For years developers have been scraping the topsoil (8-12 inches) from properties and selling it to sod farms. It's another way that land can be monetized and topsoil is a valuable commodity that contains minerals and nutrients from years of plant and animal decomposition.
Nutrient rich topsoil can make or break a lawn or home garden and if you are struggling to keep yours thriving it could be because you are planting in dirt that is deficient of topsoil.
From the developers point of view there is money to be made with topsoil but it is also not the most ideal foundation for a house to be built on. Foundations need to be poured into a solid clay foundation so topsoil needs to be removed but that doesn't mean it should be sold and carted away. It should be redistributed around the property once a home is built to help landscape and lawns grow.
By adding chemicals and overwatering lawns that will never grow we are wasting resources and burning the land. Make sure you check the PH levels of your soil and if you are considering purchasing a home from a developer ask what has happened to the topsoil.
What do you think about the practice of removing topsoil? Is your lawn or garden suffering because of this?
This was the first time we've attended the International Contemporary Furniture Fair and we found it fascinating. It's held at the Jacob Javits center in New York which is a huge tradeshow complex on the Westside.
The beautiful furniture and products on display made walking the aisle a joy and around every corner was an even more interesting product.
Our favorite piece was the CSYS LED desklamp from Jake Dyson but there were many other amazing products.
The Kohler+Jonathan Adler collaboration looks amazing and their booth was a converted steel storage container.
Outdoor foosball tables from RS Barcelona.
Architectural dog/cat house from Slade Architecture
Visit our Facebook page for more photos of ICFF.
With the cost of gym memberships rising and the time it takes to travel too and from a gym, we've been inspired to setup our own Crossfit home gym. Crossfit is a core strength and conditioning system that aims to keep workouts constantly varied, high intensity and with functional movement.
Crossfit makes a lot of sense to gym rats and athletes who become bored with traditional weight lifting and cardio exercises. Crossfit posts daily workouts on their website with benchmarks to achieve and they inject some competition into it.
It's now how much you can bench but how many burpees can you do? Crossfit gyms have some of the most traditional equipment such as barbells for power cleans and jerks but they have also introduced training with oversize tires, rings, kettle bells and ropes.
We recommend training with a qualified Crossfit instructor before attempting any exercises at home and on your own. It takes hours of practice to build the muscle memory to properly do some of the Crossfit exercises but there are some that you can probably jump right into if you are fit such as burpees.
To setup your Crossfit home gym you can do as little or as much as you want with the space and budget that you have. We started with a oversize tractor tire that can be used for plyo jumps, sledgehammer swings and tire flipping. We also use a jump rope to get warmed up as well as to push the cardio.
If you have space a pullup bar is the next logical choice and can be placed anywhere as long as you have ample space around it and make sure it's got a solid hold.
Weight sets are easy to setup but can be costly. Search Craigslist for used Olympic sized bars and weights and opt for the rubber covered weights. You should also invest in the proper flooring.
For rings you need a bit more room but they are great for training.
A sledge and weighted ropes are also great but not totally necessary to get a full workout.
Start building your gym slowly and master some of the movements and before you know it you'll have a kick ass Crossfit home gym.
photo: fitnesstown
Last year we teamed up with United Mayflower to help them spread the word about their container storage service. We're doing another Giveaway this year offering a free month of container storage as well as a $50 Gift Card to Home Depot.
You no longer have to rent a moving van and make multiple stops to a storage unit. You can now contact a service such as United Mayflower to deliver a container right to your driveway that you can simply load at your convenience.
To "Clear the Clutter", simply leave a comment below and you'll be eligible to win. If you're planning a remodel or need more room for Spring cleaning, this is the perfect storage option.
PRIZE
* Onsite container rental free for one month. This will include the delivery, one month onsite storage (your house) and pickup of the container all completely free.
* $50 Gift Card to Home Depot
HOW TO ENTER
You can enter once-per-day.
Leave a comment below saying Clear the Clutter.
GIVEAWAY DEADLINE
We will select one random winner at 12 midnight EST on Sunday, May 20nd 2012.
SPECIAL BONUS
United Mayflower is throwing in a special bonus and have setup a coupon code for $60 off your first month of container storage. Just use CHARLESANDHUDSON at check out to redeem this offer.
FINAL DETAILS
+ The winner must be within one of United Mayflowers serviced areas in order to win the container (check your zip code to see if it is serviced) and the free rental must be redeemed within one year of the giveaway end date.
+ Make sure you provide a working email in the comment form so we can contact the winner who will have 24 hours to respond to an announcement to claim the prize.
+ Upon completion of the Giveaway we will inform United Mayflower of the winner and we take no responsibility for the service or use of the this product.
+ Only residents age 18+ of the U.S. are eligible to win.
+ All rules are subject to change without notice.
+ Please review our Giveaway policy.
Free Sweepstakes
