original condition

I inherited two old wooden dry 4 quart measuring crates (used for measuring things like apples) that were owned and used by my great grandfather, Washington Columbus Thompson (quite a name, right?).  Wash used to take these to market – and the story goes that he slept all the way there and the horse knew the way. I’ve been pondering what to do with them and looking to Martha for inspiration.

First, they needed to be cleaned since they had been sitting in a crawl space for about 40 years. A friend suggested I vacuum them, which sounded nuts, but actually was a great idea. I got all the loose dirt off this way. Next, I used some Murphy’s Oil

after cleaning

Soap diluted with some water and just wiped them down. Wow! Were they dirty! You can’t really tell in the photo, but they really cleaned up quite well. The sink was full of absolutely black water when I was done.

The next question was what would I do with them. I could use them to put a plant in (in a plastic pot), but for now I decided to put them under a table in

inside

our family room. I might stick poinsettias in them during the holidays, but for now, they are visible and are an interesting item to display.