Second Life favorites of 2024

We see a lot of fab work, but a few things from 2024 stuck with us. None of these were our work — these are customers turning our reconditioned totes into something else. We collected them in the Second Life Gallery, but here are the six that made the year.

Rooftop strawberry hydroponics, Short North. A four-tote rig on top of a duplex off N High St. Recirculating NFT system, gravity returns to a sump tote. The strawberries were better than ours.

Maple sap collection, Geauga County. A friend of the yard built a five-tote vacuum collection system that runs through a network of taps to a central evaporator. Picked up his fifth tote this spring.

Mobile sink for outdoor catering, Clintonville. Cut top, twin-basin stainless drop-in, recirculating greywater filter. We helped with the cut and frame; the rest was the catering crew.

Biochar reactor, Lancaster, OH. Insulated tote, retort design, runs on woody waste from a tree-care company. Producing horticultural biochar at 12% yield by weight.

Rainwater collection, Olde Towne East. A neighborhood block-club installed eleven totes off downspouts, plumbed together, used by every household garden on the block.

Cold plunge, garage gym in Worthington. Insulated tote, off-the-shelf chiller, weekly hour-on-the-ice habit. We don't know how this person sleeps but we admire the commitment.

If you've built something from a tote, send us a photo at hello@ibccolumbus.com — we'll add it to the gallery.