[Bargain Junkie]

I live in Los Angeles, where water is scarce and costly. My plants were looking thirsty, and I was advised to put down a three-inch layer of bark mulch to help retain moisture. I have a very large front yard and a smallish back yard, so we’re talking mucho mulch. One bag at the nursery is about six bucks and I needed about 30 bags.

I went on Craig’s List and looked for freebies. Several tree services would deliver, but you had to take an entire truckload. This seemed risky. I had a nightmarish vision of getting a huge mountain of pine chips dumped on my front yard which I would never be able to use. Then I noticed another ad from a private person which said “A tree service dumped a huge mountain of pine chips on my front yard. I will never be able to use it all. Come and take as much as you want.” Perfecto!

We filled our station wagon twice – which barely made a dent in the poor girl’s mountain – and our formerly parched garden is now thriving. What a deal!
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