My Housing Project: What a Difference a Rake Makes
Y’all know my story. I have a yard and a house that I love-love-love, but sometimes need a little more love than I can provide.
Or so I think.
Y’all also know from my recent posts that I’m in this new mentality of “One”:
My Housing Project: Back to the Beginning was the start (no pun intended).
I followed that up with TGIF: One, being thankful for those first steps.
This week, I’ve been blessed with a new pantry shelf and a stack of pallets to get creative outside. Both are wonderful gifts from Grandpa, who does amazing cabinetry and wood-working. Just as soon as I can afford a new kitchen, guess who’s building it!
Pallets
Not a bad start to my collection, eh? Pretty soon I’ll be using those for a vertical garden, a tool storage center, a raised bed garden, and a walkway. Yes. I’m an overachiever when it comes to dreaming about my yard.
But first, I need to prep the yard. Let’s face it: I’m not laying a wooden walkway on unclean, uneven ground.
So my grand plans for the weekend didn’t go so well. There’s no walkway. No garden. No storage set up.
But there is a clean start.
Pine Needles along the Fence
The neighbor’s Pine tree continuously drops its needles wherever it can. Dot did a good job of starting the clean-up last week. It took me only ten minutes to finish up the roadside.
Roadside
Then I moved on to the driveway. Not too complicated to get from here:
Driveway Debris
to here:
Just needs a good sweep.
The worst part took me about half an hour under the low branches.
Inside Job
I raked up as much as I could. I didn’t get the rest of the yard done, but the front third is nice and clean. Yes, I know it’s dirt! But it’s clean dirt. And it’s mine. And now it’s ready to be more than dirt. It’s almost ready to be, well, a yard This Girl can be proud of.
What a Difference a Rake Makes
There’s a small pile of needles, leaves and debris in the fence corner.
Small debris pile. (BTW, check out my awesome red tennies!)
But that’s because there was no more room at the Bin.
No More Room at the Bin
This may not seem like a big project to you, but it’s the Little Things that make for a great foundation. Having minimal debris in my yard makes it easier to picture the plans in my head. The beauty is no longer competing with the brash.
I can also honestly say it was really hard for me focus on the simple task of raking. Once I was outside I envisioned how the yard will look with the tree branches trimmed, and I nearly pulled out my cutting tools. But I didn’t. Then I wanted to dig up the sprinkler system and make those necessary repairs. But I didn’t.
I stayed with the One Task. The start. The one I knew I could complete.
As soon as the trash bins are emptied this week, I’ll finish the rest of the front yard. Next week I’ll move on to the back. If all I do is rake for a month, at least I’m doing something. At least I’m taking a step toward making my yard into My Yard.
And Frankly, My Dear… that’s all she wrote!
You may also enjoy reading:
My Housing Project: 2013
There’s Hope for Bedford Manor
