Got It!

As you can see from the photo, I finally caught myself an opossum. I must say, he was quite frightening looking. He put on a show for us by "playing possum," which meant he froze like a statue for a few minutes. We took him to a wooded area and set him free.

Trapping him myself saved me at least $250.

Today in my yard I noticed more holes from an opossum, and they had even ripped off the top of a bag of mulch I have. Either this opossum has great tracking skills, or I have an entire family living somewhere around me.

Garden Savings

The weather here has slowed the progress on my garden, but I did at least do soe research as to what I should plant inside of it. This article was pretty informative, as it estimates potential dollar savings from growing your own food.

Garden Cleared

A while ago I mentioned that I planned on creating a garden in my backyard, and I've finally begun. As you can see from the picture, I've mostly cleared out the area. It's about 11' by 16', and I do have a plan. I priced everything out, and it looks like I'll have to change the design slightly to stay within my $200 budget (less pebbles, more planting beds). I hope to be complete in a month or so. Maybe not enough time to grow all the vegetables I'd like this year, but at least a totally unused, weed-filled section of the yard will be transformed into something presentable and enjoyable.

Building Your Own Home?

I often dream about being able to start anew- having a flat piece of land on which to build my dreamhouse. Alas, the price of land around here is not cheap, and even if it was, what do I know about building a house? And how could I save money if I have to pay all these contractors?

I found a couple of companies that help you build your own. They give advice and remain in the background, sort of like a silent general contractor. Of course, they charge for their services, but they may well be worth the price. Anyone ever build their own home or use a company like either of these? BuildMax, Ubuildit

Hinge Update!

A couple of days ago a large package arrived at my house. I had no idea what it was until I opened it up: a replacement door for my bathroom vanity, the one I requested the hinge for. Why they sent an entire door and not just a new hinge is beyond me. But it worked. Nice customer service!

Opossum Update

In a previous post I discussed how I planned on trapping an opossum that's been in my yard. In the four times I've set it, I've trapped only one animal: a cat (which we let go). What do I do if i get a skunk?

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Renovation Calculators

If you're thinking about undertaking a new project, you might want to give this calculator from CNN/Money a try. It estimates the future value of a given project.

Another online option is at Home Renovation Estimate, which helps you estimate the cost of a project.

Has anyone used something similar they can recommend to us? Any experience with one of those project calculators like in the photo? I'm curious about the ease of use and if it's worth the money.

Free Hinge?

One of the upgrades in my recent bathroom overhaul (which I’ll document in the future in detail) was the replacement of an old vanity with a new one. I bought it at Lowe’s. Out of the three levels of this type of vanity, it was in the middle.

Two months later, one of the hinges has already broken. Last time I was Lowe’s I asked if they could tell me where I could find the exact hinge and the helpful worker actually gave me the number of the manufacturer and said they’d send me a replacement for free. I called, and they said it’s on the way! Little things like that surprise me sometimes. I figure it saved me about $4 and more in headaches in case the hinge I would have bought turned out not to fit perfectly.

Mulch Savings

Last weekend I continued getting my backyard for the nice weather. I weeded the borders around my fence and laid down new mulch, and then I remembered how it could have cost me absolutely nothing.

My town has a recycling center where you can bring your yard refuse, which they then turn into a mulch that is free for the taking. I figure it could have saved me about $35, though it doesn't look as nice as the type I bought.

Another way to stop the incessant mulching is to use rubber mulch. It comes from recycled rubber so it's environmentally friendly, and in the long run there will be cost-savings. However, I do like the look of real mulch, and I also have a dog so I have to worry about her eating the rubber. But if it fits into your lifestyle, it's a great choice for those who want to save some money and effort every year.