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Have you guys seen these ladders that you hang blankets on?  They are a cute way to store your blankets and have them close-by when you want to snuggle up on the sofa and watch T.V.  Well, I wanted one, so I hopped on the internet to buy one but there were no blanket ladders less than $50.  That weekend I headed out to a few stores to buy one, cause certainly a retailer had to have these things for less. I spotted a cute one, I slowly approached and flipped the tag over, $125.  I said to myself, oh wow!  Blanket ladders are serious business. I guess I must make my own.  Click the *link in bio* to see how I created a blanket ladder for $10.

Back on my sofa, I open the app called Offer Up.  Offer Up is an app. where you can buy and sell items locally.  It’s basically an online yard sale.  It has an added feature where you can have an item shipped to you if it is not local.  I searched ladders within a 10-mile radius.  Just a regular, used, wooden ladder.  I found this one, listed for $15.  I asked my husband if he’d go with me to pick the ladder up (don’t ever go by yourself to pick these items up, stranger danger).  He agrees, even though he sees no purpose for a blanket ladder.  Just get a blanket from the linen closet when you’d like to have one, is how he sees it.

Anyhow, as I mentioned this system is like a yard sale, so my husband offers the seller $10 instead of $15 and the seller accepts.  You can also negotiate the price of the item prior to pick-up.  We get home and I start to break the ladder down because you only need one side for this project.  I wasn’t strong enough to tear the hardware away from the sides that held it together, so my husband assisted.  He used three tools, a drill, pliers and a hammer.  After he had the two sides separated, I removed the excess bolts, screws and metal straps.  Recycled the wood and metal from the other half that I wasn’t going to use.

I got a can of white spray paint, specifically for wood, that I bought at Home Depot but didn’t use.  My daughter (she never lets me leave her out when I’m DIYing) and I went outside, hand-sanded the ladder with a sheet of sandpaper torn in half, and then dusted it off with a cloth.  Laid the ladder down on a drop cloth and sprayed one side.  We let it dry for about an hour, turned it over and sprayed the other side.  Let it dry for another hour.  It was done.

The next day I purchased two blankets to match the space and hung them on the ladder.  I love that I completed this for only $10 and a few hours time.  Now, the blankets are on the floor or in-use more than they are on the ladder.  Why? Because I have kids, but hey at least they are putting the blankets to use is what I tell myself.

We live in Phoenix, Arizona, where summer temperatures reach into the 110+, so ice-cream is basically a food group.  We treated the kids to Slickables, and they loved them.

We each chose two cookies to wedge our favorite ice-cream flavor in between.  Each ice-cream sandwich was only

 $2.50.  You also have the choice of choosing a brownie to make your ice-cream sandwich, but we all stuck to cookies.

At chain ice-cream parlors, with a family of 6, we can easily run up a bill of $40 with add-ins and the such.  At Slickables, our bill was $12.50 plus tax and we were in summer cool bliss, until we stepped back outside.

Slickables is located on busy Mill Avenue, in the heart of Tempe, so parking may be a doozy.  There’s metered parking, so bring change (in most cases you can now use your debit card) but you can also park in a nearby garage for a small fee and walk a short distance.

Once in the Slickables, there are just a few tables to sit,  but if you’re not lucky enough to snag one, you can stroll down Mill Avenue and window shop while you finish up your cream.

Location visited: 699 S. Mill Avenue, #117, Tempe, AZ 85281

Hours: 11am-midnight daily