I have a problem.............I am a wood addict

So, I live in Suffolk County Long Island and near my home there is a mill that crafts custom moldings and other high end wood items (cabinets, built ins and the such). A few times a week they bring all there cut offs to the curb for the community to take. When I say cut offs, I don't mean 18" pieces of wood, they are 8' to 14' pieces in varying dimensions, 4"X4", 2"X8" and occasionally 3/4" X18" boards. Additionally, the species of the wood are the good stuff- walnut, mahogany, oak, cherry, and other hard woods.

The day I discovered this little treasure, their were other people loading their trucks and I began to discuss all the great things i thought I would make with these free, high-end resources, I then asked what they intended on doing with their little treasures and I was shocked to hear that all the other individuals were collecting firewood. In shock, I began to preach against their sins and attempted to save the prime pieces from the clutches of these miscreants.

I guess I have always liked wood, but this new avenue of unlimited resources was much better than my previous supply sources. Previously I would collect pallets and take them home, disassemble them and then I would scrub them, so they were clean enough for interior projects: this became old real fast. I still use pallets, when I want to achieve an old distressed "barnwood" type effect in a project.

In my quest to stop this travesty of mahogany burning hooligans, I began to go past the mill daily (sometimes twice a day). But I found myself quickly running out of space: so I built myself a wood storage cart. Which was great to contend with the wood I had......but it didn't anticipate the incoming pieces.

In an effort to manage the incoming wood I began to cut them into 4 foot lengths (that seemed like a manageable length and I usually don't build anything that needs bigger than a 4 foot piece of material) then shrink wrapping them into 30 lbs bundles (30 lbs was easy enough for me to lift and put in the shed loft). The problem was the loft only held about 11 bundles, so the remaining portion went in the shed itself, then when that was full I started to fill my front shed, which is designated for wood pellets.

My compulsion has crossed the line in to an obsession, and has become a touchy subject in my house. The wife opposes the collection, as it has taken over our garage and two of our sheds. But I really have a hard time stopping, I believe that every piece is unique and beautiful in its own way; in addition, I love taking old items that other's see as garbage and repurposing/creating beautiful gifts for people.

I guess all that is left to say is "Hello my name is Robert and I am a wood addict."