Walmart Challenge-Spring Backyard Update

I just love participating in these Walmart Challenges-they are such fun and it is so interesting to see what all the different Walmart Moms come up with! This time we were given a chance to update our backyards for spring with $150 from Walmart.

Americans just love their backyards, and we are no exception. Our garage is in the back, so hubs spends a lot of time out there with the antique cars and his motorcycles. I have my gardens in the back, the kids have their tree house and lots of space for running and playing. . . even the dog spends a lot of time back there on her chain (she wanders if not contained!)

So when it came time to do this challenge I thought it only fair to get an opinion from everyone. Well, except for the dog.

When I asked the kids what they would choose if they had $150 to spend on the back yard they immediately said they wanted a pool.  For $149 we could have picked up this 12′ x 39″ pool.  But Yankee Bill and I have always been concerned about the liability issues with a pool in our unfenced backyard.  Since we live about a block from the town pool-so we can easily head over there for a swim-so a pool isn’t exactly a necessity.

Next I asked Yankee Bill what he would purchase with $150 to improve our yard for springtime.  He swore that this Poulan Pro 18″ gas chainsaw would fit the bill-after all, he could use it to cut down all those scruffy Staghorn Sumac trees and weedy maples which would make the yard a much more pleasant place to be.

Yeah, I think that would be stretching it too.  He just wants another thing with a motor that makes a lot of noise 😉

Then I thought about what I’d like.  The cushions on our wicker set could use an update-and I could pick up this 3 Piece Outdoor Wicker Set for $56.

Then I could get 6 coordinating seat cushions for my table set at $34.11 each.

But all of that would come to a grand total of $261.10, which is $111 over my challenge amount.

And that’s when I decided that I had to get hold of myself, slow down and think.

I’m a frugal gal.  I write about saving money, being creative and living within our means.  So why when someone offers me $150 to spruce up the back yard am I so tempted to run out and buy things that I normally wouldn’t purchase just because it’s “found” money.

Nope, it was time to think about what I really NEED, not just want, for the yard.

This summer Yankee Bill will be doing a renovation to our deck.  Right now it’s just a small square off the back porch-barely big enough for a table and the grill.  He will be expanding it and bringing it around to attach to the small, currently rather useless side porch.

Really really terrible conceptual drawing of deck addition. Frugal I am, an artist I am not.

Once that project is done I will want to line the railings with flower boxes, like I’ve done on the front of the house and on the current side porch. So I picked up eight 18inch self watering window boxes ($6 each).  I love the self watering boxes. . . with 16 (well 14 with these additions) planters to water, it’s nice to only have to do it every 3 or 4 days instead of daily.

Of course a planter isn’t any good unless I have a way to mount it, so I also got 8 sets of deck brackets($5 each).  I’ll get the soil and plants when it’s time to plant them up.

At this point Yankee Bill piped up and said if he couldn’t have a chainsaw, well then we probably could use a new storage box for out on the deck-after all ours was looking pretty faded and nasty.

Those things new are pretty expensive though-and ours works fine, it just looks awful.  I headed to the paint aisle at Walmart and picked up 2 cans of Krylon Fusion for plastic, textured shimmer in a brown/bronze color ($5.47 ea) and a can of Krylon Fusion for Plastic in dark red ($4.34).

A little bit of time spraying in the backyard one afternoon and I’ve got a box that looks like new~don’t worry-I took even more photos and will be posting a tutorial soon!

Go ahead-just TRY to tell me that doesn’t look 100% better.  And for about $60 less than buying a new box!

While I was in the paint aisle I also noticed that Walmart carries Rust-oleum Textured finish-dark green ($5.57)-the perfect shade and texture to cover up some of the rust spots and fading on my patio set.

Sanding & then spot painting just the rust should take about 3 cans and make that set last several more years!  Again, much cheaper than buying a new set (even if I didn’t get to replace the serviceable but boring cushions)

All of that came to a whopping total of $120:

Self Watering Planters 8 X $6  (($48))
Brackets 8 X $5 (($40))
Krylon Fusion for plastic in dark red $4.34
Krylon Fusion for plastic, textured shimmer 2X $5.47 ((10.94))
Rust-oleum Textured finish-dark green 3X $5.57  ((16.71))

Which meant I had $30 left! I decided it was time for something that was just plain fun and picked up 8 solar lights ($4 ea) to put around my back flower bed.

That brought my total to $152-but I was happy to kick in the extra $2 instead of skimping on the lights 🙂

So what do you think?  Did I do pretty well with my $150 Walmart Challenge for sprucing up the backyard for spring?  What would YOU buy with $150?

Want to see what the other Walmart Moms did?  Check it out! ~ Freelance Homeschool Mom: Summer Outdoor Fun ~ Sophistishe: Still Sprucing Up Our Outdoor Space ~ Deal Seeking Mom: Maximizing our Living Space ~ Wholesome Mommy: Summertime is Here ~ Rockin Mama: Getting the Kids Outdoors ~ Mommy’s Kitchen: New Backyard Addition ~ Hoosier Homemade: Adding a Swing ~ Domestic Diva: Creating Outdoor Living Space ~ Classy Mommy:  Flower Power ~ My Wooden Spoon: Adding BBQ Decor ~ Consumer Queen: Spice Up Your Backyard

****This is a sponsored post****

Disclosure: This is a sponsored review I am participating in with the Walmart Moms. Walmart has provided me with compensation for this post. My participation is voluntary and opinions, as always are my own.