Month: May 2024

KITTY LITTER: How to Make A Concealed Kitty Litter Box out of A DovetailĀ Dresser

Or build your own cat litter box furniture

Read this blog post over on medium.com

Are you ready to build a concealed kitty litter box out of an old dresser drawer?

Do you want to hide and conceal your litter box because itā€™s so unsightly and smelly?

How many times have you cleaned up after your cat who slung kitty litter against your wall? How often do your other pets mess around with your catā€™s litterbox? 

No fun there, so if you are so inclined, you can make your own kitty litter box furniture yourself in your garage or workshop. 

These two do the trick.

We suggest you use a sturdy wooden drawer with dovetail joints and not plastic or particle board. 

We also think you could easily find one for sale of for free over on Craigslist or Facebook marketplace, if you look.

Here are the deetzā€¦

All you will need for this project are some tools and a dovetail dresser drawer, so just keep reading to figure out how to do this all on your own without buying one.

Tools you will need:

skill saw

drill

square

tape measure

Step One

First take that second drawer from the bottom and pull it out completely.

Now, you will have to use the saw to cut it in half. This drawer will now become the ā€œperchā€ so your cat can get in and out.

The bottom drawer will be where the kitty litter will go. 

Ideally, you will need to find a wooden drawer that allows the bottom drawer to come completely out to make it easier for you to dump out the the kitty litter when itā€™s been used.

Prepping the Dresser Drawer

Take this out if you need to.

You will discover that some drawers have a space between each already, but some will not and you will have to saw out the wood to make a space for your cat to crawl down into the bottom drawer, from the second one from the bottom, which will become the perch or the entrance and exit.

Some dressers have metal slides, guide rails, and if you find these get in the way of the catā€™s movement or your ease of use, then you will have to unscrew these and remove them from the second from bottom drawer area.

The Perch

You are going to need to cut the perch in half basically. Now, your cat will have a way to go down into the bottom drawer, where the kitty litter has been placed to do itā€™s thing.

So saw the second from the bottom drawer completely in half.

Now, take this half drawer with handle side out and place it above the bottom drawer (where the kitty litter will go) making sure it sticks out and is open. 

This second from the bottom drawer will stick out all the time so the cat can get in and out.

Now, letā€™s brace the perch

Brace Yourself.

You will need to cut two small pieces of wood from the extra wood from the other half you sawed off. 

They will become a brace to make sure the half drawer stays in place. 

Measure the drawer space, from top to bottom, to make sure these two small pieces of wood fit tightly on each side of the drawer. 

The wooden brace.

Now, screw them in with a drill, from above, into the dresser drawer frame. 

Remember, you donā€™t want your cat falling off the the perch you create because itā€™s wobbly, like a diving board bouncing up and down. 

Drilling the braces, the wood pieces, into the half sawn drawer is going to make a great entrance and exit for your cat to use. 

The Bottom Drawer

Entrance and Exit to the Concealed Litter Box.

Fill the bottom drawer with kitty litter and close the bottom drawer.

Now, you kitty litter is concealed.

Place your kitty on the perch 

Really, it should be easy for your cat to realize it needs to start doing itā€™s thing in here, now.

Extra Space

Now, you can use the drawers above, that are not in use, by putting all your cat accessories, bag of litter, collars and leash, cat toys, medicine, food and other cat related items up in those drawers. 

How convenient! Now, you will always know where all you cat stuff is.

Pretty neat, huh?

Now you and your cat are both happier

There are all sorts of ways to make cat litter box furniture, so if you are feeling creative and want to veer off these instructions, go for it.

For example, you could add a drawer extension on the bottom drawer and you can easily find these on amazon. 

We also bet you could easily buy some material to make a cat scratch and line it up and paste it on the side of the dresser, so your cat can dig its claws in there. 

Now, go get started!

We wish you lots of luck on your concealed dresser drawer litter box project.

Feel free to post your questions and pics in the comments, so we can see what you did. 

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Erika Grapes: A Dark Pop Music Artist

You need to hear

Source: Erika Grapes Music, Cristiano Miretti. Layout design by Allan Raible.

This interview first took place as a conversation over Twitter (X) back in September of 2022.

No too long ago GoshDarnBlog caught up with Italian singer and all around rock star Erika Grapes.

During the interview we talk about relationships, roller blading, espresso, but most importantly her music.

In August of 2022 Erika put out a cover of ā€œTitaniumā€Ā byĀ Sia. Her cover has a slow, alluring mysterious vibe, with wonderful keyboard/piano by producer Andrea Del Miglio.

ā€œPeople are Strangeā€ is another cover sheā€™s done with New York singer songwriterĀ The Slums of Mediocrity.

GoshDarnBlog:

So whatā€™s the story behind (your) ā€œNothingā€™s Going to Hurt You Babyā€ song?

