With a nod to the perennial back-to-school essay, here is the result of my efforts when I had waaay too much time on my hands.
Betsy and I moved into this house about seven years ago, when our landlord (Betsy's ex; but that's another story) put his house up for sale. There was no garage, but the rest of the house was move-in condition, and I love old homes. We bought it anyway, with the agreement that I could build a shed in back for doing my "man" stuff. Right away I started begging friends with hauling capacity to bring me discarded pallets, but the project didn't really get into high gear until I bought a used utility trailer. Here is the finished structure.
The project was built almost entirely from salvaged material. My neighbor across the alley had to remove a deck and hot tub to dig up his drain line, and he generously donated sections of deck and support structure. It was all good rot-resistant cedar and pressure-treated. I did have to buy a few 1x boards, and some OSB for the roof sheathing. Much of the material came from dumpsters in front of new home construction. The builders were throwing away half sheets of OSB, ten and twelve foot two by fours, and quantities of two by six lumber. In my sixties, dumpster diving is even more fun that it was when I was a kid. In case anyone cares, here is my mugshot (first selfie ever.)
Mothers pull their children closer when I walk by.