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PaperclipPerfector  3mo ago (text post)   3575 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for May 19, 2024

Do you have a dumb question that you're kind of embarrassed to ask in the main thread? Is there something you're just not sure about?

This is your opportunity to ask questions. No question too simple or too silly.

Culture war topics are accepted, and proposals for a better intro post are appreciated.

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This hits home. I had a plan of entropy reduction tasks laid out this morning, but because I let my spouse sleep in 2/4 were rendered impossible before the weather came in.

Whenever I'm laying another 4,000 pounds of mulch to inhibit weeds, replacing burst pipes, cleaning leaves out of gutters, trimming hedges, all I can think about is how the western white picket fence fantasy is such a fucking racket. The previous owners of this house apparently had a landscaping team coming out twice a week which would be an unbelievably exorbitant expense.

I cannot wait to move into a house without a beautiful, feature-rich backyard. I just want carpet of grass, a patio to keep grill implements, and that's it.

That's not even getting into the inside of the house, where the tight garage means that every maintenance task requires I pull out one or both vehicles, uncrate my tools and supplies, accomplish it, and then have to put it all back. Dogs and kids and wives constantly underfoot, grabbing each tool and consumable as soon as they hit the ground to fuck around with.

If I organize any room it doesn't matter - over the next few days someone is going to come in and fuck it all up.

Jesus Christ, if I think about it too much I'll put a shotgun in my mouth. Or I'll go to a friend's pool, ignore the chaos, and drink some beers.

I'm seeing more and more 'low maintenance'* yards when I browse properties. People are sick of yard maintenance.

I finally moved into a suburban house not too long ago and my number one bugbear is lawn mowing. Its probably only about 2 hours once a month, but it is just so monotonous. I have to do it though, otherwise pests start building up in the undergrowth and it could cause problems with the neighbours.

*- Think gravel/stone yard surfacing with low maintenance 'desert/scrub' native plants and rock gardens etc. Heck its not uncommon to see fake grass in front and backyards or even just concreting everywhere.

It surprises me that we don't see more robot mowers for this exact reason. "Roomba for your lawn" seems like it should sell itself.

I guess hiring a service is still the overall cheaper move.

Whenever I'm laying another 4,000 pounds of mulch to inhibit weeds

trimming hedges

I cannot wait to move into a house without a beautiful, feature-rich backyard. I just want carpet of grass, a patio to keep grill implements, and that's it.

Why not let native plants (=weeds) to grow? Carpet of grass seems to take more effort than that.

What is wrong with trimming hedges once a year or twice a year at most?

(note: maybe you are in climate where things grow much faster than in mine? Or land is not owned by you and they rule how often you must trim hedges?)

A couple folks are suggesting "let it go". I get it! But a few things:

  1. If you lived in my neighborhood you'd be pretty reluctant to be the guy who replaced everything with a bunch of concrete padding and cut down all the trees in your yard. Standards are high - yes the boomers are at another level with their yards, but other young families are handling their shit. Mine's a bit tougher than some others unfortunately. Frankly I'm already embarrassed with how much I've let it fall off!
  2. The yard's a significant store of value. I suspect it cost 6 figures or more to get to this point - there are many places that can't host grass due to elevation changes + shade (where the mulch goes) and it's clear an expert designed the whole thing. If I let it go to seed it'll cost me some $ on sale.

I think the trick is going to be me just holding on for dear life, making more money somehow, and getting it right the next time.

Fact is that most boomers enjoy working around the house. Fixing up odds and ends and getting a perfect green lawn are hobbies not chores.

If it's not for you then by all means flatten your yard and have a concrete slab patio poured. The point of the american dream is that the land is yours, so you can do what you want with it.

Fact is that most boomers enjoy working around the house. Fixing up odds and ends and getting a perfect green lawn are hobbies not chores.

Part of this may be an age thing. I'm not sure why, but my attitude in the last few years has flipped from "ugh, housework" to "maintaining a nice home for myself and my family is worthwhile in itself." I think it's an age and maturity thing.

Yeah. Even my previous, smaller house, had a next door neighbor with a lot of "advice". Two retirees with a cumulative 100 hours a week more free time than the young couple they were advising.

I used to have a neighbor (not a Boomer, a Gen Xer) who mowed his yard a minimum of three times per week, and sometimes even daily. I’d occasionally come home and find that he’d mowed my yard for me, having apparently decided that I was letting it get a bit too long. (I think he also knew that I didn’t care for yard work, so I always appreciated his donated time and expense.)

Fact is that most boomers enjoy working around the house. Fixing up odds and ends and getting a perfect green lawn are hobbies not chores.

Or they move to Phoenix and get one of those yards with gravel and river rocks winding their way around cacti, and a community pool, and only have to work on it twice a year.

flatten your yard and have a concrete slab patio poured

Environmental permit granter: Do I smell an excessive amount of net impervious surface?

I cannot wait to move into a house without a beautiful, feature-rich backyard. I just want carpet of grass, a patio to keep grill implements, and that's it.

One think I'm very appreciative of on my land is that the lot behind me is completely undeveloped and forested, so I let the last ~40 feet of my property as it approaches the boundary of the parcel just fall to nature. It is chaos, but it is beautiful in its own way and I don't have to do hardly anything to maintain the appearance.

There's an approximately a 1200 sq foot patch of actual landscaped area that I put effort into maintaining, and even that is basically just killing weeds and pruning back errant branches, I'm not trying to win any contests, I just want a nice space to host friends on occasion.

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