Frugal Mulch

I've been trying to be frugal to save money and have fun. (I believe saving money is fun.) Our yard was starting to look a little shabby and needed a new load of mulch applied. I can't afford regular bagged mulch or even a truck load of mulch. Instead I try to get free mulch in the form of tree trimmings from local tree service companies.

I was out running errands one day and spotted one of our two local tree companies. I had not met this particular company before, but I thought what do I have to lose. I stopped and asked what they did with the tree trimmings from their jobs. They said they give them away. Hooray free stuff! I asked if I could have the load they were working on. The worker said they could bring a load but didn't know when. He would ask the owner. I gave them my address and left.

I went home and told my husband what I did and left $20 for the tree workers to have lunch if they came by while I was still running errands. Yes they did say the trimmings were free. My purpose in leaving $20 was to be nice to the workers. We live in a small town and friendly gestures go a long way. I'm sure I will need more trimmings for mulch in the future and hopefully they will remember my kindness and bring them to me again. And even if they don't remember me it is always nice to do something for some one else. It is OK to be frugal, but not overly cheap.

I didn't think to take pictures of the large load they brought until after I started distributing it. As you can see below, they brought a rather large load (about five yards my husband says). What nice guys. It took two pics to capture the whole load (even after moving some to the yard.) I still have a lot and will probably share with my elderly neighbor.

1st half

2nd half 

One view of the mulched front yard.