When I Take Up the Lawnmower in an Effort to Stem My Crunching Credit
So now the credit crunch has hit I think it's time to tighten my belt, or tool belt should I say? The mortgage payments have increased and I am thinking about different ways that I can save money around the house. I used to think nothing of paying for a gardener so I didn't have to schlep the lawnmower up and down the slopping garden with my dodgy back. Now it looks like I'm going to have to get the gloves on and do my own weeding!
I have made a list of all the things that need doing and the things I will need to do them. Of course, buying the tools will cost money but surely not as much as it costs me to pay someone else to do the dirty work, not with the price that my odd job man has started charging.
So far I have come to the conclusion that I need a small hedge trimmer to keep the encroaching bushes at bay. They are already starting to explore into the patio area and are in danger of capturing my beloved barbecue and holding it to ransom. Next on the list is a cordless string Strimmer® to get under the distressed wooden benches that my wife bought from France last year. We had to bang them right into the ground to avoid the wind toppling them over in the storms last winter and now I can't get them out.
Then last but not least I am going to invest in a lawnmower. I am not a fan of slugs and snails so I am reluctant to grow a sanctuary to for them to hide in. My medium sized lawn (medium sized for a cul-de-sac in Dorset) is also a rather odd shape. There are lots of twists and turns with a slight slope so I need something that isn't too heavy and easily portable. I am also not the tallest of men, so it will have to be something with adjustable handle bars as I don't much fancy unavoidably exposing my sweaty armpits as I mow my lawn.
I realised that with all the things that I was planning to buy, my original plan of saving money was slowly losing its credibility. The rising price of petrol was going to cut into my savings with all the trips I was going to have to make with my little car to the out of town garden centre. I pondered for a good while about whether it was all worth it. I could already smell the tang of freshly strimmed branches and could almost feel the satisfying slice of grass between the blades of my intended garden trimmers. Then it hit me, eureka! Why didn't I think of it earlier? In 2008 I can order exactly what I want on the internet. I can buy as much as I want and someone else can use their petrol getting it delivered right to my front door. It is 2008 for goodness sake and here I was preparing to get into my car and actually traipse around aisles looking for what I wanted before I proceeded to lug it round on a clumsy metal trolley. Then I was going to attempt to get it into my boot/through my sun roof/onto my roof rack/through the passenger door before I chauffeured it home only to repeat the whole process. Was I insane?
I settled down in front of my computer with a cup of mint tea and with a few clicks I had purchased in its entirety, the rest of my essential gardening list...and a chainsaw. Ok I know I didn't need the last thing but my rotting apple tree has been blocking the afternoon sun from my bedroom for a while now. Anyway with all the money I am saving in petrol, the only thing that's going to get crunched here is the tree and possibly (not that I want to think about it) my poor back.
Black and Decker make Garden Tools, including the Strimmer
About the Author
Black and Decker make Garden Tools, including the Strimmer
Your can use this article in your website but you must keep all the links in it.
by: David Rowtree
Date: Aug 11th 2008 | Words: 682 | Viewed: 2 times | Rating: Not yet rated
Login to vote
