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Scored mulch!

March 27th, 2012 at 06:39 pm

I called the landfill this morning and asked if they had plans for the huge mountain of mulch growing there. We had a ton of tree damage from freak storms this fall and winter. They said no, you can't take from that pile, it belongs to someone else, but you can help yourself to some mulch down by the (adjacent) dog pound.

Hmp. I had never noticed another pile of much by the dog pound. Wasn't sure how much of it I would find.

So I filled my car with all the buckets I could collect from the garage, plus my recycling bin. At the landfill, there was indeed one very long and high pile of mulch, pretty clean looking, so i got to work with my shovel. When I got home, I wasn't feeling particularly energetic, but I decided to just transfer it all to my wheelbarrow and the next thing you know I'm applying the mulch, along with some newspaper underneath to two of my perennial beds. I saw that I was able to bring home two-and-a-half full wheelbarrows in one trip.

I made a second trip as well and figure I can keep returning as I move along to each bed, weeding as I go. I also used more newspaper underneath it, which I think will make this mulch even more effective.



Another view:


A creamy white variety:


And here are some with an orangey center:


Yes, I like daffodils!

Here is the really cool thing I did with an idea in Country Living magazine.



At left is what these containers looked like before: just ordinary clear glass vases, for the most part. I took some latex paint (it was free to me and picked it up just a few months ago via Craig's List) and you pour some paint INSIDE the container and swirl it around the inside only. Pour out and let drip any excess, then let dry. It's that easy. Only thing is, you can no longer use these as water-filled vases, as the water will make the paint come up. but you can use dried flowers.

I happen to LOVE LOVE LOVE this color. It's pretty close to my all-time favorite color. It reminds of me of the color of the sea. I could see my bedroom painted this color.

Anyway, back to the mulch.

I'm so tickled (!) that I was able to get this for FREE. I spent a lot of time the last few weeks trying to figure out how to get some at minimal cost, because I simply can't justify any discretionary expense these days.

Agway had a good deal on you-pick-up mulch at $40 a yard. (For several years, I had a yard of mulch delivered to my driveway at about $100 each time. What a ripoff!!!! Never a again!) The Agway deal was good, but I don't have a truck. I thought of getting my father to come up and go with me, but even though they dump it in the truck for you, you have to shovel it out yourself, and I don't want to put my father to work anymore.

I did also place myself on a waiting list with a local tree cutting place (another great idea, I thought) although it remains to be seen how long I might wait for it. I would probably still take some if they ever do call with a load, mainly becus it's delivered. I can get mulch now at the landfill, but it's a fair amount of work to shovel it into my teensy containers and then unload it when I get home.

However, my goal was to 1. Get mulch and 2. Do so at minimal cost. And I did achieve both objectives. Cus while cash is something I'm pretty short on these days, I have plenty of 1. Time and 2. Elbow grease.

I loved the whole process of creative thinking, outside the box, to get something I really needed without spending money. and you guys helped me do it.

I made my own pizza for lunch today. Boboli's pizza crust was on 1/2 price sale, so I got the whole wheat. I like their crusts, but they're ridiculously expensive...over $4, normally. That's more than an entire loaf of bread, for gosh sakes! I used an ENTIRE head of garlic, sauteed with mushrooms and onions, and piled that on top of sauce, then added
crumbled feta cheese. Yum.

Now I am kind of pooped and will hang out inside for the rest of the day.

This a.m. I was able to register to work for the 2nd year in my town's referendum as a poll worker, usually held in late April. It's a very long workday, from about 5 am to 8 pm, but I did paid $175 for it.

2 Responses to “Scored mulch!”

  1. creditcardfree Says:
    1332875739

    Free mulch and a way to earn $175! Sounds great to me. Smile

  2. FrugalTexan75 Says:
    1332899821

    Nice job on getting the free mulch!

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