Finally accomplished something!

   I'm happy to say that I finally completed the milk crate bench!  I ended up buying milk crates from The Container Store for $7 each because the stores I called all said that they do not own the milk crates they use and have to return them each time they get a new shipment. :(  Either way it was pretty easy once I had all my products together.  I used 4 milk crates, 4 Cubeicals (from Target- made by Closetmaid), zip-ties, 1/2 in plywood, a twin-size foam mattress pad ($10 at Walmart), and a twin size flat sheet ($5 at Walmart). Oh, and a staple gun!
Here is what the final product looks like:

1) First, I zip-tied all the  milk crates together,  then I measured the top for the plywood (mine ended up being 53"x12" because I wanted a 1/2" overhang all around).  2) I put the milk crates on the plywood and marked the spots where I wanted to attach it. 3) Then I drilled holes to put the zip-ties through. I placed the zip ties through the holes but didn't actually attach it yet.  4)  I doubled the foam pad and cut it to size and stapled the ends to the plywood. 5) I cut the material to size and wrapped the plywood and foam, stapling all the way around the bottom. 6) I attached it to the milk crates using the zip-ties and put the cubes inside. All done!

Once I got started it really wasn't a hard project.  I have even had several requests to make them for others.My plan for the cubes is to put the textbooks for each table (my room has 4 tables instead of desks) as well as other items that the students don't need handy at all times.  As soon as my classroom is done being cleaned by maintenance I will be taking this in and continuing to de-clutter my closets. Hopefully this won't be an all summer project.  I'll keep you posted!