Erika Grapes:

Itā€™s a cover from a beautiful song by Cigarettes After Sex, my first single as a solo artist. When I decided to cover it, collaborating with producer and composer Lorenzo MontanĆ” (Tying Tiffany, TTL, Pete Namlook), I wanted a ā€œliquid soundā€.

It took us ages to have it done, for some reason. We started it just a little after the pandemic started here in Italy and during those long months, across 2020, my dear mother caught Covid and ā€¦well, she couldnā€™t survive it, so there are some layers in my singing parts (those recorded before) which were recorded with a romantic intention and some others that are set deep into pain and tragedy and a strong connection with the universe.

Iā€™m a very spiritic* and spiritual person so this song is, in a way, part of my mourning process and partly and expression of the material, sensual survival to tragedy.

*I donā€™t know if itā€™s a word

GoshDarnBlog:

Whatā€™s going on in Italy today?

Erika Grapes:

Hi! Well, itā€™s complicated

GoshDarnBlog:

What happened?

Erika Grapes:

There are some problems going parallel ways.

GoshDarnBlog:

Youā€™re very poetic.

Erika Grapes:

Poverty increasing due to wild privatization and sharky markets. At the same time energy bills have doubled, many local companies will shut down soon, including restaurants. At the same time, we have a war in the heart of Europe that doesnā€™t seem to be willing to end via diplomatic ways any soon. The international tensions are increasing and citizens are worried by the poor decisions made by politics (Meloni is not different than Draghi or Letta in this sense).

Politicians, not politics

We have a big NATO base not too far from here

GoshDarnBlog:

Iā€™m a writer so Iā€™ve been writing about my fears.

Erika Grapes:

Aw I never show up in video calls etc

I suffer from dysmorphophobia

GoshDarnBlog:

Hey. Lifeā€™s good. You have a great cover out of Titanium. If I was I Italy Iā€™d buy you an espresso.

How do you like United Masters?

Erika Grapes:

Yay, Iā€™d take you somewhere where they make good cofee.

Coffee

There are bars called ā€œtorrefazioneā€

They grind fresh coffee, different varieties

And the espresso machines work properly

All perfectly set

GoshDarnBlog:

Cool. We could be bff.

Erika Grapes:

Sure!

I use UM and itā€™s ok

A bit expensive though

GoshDarnBlog:

Oh.

Erika Grapes:

But I donā€™t feel like changing my distributor

GoshDarnBlog:

Y itā€™s pain.

Erika Grapes:

Because then it might end up with different artistā€™profile to manage and so on

Profiles

GoshDarnBlog:

Where did you go to school for music?

Erika Grapes:

They taught music in school when I was a child

So I was the main voice, a soprano in a chorus at the age of 12

GoshDarnBlog:

Very cool!

Erika Grapes:

The teacher was so proud that she begged my parents to have me go to Conservatorio, but they said that I was roller skating already

I hated skating lol. I wish I did figure skating, but I did races instead

GoshDarnBlog:

Do a roller skating video!

What races?

Erika Grapes:

Iā€™m still not healed from my psychological disease, when I will accept my appearence, I will make a video

Skate races

Wait

Race skating

GoshDarnBlog:

If I was hanging out Iā€™d secretly video tape you and upload on YouTube.

Erika Grapes:

Roller blades etc

Italian championships

GoshDarnBlog:

So this is why like Sia? Hiding you face?

Did you go down a mountain? Skating?

Erika Grapes:

I donā€™t know Siaā€™s story, but maybe itā€™s similar

GoshDarnBlog:

Do you have pics of championship?

Erika Grapes:

I posted something from that time (10 years) somewhere in my facebook profile

Wait

I was 10 years old

GoshDarnBlog:

Thatā€™s real cool!

Erika Grapes:

Well

I broke teeth, an arm

Got injured many times

Plus Iā€™ve never been the competitive type

GoshDarnBlog:

I hear ya. Wow.

Erika Grapes:

I couldnā€™t care less about winning

GoshDarnBlog:

I had my front tooth replaced six months ago. Makes me happy.

My modeling career was out on hold!

Put

Erika Grapes:

Yeah, during my teenagehood i always smiled with my mouth closed

When I fixed it at 18, I was smiling all the time lol

To catch up with the times I couldnā€™t

GoshDarnBlog:

It helps a lot for entertainment careers.

Erika Grapes:

What?

GoshDarnBlog:

I canā€™t find DJ gig lately in town. I need to try again. I like clubs.

Teeth

Erika Grapes:

Uhm well, it depends

GoshDarnBlog:

Itā€™s fun to make the crowd party.

Erika Grapes:

If youā€™re a trapper or in a punk band

I bet!

GoshDarnBlog:

Iā€™m more ā€œtrapperā€ but house techno for sure.

Erika Grapes:

I have a friend here in Italy whoā€™s a famous dj

GoshDarnBlog:

Nice! Get your song played!

