the back rail and along the sides.  The door just sits in place for now, in two nooks which where conveniently cut into either side, but I would like to put hinges and a proper latch on it. These however, I will have to buy, as I do not have any laying around. 

The whole project was incredibly simple. The key is to eyeball what you bring home and try to figure it out in your head when you pick up the wood. This ensured that I didn't have to do any cutting.

Here are some other ideas of ways to use old skids...
The Pallet Shed
Compost Bin

(ed. note [that's me!] apparently my legs are broken, so I have not taken pics of my bin, and the bin has been finished for two weeks! So instead of keeping people waiting in suspense here's my rough crayon pic of the project.)