Showerthought: My neighbor's mailbox made me realize I'm doing this whole curb thing wrong

Was out walking my dog last week and noticed the Johnson's house across the street has this beat up old mailbox with a fresh coat of red paint and some cheap flowers planted around it. Looks 10 times better than my brand new $200 black metal one sitting on a bare patch of dirt. Maybe I should stop trying to buy my way to a nice looking yard and just grab a $6 can of spray paint and some seeds from the hardware store on Elm street. Anyone else find that the simplest stuff outshines the expensive options every time?

2 comments

2 Comments

hugo_coleman2814d ago

I mean, I gotta push back on this one a little. That beat up old mailbox might look charming now but give it a year or two and that spray paint is gonna peel and those cheap flowers are going to die off if you don't know what you're doing. I've seen way too many people go the budget route and end up with a yard that just looks neglected after a season or two. The stuff you buy from a real hardware store that costs a bit more usually has a warranty and materials that actually hold up to rain and snow. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for saving money but sometimes you really do get what you pay for with outdoor stuff.

cora_jenkins14d agoTop Commenter

Haven't we all seen the opposite though? My neighbor painted her own mailbox five years ago with a rattle can from the dollar store and it still looks fine. And those cheap flowers she planted? They come back every spring without her doing a thing. Meanwhile, my other neighbor spent $80 on a fancy cedar mailbox from the hardware store and the whole thing rotted out in two years because the wood wasn't treated right. Sometimes the budget stuff is actually simpler and lasts longer because there's less to go wrong. The expensive stuff just means you paid more for the same problems eventually.