We just talked to two other families in our church who have offered surplus space to those who just lost their jobs when the fabrication plant shut down. Seems that good will has a way of catching on!

It also inspired us to go out and reorganize our shed, so that we could store things more efficiently, and get to them without disturbing other belongings.

Who knew this would turn in to a thing?

The economic downturn (I still don’t like calling it a true recession) has many of us looking for ways to be smart with our money. We actually gave some unused storage space in our backyard storage shed to our friends from church, who, because of a recent layoff situation, needed to downsize their living arrangements and needed a temprary storage fix. It helps out a family in need, and lets them keep most of their items that just don’t make sense in their new apartment.

What solutions can you think of to help others out right now?

One of the things I deal with is the amount of shoes that are in the bottom of the closet I share with my wife.  I don’t know if all women are like this but my wife has a pair of shoes for every day of the month, plus some!  It doesn’t matter how many racks I seem to buy, the shoes always outnumber the spaces.  With this in mind I have gone out to find a solution at the local hardware store and online and WOW is all I can say!

Who knew there were so many choices in shoe storage!  Before, I just bought the normal wire shoe rack, thinking that was what was out there.  Boy was I wrong!  There are shoe cases that hang on your door; shoe drawers the hang from the clothes rack and shoes storage shelves that can be put up all over the place!  It just depends on how many shoes you have to store and the space you have available to make it happen. I am now in the process of revamping our closet with shoes in mind and am looking forward to having the floor back!

Now that every time you turn on the TV you hear how lousy the economy is and how we all need to watch our spending, etc. it opens up the possibility that in your effort to save money and get a great deal; you get fleeced instead! Case in point are some of the places people turn to on the internet for trades and cheap second hand materials in order to do those repairs and renovations that you may not be able to do if paying full price.  But it is NOT a DEAL if the materials are substandard and break down.

The old saying, “it seems to be to good to be true” can be applied here.  As a buyer you must be aware of what you are buying.  If you are not versed in the product, do some research or talk to a friend who has some expertise in that area.  I am fortunate enough to know someone who has expertise in a number of kitchen and bath products, including appliances and turn to her often when purchasing a product second hand.  She has saved me from buying a product that was misrepresented online on several occasions and I recommend everyone seek out someone who has experience in that area to help you.  It will save you money in the long term!

There are a few things that grow better on rocky, sandy soils but most everything you grow in your yard or garden will do better if it has good soil to grow in.  Some things do okay if you just give them a great start and others need to have more soil attention than that.  Knowing this is the easy part; it’s the doing something about it that can be difficult.  After all, who wants to excavate their yard and bring all new topsoil in?

So here are a few tips that can at least give you some direction.  First, make sure you are reading everything you can get your hands on about the region you live in and the plants that do well in that region.  If you live in Michigan and want to grow tropical plants year round you’re going to have issues!  Secondly, if you do want to grow some things that aren’t native to your area, read about those plants and their perfect environment.  You may be able to dedicate an area or purchase a greenhouse to provide the soil, temperature and light to be able to help you grow just those things. Ultimately, you must plan well for what you intend to grow.

It’s funny, spring comes every year whether I’m ready or not.  There have been years that I have been ahead of the game and others where I have been way behind.  Unfortunately, this year I am behind!  So with this in mind I have set aside several weekend days coming up to get caught up.  Now this will be moved around if bad weather and ice continues so I can actually make some progress, but the main thing is setting time aside to get things prepared for springtime.

Even if you’re not into gardening or doing much outside, it is great to at least access anything that needs to be done so you can make arrangements to hire someone who can do it for you.  One of the things I see that gets neglected each year is cleaning out the gutters.  No one ever really wants to clean the gutters but it is something that can save you a good deal of maintance cost down the line if you do each year.  If nothing else, get one of those gutter systems that have screens over them to cut down on the maintance.  In the long term, you will be glad you did.