Happy New Year from all of us here at Building EdLacer! We want to throw some ideas your way this week. With the warm San Antonio winter, in addition to taking care of indoor projects or a remodel, maybe you want to look at sprucing up your yard. You may be surprised at how elaborate and expensive an “outdoor upgrade” doesn’t have to be.
For outdoor creativity, our cardinal rule is start small if you’re not sure exactly what you want to do with your outdoor area. We have seen folks get onto the treadmill of home improvement projects – after a larger project is done, they start looking around for what else they may want to change. While we don’t discourage upgrading your home into an area that suits you well, the timing really can be everything.Your fun new rec room may seem great right now. But you haven’t had time to live in it yet. You haven’t had people in and out for weeks and months on end, to show you its true functionality. As people, we form habits around how we use our space, indoor or out. For this reason, we encourage you to take some time and enjoy your latest project and get a feel for how it works for you. You may decide it’s great, or you may want to make some small changes here and there, but there’s only one thing that will tell you for sure. Time
Start Small
Starting small with your outdoor project will eliminate the “oh no, what have we done?” feeling that comes with biting off more change than you may be able to chew. Here are a few outdoor “start small” projects that are easily expandable, now or later:
- Walkways
Mulch is a girl’s (or guy’s) best friend – simple, easy, and cost-efficient, it is fantastic for creating walkways through high-trafficked areas of the yard, or as a topping for your current path. For more definition, add some bricks to the borders of the area you’re working on.
- Flower beds
Do you already have flowers? You might consider adding some new mulch for some pizazz (and to make your flowers happy).
If you’re just starting out and aren’t sure, find out what tends to grow well here in San Antonio. Need help? We can point you in the right direction with our local master gardeners.
- Gardens
By starting small, you can play the “no-green-thumb-required” card and have a much better chance of success. A large garden can quickly become overwhelming and will cause gardening to lose all its therapeutic appeal. By carving out a small space, you can easily add some compost and soil and start your herbs or veggies.
Do Your Research
Once you have an idea of your small project, do a little research on the following: 
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- Price the mulch. If you need a lot, you can save big by buying bulk. For a small area, buying per bag will be more efficient
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- Shop around for bricks, soil, and any other materials that you might want to add to the yard
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- Look into the types of flowers, seeds, and/or herbs you might like
If you’re intimidated by the process, now is a perfect time to make a New Year’s resolution and go for it!
Whether it’s a flower bed or garden, or even if you’re just putting some mulch down, we wish you all the best as you jump in with both feet! When your seeds start sprouting, your flowers start blooming, and guests compliment you on your great new walkway, you’ll know it’s time to plan your next upgrade.