Erika Grapes:

Be loves my music, but he works for a major network

We had a project together

GoshDarnBlog:

Very cool

Erika Grapes:

Months ago

A dance cover of Torn

But it was too difficult, it injured my vocal box

GoshDarnBlog:

Holy cow

Erika Grapes:

I couldnā€™t sing for months

GoshDarnBlog:

Thatā€™s traumatic.

Erika Grapes:

Never happened with any song

Well, I went to a vocal osteopath

GoshDarnBlog:

Is it on YouTube?

Your playlist on Spotify is pretty rad. I havenā€™t heard a lot CB of those songs.

Erika Grapes:

Here in Milano, whoā€™s also working with Madonna and other big artists, and she fixed it!

The cool thing is that we found out being penpals when we were 14

Whatā€™s CB?

GoshDarnBlog:

Accident

Erika Grapes:

That Dj is on Sporify sure, wait

GoshDarnBlog:

Tell more about this. I also chord incident and this DJ you were working with.

Vocal

Erika Grapes:

https://open.spotify.com/track/3shPyqaRtM5pisiQMjsx0I?si=npIzjbwlR06S6kA9-n3d5g

GoshDarnBlog:

Ty

Erika Grapes:

We never recorded anything together after that accident

Who knows, maybe somewhere in the future

I donā€™t push

GoshDarnBlog:

You never hurt your voice before?

Erika Grapes:

I like things to happen, like in a natural flow

Never hurt my voice before, no

But maybe it was my fault

GoshDarnBlog:

Donā€™t push. Very good philosophy! We have so much in common! Lol!

Erika Grapes:

I kept trying those notes with my throath voice

GoshDarnBlog:

Why was it your fault

Explain

Erika Grapes:

While I should sing with my ā€œhead voiceā€ instead

But itā€™s good, in a way, because I discovered my limits and that I must be careful with my voice

I never did warm ups etc

Before

You sent

I see

Even on ā€œchallengingā€ songs

I did them when I was a child in a chorus of course

Or when I studied a bit of solfeggio in my 20s at Ricordi

My teacher told me that we had also been the teacher of Mina, an Italian superstar

But I donā€™t know if itā€™s true

He seemed too young to me to be her teacher

GoshDarnBlog:

He lied?

Erika Grapes:

No idea. Maybe, maybe it was true

GoshDarnBlog:

I meet a lot of fake accounts on dating apps lately. Iā€™ve been writing about that. I like meeting people on the street and when Iā€™m out better.

Sorry I hit wrong button.

Erika Grapes:

Do you use date apps?

I never met anyone from a dating app

GoshDarnBlog:

I donā€™t like ā€˜em.

Erika Grapes:

But I dated a guy I ā€œmetā€ on Kittyradio music forums (hole.com) years ago and it was a beautiful experience

GoshDarnBlog:

You wonā€™t like en either lol!

Wow!

Erika Grapes:

We remained friends for years, also because we lived in different parts of the country.

It was maybe a poetry thread having us talk privately at first

GoshDarnBlog:

Itā€™s good.

I just donā€™t like long distance relationships either. Haha!

Erika Grapes:

Iā€™m a demisexual, or somewhere near that definition

GoshDarnBlog:

Cool.

Iā€™m a man. Traditional AF!

Just kidding.

Iā€™m pretty easy going.and chill

Erika Grapes:

Demisexuals are persons who feel attracted physically by a person only after being attracted spiritually or mentally by them. After a certain bond has been created

They can be eterosexuals or otherwise

GoshDarnBlog:

I like that.

Erika Grapes:

Itā€™s something like Amelie, the movie

Or the romantic vision of love in the victorian era

GoshDarnBlog:

Wow!

Amelie had a profound affect on me.

Erika Grapes:

Thatā€™s why I was never interested in dating apps, when I was single

GoshDarnBlog:

I like that you used the word Victorian.

-ā€˜Are you married?

Erika Grapes:

Iā€™ve been living with my partner since 4 years and a half, almost

GoshDarnBlog:

Thatā€™s great.

Erika Grapes:

Most of times, yes. After the initial hell

It took him patience to understand my quirks and past traumas

GoshDarnBlog:

Wow. He loves you.

Erika Grapes:

Yes, heā€™s very caring šŸ¤—

GoshDarnBlog:

Did you write a song about him?

Erika Grapes:

Never

Maybe because we get along well lol

Happy songs are boring sometimes

GoshDarnBlog:

Itā€™s true.

Except for Feliz Navidad!

Erika Grapes:

I used to write tons of poems

Or wonderful world

GoshDarnBlog:

Whatā€™s that website to put your face on video?

Erika Grapes:

RefaceApp

Erika Grapes:

Itā€™s an app

Ttyl

Gotta walk the lovely dog here

https://youtu.be/pO5HhIyPpnM

https://linktr.ee/Erikagrapes

https://soundcloud.com/erika-grapes