Posted by Years ago I signed up for FreeCycle–a site where neighbors offer up various bits for free to other neighbors. I have rarely responded to any of the listings, but one popped up the other day that grabbed my attention. It was for an old Great A & P Tea Co. wood crate. I remember shopping with my mom at the A & P grocery store in my hometown back in the day. In fact at the very store below!
And while I’ve never been one for decorating with primitives that A & P connection hooked me. I sent a reply and the owner got back to me and we arranged pickup for the next day.
Then she discovered she had two more crates and she offered them to me too! Turns out they had come from her husband’s family who used them to gather apples on their farm back in Maryland. Love that bit of history!
So now I am the owner of these three old, sturdy crates. Now one of the rules of Freecycle is that items cannot be acquired for resale. Okay, so that’s off the table. I really only wanted one for myself so I’ll have to figure out what I want to do with the other two. (Perhaps my daughters might want one.) But till I figure this out I’m going to give them all a good cleaning and a bit of restoration.
Cleaning
- Remove all dirt with a soft brush.
- Damp clean the box with mild soapy water. Be sure not to over wet the wood.
- Allow to air dry completely.
Restoration
- Buy Dixie Belle Big Mama’s Butta. (A tad pricey but apparently well worth it!)
- Scoop out a small portion of the butter into a separate container (to avoid contamination of the product in the jar).
- Using a chip paint brush dab into the butter and apply to the box, inside and out.
- Allow to soak in.
- After 30 minutes or more, buff off any excess.
The restoration comes courtesy of Reinvented Delaware. Worth a watch.
My crates are definitely worth giving a bit of TLC and I’m rather looking forward to this project. Will show you the results in a few weeks.
Wood Crate Stylings
In the meantime I had a look at how other folks use these type of crates in their decor and some of the uses were rather charming.
I’ll likely use one of mine to corral shoes by our back door. Not quite as cute as these pics but darn functional. I’m happy to have scored these neat wood crates that also have a bit of American history.
Wishing you happy hunting. And do let me know if you have old crates you use in your decor.
Karen
Hunting for Vintage 