Making Progress on My Little Free Library

I love the idea of the Little Free Library movement. Sharing books with others feels good. Putting them in a little “house” on your property that you can decorate as you like is fun. Finding Little Free Libraries and looking at the books inside is a joy. When I heard about and then visited some Little Free Libraries (mostly in the Twin Cities), I knew it was something I wanted to have.

I mentioned my desire on Facebook last year and was pleased when I was offered a Little Free Library by Ron Kresha. He happens to be our State Representative but is much more approachable than the title may indicate. (I never cease to be amazed at how in nervous people are about talking to their local politicians. In rural America, they are people we run into often, so they’re really just neighbors. No need to feel intimidated.) Ron built the shell of the house (Thanks, Ron!) and I’ve been meaning to get around to painting it and putting the roof and door on, but had to find the time and scrounge up materials. The time finally appeared in the last couple of weeks and I set to work.

I really didn’t have any idea what to do about a roof. I decided I wanted to use as many materials as I could from around the house. We happened to have a box of battleship linoleum squares kicking around. They are a happy turquoise. They were easy to cut and apply, although I had to use every small clamp in the house to hold them in place until the adhesive dried. I purchased the sealant/adhesive at the hardware store because we didn’t have one on hand. (Someone at the hardware store helped me pick out something that would work for gluing and sealing in an outdoor application.)

We love to paint inside our house, which means we have lots of partial cans of paint in the basement. I managed to find only one exterior paint, a pale green, which I used on the exterior of the Little Free Library. It matches the exterior of the addition on our house. On the inside, I chose a luscious blue from a quart of paint that had never been opened. (What were we intending to use it for?)

I bought a single red ball ceramic doorknob at the ReStore in St. Cloud yesterday for a door pull. (Cost = 50 cents.) This I will attach once I’m finished with all the painting. Gotta do a second coat of the blue and finish the door. I still need a catch for the door, so I’ll probably have to buy one. Then I have to figure out how to stick it on a post/platform outside and fill it with books. (I’ve already got a pile of books ready to go.) Last, I need to register my library with the Little Free Library organization and get my official sign.

It’s nice to see the project coming together so well. Soon, I’ll be sharing books with the neighbors.