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So you have dug the mower out of the garage…. here are a few tips to make lawn care more enjoyable.

Get a new oil filter, spark plug, (air and fuel filter if required)

Remove the old blade and replace it with a gator mulching blade
Or sharpen your old blade. I use a bench grinder on the fine wheel side.

Using a hand file is a fools task and takes too long, balance the blade on a nail that is hammered sideways into a wall. As long as it's fairly close you are good.

If you have a yard that is larger than 1/4 acre, consider picking up a used 48" walk behind mower from craigs or the paper. I obtained a used zero turn belt driven Ferris mower about 9 years ago at a very reasonable price and it decimates my 1/3 acre yard in about 14 minutes! Driving tractors are slow and inefficient for most lawns. Mine also came with a steel mesh bag that is wonderful for chopping up and collecting the leaves in the fall.

Look at your yard - there are likely dandilions. Get a weed hound, some work gloves, a small trash can, and a large open ended wrench. The weed hound is much more efficient at removing the weeds than chemicals - and better for the environment. Chemical weed killers get into the sewer/storm drain system which is not eco-friendly. The weed hound has a series of nails in the bottom that grab the weed by it's roots - a quick turn and done. Use the open ended wrench to smack the top of the weed hound handle to kick the weed out of the jaws.
 (not using the wrench leads to a sore hand)
 I have found that by removing them physically before they can blossom and cast their seed - their proliferation has dwindled each year. Place the removed weeds into the trash quickly so that the buds don't scatter about. *Important: remove the dandelions before you mow, so you can spot the yellow flowers easily. Also, you won't cast about the seeds everywhere on your lawn.

When it comes to trimming - use an electric if you can or a small gas powered unit. I highly recommend replacing the stock line feeder spinning head with a Weed Warrior Pivottrim unit, it fits just about all trimmers. I also buy 100' spool of line, not the stock replacement pieces. Cut the line into 12" long segments with a sharp pair of scissors and thread them into the gator head. The rotating line holders all but eliminate line breaks due to the ingenious design. I have found this method to be the most efficient use of trimmer line and best performance. One set of strings lasts about 30 minutes or so, more if you avoid hitting the line against sharp edges.

One final note, I have used several types of gas cans in my life, the best one (for filling mowers only) is the style shown below by Blitz. Spilling gas is a big pet peeve of mine and these anti spill nozzles solve the dilemma. I even remove the nozzle and place it on a smaller blitz can with an oil/gas mix to fill up the trimmer tank - (they both have the same neck thread)

Happy Spring!

Ok, so you buckled in and got a Keurig  for the holidays. Maybe you like how convienient and fast the magical machine is at work and needed to get one for the home. Regardless, let's take a step back and evaluate the environmental impact of such a machine vs. conventional coffee maker methods. Here is a link that sums up some of the key points and counter points. http://greenanswers.com/q/177622/pollution-toxins/consumer-products/are-those-k-cups-coffee-bad-environment It looks like there are arguments for both sides, but if you are able to switch to the reusable Keurig My-Kap cups it might be the best of both worlds - 20 K-cups in the landfill each year vs. 1500 for a typical coffee addicted household. 
*Update 3/22/11 per a web comment added a mention of the Solofill Cup, Refillable K-Cup For Keurig Brewers, they are a 4 star ranked product which definitely gets my attention - and much better for the environment than other Keurig options.
In conclusion, for now I'm sticking with my home ground fair trade beans and four cup Mr. Coffee - coffee maker. Bottoms up folks.

Ever wonder where all the rain goes that falls on your roof each storm? Look in your basement, sump pump, storm drains, and other non-desirable places. Why not harvest that water in a catch basin and use it for a "sunny day"?

Some great uses include: washing your car, watering your plants, cleaning, or a variety of other outdoor uses. We don't recommend drinking that water unless you have a UV filter and significant media filtration with charcoal to make it safe to drink.

Below are some good choices to consider to get started on the right foot. If you want to go the DIY route, get the complete Rain Reserve kit and acquire your own barrel locally. 

Sun and Earth located in Conshohocken typically has a few barrels available each week for customers of their environmentally friendly products.(So long as they are using them for rain collection or other ecologically responsible projects.) 

Sun and Earth, Inc.
221 King Manor Drive
King of Prussia, PA 19406
(610) 239-9677

Of if you don't live in the area: You can find a local source of barrels here It is very likely that you will not need to hook up your regular hose the entire year!