text by Vicki     Sign up here to join our weekly email newsletter! ​

So, you're going to either get a DIY kit or buy a trailer. That's all there is to it, right?

Wrong! There's a whole lot of stuff that you have to "know before you tow."

In this video, we break down everything we learned about what you need before you ever hitch up your new utility trailer and go. 

text by Vicki     Sign up here to join our weekly email newsletter! ​

When Steph bought her house there was a water feature in the backyard. It wasn't working at the time so she hired someone to fix it. He sort of fixed it, but it truly was never 100 percent. Plus, the electrical situation was a nightmare. The person who put in the pond didn't hire an electrician to put in proper wiring so the pond pump was powered by an extension cord that snaked across the backyard.

When I discovered THAT situation, I encouraged her not to run the pump for safety reasons.

We enjoyed the pond but over time, the rocks fell into the water and with the water no longer moving, it was a haven for mosquito breeding.

A neighbor helped with that situation by putting mosquito fish into the water. Those fish thrived in spite of the dirty mirky water!

Two factors that finally pushed Steph into removing it was 1. her second greyhound, Tosh, really wanted to get in the water and 2. grandson, Andrew, practiced rock skimming and created a hole in the liner. Overnight the water dropped a foot. It was time!

text by Vicki     Sign up here to join our weekly email newsletter! ​

It's been a year since we installed the temporary fence in Steph's backyard. Since the weather has been so nice this spring, we've been working on projects in her backyard including assessing the condition of the fence. 

When the leaves were raked away from the fence, we did find holes. We're not sure what they are from--could be wildlife, branches falling on it or just age. 

Steph researched some options for repair and this is what she thought would work best.

Be sure to watch the video to see what the dogs were up to while we were trying to work and later trying to tape this video!

text by Vicki     Sign up here to join our weekly email newsletter! ​

Steph built a trailer!

When I bought a new car three years ago, we had a hitch installed with the idea that at some point we'd buy a utility trailer to tow. That way, we could easily bring home sheets of plywood and lumber. 

Steph happened to see a folding utility trailer in her friend's garage and was instantly interested. A folding trailer would solve the storage problem associated with trailers. 

She did the research and off to Harbor Freight we went to buy the trailer and accessories.

I would suggest watching the video of the build as this tutorial will only touch on the highlights. 

text by Vicki     Sign up here to join our weekly email newsletter! ​

Steph's backyard is small and is totally shaded by large oak trees thus no grass grows back there. The ground is covered with pea gravel in lieu of grass which creates a problem when you try to rake leaves. 

Steph researched a solution and decided this Ryobi battery powered leaf vacuum/mulcher would be a good choice to deal with the leaf cleanup problem in the backyard.