I am a big fan of DIY. I usually like to make used available resources surrounding my home to beautify the compound.

As supported to minimalist lifestyle, I like to incorporate this in my way of making things better at my home.

In this blog I will be writing about my small project in beautify home with zero cost.

Creating Garden Edging

On the morning of first day of DIY, I entered my little wood located at the end of my land.

The weather is cool here with lots of trees and birds chirping.

I was searching for granite stone in the wood.

The granite stone was a remnant of a contractor building a drain wall.

When the work completed 25 years ago, the contractor put the stones on the end of my land.

With a glance, I manage to identify the stone edge and I dug the soil to take it out.

I only choose the genuine granite stone and put it in the basket.  Then, walk back to my garden.

I arranged the stone to make a garden edging as the boundary between the entrance of my kitchen door and the rest of the garden.   

The contractor who builds the base for the outdoor kitchen put small pebbles at the entrance.

The small pebbles look nice but without the garden edging, the space has no shape and scattered.

So, I put the stone from my little wood and arranged it to suit the shape.

Each shape of the genuine granite stone is different, but I line the stone with end to end whichever is fit.

The treated area looks pristine with the line-up of the native stone from the little wood.

Lay a steppingstone

My work does not stop there.

I do not plan how many days I work on it; I follow my idea of what comes on every new day.

On the second day, I want to do the steppingstone to the entrance of the kitchen from my house.

I searched on the internet how to do it and which stone can be used. I decided to use a slate stone slab.

You see, I keep the leftover slate stone slab for my house garage.  I have piled it at the back of my kitchen for the past 22 years.

This wonderful slate stone surely adds a marvellous appearance for the steppingstone until the edge in front of the outdoor kitchen.

I also have two paving stones that I can put between the slate stones as design.

How I do steppingstone

I start digging the soil according to the shape of the stone which is about six centimetres in depth. This is for the paving stone size.

I pour the small pebbles, flatten it and pour the sand on top of it. Flatten it once again and put the paving stone on top of it.

Next, repeat the same method for slate stone.

The depth is four centimetres as the slate stone is smaller than the paving stone.

I give space 15 centimetres in between the stones.

It took me three days to complete as I only afford to work a maximum of four hour per day. It is tiring and hard work.

After garden edging and stepping stone works were done, I found an aloe vera plant in the wood and planted it to beautify the area.

I do not have to plant grass as it is already there.

The reasons to do DIY

In the beginning, I want to use leftover building materials that have been kept for so long. When using this usable material, I am satisfied that I can decluttered my house.

Another thing, I want to do it my own way by not buying new things which are costly to my budget. By using available materials around my compound, it saves me a lot.

As I am retired, I have more free time, thus it is better for me to utilise efficiently.

Therefore, I prefer to do the work by myself.

These activities train my physical and brain by doing landscaping on my own.

The work improves my fitness.

Overall, I am satisfied doing the landscaping to beautify my compound without spending extra money. It is a zero-cost project with hard work.