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JAY DIY: A pantry makeover surprise for Jay's mom

3News anchor Jay Crawford's mom Marie recently moved back to their hometown - and he wanted to help her settle in to her new space with a very special project

SANDUSKY, Ohio — 3News anchor Jay Crawford's mom Marie has been living out in Arizona for the past few years – and she recently decided to make the move back to his hometown of Sandusky. It means so much to Jay and his family to have her nearby, and as we all celebrate the moms in our life this weekend, he wanted to take on a special and surprise project to show her his appreciation.

This JAY DIY is all about the kitchen pantry - because gone are the days of keeping your kitchen storage behind closed doors. As home organization trends have taken over our social media feeds, having an open and attractive pantry has become part of almost everyone's dream home, including Marie. So to help her settle into her new space, Jay decided to help her spruce up her walk in pantry. 

Jay started by demoing the existing metal shelves with the intention of replacing them with custom wooden shelving. If you're interested in trying this at home, the basic tools you'll need are:

-Either a table saw or circular saw 

-A drill

-A screwdriver

-Wood putty 

-Paint....a lot of paint. 

First step is to measure and cut your cleats. That's what will hold the shelves in place. They'll be attached to the wall by drilling, preferably into studs and using wood screws. Once you have your cleats in all the way around, you'll want to wood putty and then sand any holes.

The biggest thing watch for when installing cleats is to make sure they are level all the way across the space. You can do that with a simple level. Jay used a digital level for this project. Another important tip? Make sure the shelves are far enough apart that you can place tall items. 

Next step - is measure the distance between your walls, and cut your shelving accordingly. Then, drill them in place onto the cleats, and paint away!

Now comes the fun part -- revealing the surprise to Jay's mom. Let's just say, she was thrilled, and just a little confused to see 3News Photographer Ty Choate waiting inside the pantry to capture her reaction.

"You're the best son a mother could ever have," Marie said to Jay, overjoyed to see her bright and spacious new kitchen storage.

So welcome home, Marie. And happy Mother's Day to you and all the other moms out there!

Editor's note: The video above is from an unrelated story published on May 1, 2022.

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