by Hope
We have completed the checklist created in the Spring of summer yard projects. And I am so pleased!
The culmination was last week when we power washed (borrowed a power washer from my Uncle) and sealed the deck. The cost of supplies was $187. And the labor cost was ____ (still waiting for my daughter’s friend to send me his hours). But it looks so good…see for yourself!
As I walked around the property, I was overwhelmed with gratitude for all that we got done. The end result is a yard that is:
- Full of edible plants…blueberries, salad fixings, herbs, and so on.
- Less than 1/2 now needs to be maintained on a regular basis. We’ve been able to decrease the grassy area by about half.
- Dealt with the flooding issue caused by an overgrown culvert.
- Leveled and landscaped pathway from my carport to the back deck which significantly cut down on the tripping hazards (especially for me) and the mud the dogs will track into the house.
- Huge shade bed landscaped and with a significant weed barrier.
The final spend was $56 which was 10 bags of mulch, 4 bags of white marble rocks, and some landscape stakes.
What do you think of the results? It’s been lots and lots of sweat equity, lots and lots of cardboard collected (with permission) from my part time job to use as weed barrier, pallets from a friends job, and constantly watching Facebook marketplace for supplies for free or cheap.
But I am so please and proud of myself! And grateful. Now if only the cooler weather would hurry along so I can enjoy my outdoor living space.
Hope is a creative, solutions-focused business manager helping clients grow their business and work more efficiently by leveraging expertise in project management, digital marketing, & tech solutions. She’s recently become an empty nester as her 5 foster/adoptive kids have spread their wings. She lives with her 3 dogs in a small town in NE Georgia and prefers the mountains to the beaches any day. She struggles with the travel bug and is doing her best to help each of her kids as their finish schooling and become independent (but it’s hard!) She has run her own consulting company for almost twenty years! Hope began sharing her journey with the BAD community in the Spring of 2015 and feels like she has finally in a place to really focus on making wise financial decisions.