How About a Little "Before/After"?

No, no, no, not the basement.  You see, it wasn't enough that our kids' toy clutter covered every surface inside our house. It had started to ooze its way outside onto our deck and patio.  Balls, buckets, shovels, water table toys, etc. 

I offer up Exhibit 1: 

We had been trying to keep them contained in this blue bin, but then it rains and the whole thing fills up with nasty dead-bug water.  Without fail, the next time the kids go outside to play, Tommy beelines for the bin, jams his little hands into the water, and splashes the dead bug juice all over himself.  That is when Tom suggested that we find something to hang on this wall that would also drain the toys:
 

Hmm, the wire container bins at TJ Maxx for $30 would be perfect except they would rust. UNLESS you gave it a good dousing of black Rustoleum spray paint.  In that case, you would have the perfect outdoor toy bin. 

Tom also hung the metal hose holder I purchased on clearance at Target last summer for $11, and we are now a clutter free deck. (mostly.)

Thought I would also throw in this photo of our driveway taken from the back deck. The stone is pretty, isn't it?  That was what we thought when we moved in too.  I still think it is pretty, but now when I am out pulling the infinity-plus-one number of weeds that grow between every stone, I think, "This driveway is pretty, and very, very, long. and wide. and fertile".  It takes at least 6 hours to weed the entire thing, so I have to do it in phases.  Usually by the time I finish the whole thing, the other side has started to grow again.  Trying not to use chemicals, but it is becoming a bear.