Free To A Good Home

What with moving day just around the corner, my husband and I thought it would be a good idea to start thinking about sprucing the current homestead up a bit. As soon as we move into the new house, we need to get this one on the market.

One of the things that needs attention are the front yard planters. Actually, this is an annual chore. We usually re-mulch them in the spring, but since we knew that we would be moving in the summertime we decided to wait to do the job so that the landscaping would look as fresh as possible.

Our planters are not very large or very elaborate but it always amazes me how many bags of mulch it takes to freshen them up. Even for our small yard, we purchase 30 bags of mulch in order to ensure thorough coverage. Today I stopped by our local Home Depot to check out cedar mulch prices. I like cedar mulch because it’s fairly inexpensive, it smells good, and for some reason I have an idea it is a natural pest repellent and I want to do anything I can to deter those evil fire ants (I once unknowingly stepped into a nest of the little buggers in bare feet. Oh boy, did that hurt).

A bag that covers 24 sq ft (at 1″ depth) costs $3.19. At 30 bags this would be $103.59 (including tax). As home improvement projects go, not bad at all. But it never hurts to save $103.59 whenever possible, especially when you consider that this is an annual expense.

This year we were lucky enough to find a free source of mulched cedar. At an under-construction neighborhood near our new house, we spotted a sign that said “Free Cedar Mulch”. After dinner today (sloppy joes on homemade buns, delicious) my husband and I piled in the old Explorer along with some black trash bags and a big shovel.

After 30 minutes work we (ok, mostly my husband) filled six huge 42-gallon trash bags with the free mulch. I think that this should be enough to do the job. If it isn’t I noticed that there is a huge pile of mulch (as big as a good-size house) on the actual jobsite, so I think that the out-front pile will be frequently replenished.

As an extra-added bonus, it was just a kind of fun thing to do. There were quite a few other people out there taking advantage of this great offer, and it was nice socializing with them. We all were happy because we were getting something very useful, for free! (And what do you think we talked about? You guessed it - high gas prices. This fuel situation is really bringing people together!) A couple of pick-up truck owners did it the smartest way - just shoveled the stuff right into the back of their trucks. There was plenty for everyone. But whatever kind of vehicle you have you can make it work. Oh, except once I owned a Miata and actually that probably wouldn’t work so great.

So it never hurts to keep your eyes peeled to see what’s going on around your neighborhood. You never know how it can help your bottom line. Just a little word of warning: my husband’s co-worker said to avoid pine tree mulch. Apparently, pine mulch attracts bugs rather than repels them (like cedar does) and also poison ivy can grow around pine trees and get ground up right along with the wood. I don’t know if this is true, but I thought I’d just pass it along because, for myself, I’d rather pass up free pine mulch rather than risk getting poison ivy (or more bugs).