This was originally posted on another blog of mine (Happy Homemaker Reviews). I consolidated them to continue to simplify my life. – Jen (04.2012)
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Or fence posts, if you prefer. We’ve come to the conclusion that if we were meant to move, we would be able to sell the house. That being said, we’ve also decided to stop living like we are leaving any second. If we are going to be in cold sunless Michigan we are going to make it enjoyable to be here. We’ve been working our way through quite a list of yard improvements.
1. A privacy fence.
We live in a city neighborhood. All houses are about 30 feet off the street. Except the one right next door. It’s 8 feet off of the ALLEY. Their front yard is our side yard. The result is that the whole neighborhood can see in our backyard. Ugh. It’s not quite all up yet, but we are loving the effect nonetheless. We did opt for the cheaper untreated fence so we need to stain it, too.
2. Play structure.
We called about a super cheap play structure on Craigslist for my in-laws house. Turns out we know the guy giving it away and he didn’t even charge us for it. Since we were sticking around and they had a lot of work to do, they decided to give it to us. We need to rebuild the ladder. It has a roof, slide, glider and two swings, like this one. I also bought a baby swing.
3. Garage.
Next spring, we plan on finally building the garage. It’s not going to be fancy. In fact, it will be the smallest 2 car possible, but it will keep the cars safe and free of snow. Since it snows 9 months a year, that’s a huge plus!
4. Sprinkler System & Landscaping.
Our next yard big ticket item is a drip irrigation system and landscaping. Right now we are just dragging around lawn sprinklers. Ugh. We thought about starting some backyard stuff early, but we need to figure out how we use the yard before we can determine the use. Then we need to get our irrigation supplies list together.
5. Other Outdoor Living
Eventually we would like to add a few other fun things. A hot tub by our bedroom would rock. A stone patio with conversation seating would be nice too–maybe with a firepit in the middle of it. Again, we need to live with the garage for a while to determine the best way to use the rest of the yard.
What would you do to keep your sanity if you felt “stuck” in your house/town?
