by Lacie on February 16, 2011
1) Try not to plant more than one or two varieties of a particular plant. You may think you NEED 6 types of peppers, but you are wrong. Dead Wrong.
2) If you grow plants in grow boxes or any sort of container type item expect to water them a lot, like everyday, and even twice a day in the hottest part of the year.
3) If you neglect said container plants even for a day, your chances of the dreaded blossom end rot are very likely to ruin many of your plants.
4) Raised beds were an AWESOME idea. You are so glad that you did them, because you don’t have to water them nearly as often as the containers and they practically take care of themselves.
5) When the guy at Tractor Supply questions your logic of buying a “one scoop of soil and compost”, then looks at the giant tractor with the “scoop” and looks at your tiny Chevy S10 pick up truck, you might want to ask for less. Otherwise, your poor beat up truck with groan under the weight and more dirt will end up on t he road to your house than in your backyard.
6) Pay the kid that mows your lawn to take care of the garden while you are visiting your family out west for a week in August. Your brother-in-law and neighbor say they will take care of it, but that really means your brother-in-law will water only once in 7 days, and your neighbor will come over and take all of your carrots but one. Not cool guys, not cool.
by Lacie on February 9, 2011
In February 2009, I decided that I was going to try not to buy ANY new clothes for my family for a year. All in all, it has been largely successful (though we have bought a handful of new clothing items), so I am probably going to continue the trend indefinitely. I am also trying to expand it to as much of our other items as possible ( such as furniture, toys, and books). You can read more about the rules I set up for myself here. Occasionally, I like to highlight some pretty cool things that I’ve found used. This would be one of those occasions.
Who wouldn't love these?
See these beautiful shoes? I get so many compliments on them. Everyone wants to know where I got them, and then when I tell them, they usually stare at me in shock. ” I paid $2 at Goodwill,” I say with pride. I had seen pairs of shoes just like these that were going for $50, so I was thrilled when I found them, and they are so comfortable that I wear them all…the…time! I will say that even the most serious thrift store shopper is more than a little turned off by buying used shoes. I understand your hesitation, as it can seem kind of gross. BUT, if you think about it, when you buy shoes from the store you try them on, correct? You really don’t know how many other people have also tried on that shoe and decided it wasn’t for them, so its essentially the same thing. However, I still disinfect the insides of the shoes I buy from Goodwill (better safe than sorry!). So for those that are interested, yes you can find great shoes for cheap at the thrift store!
