When you have a great idea that will require great effort or lots of dollars, or you have a need to change something, think again and maybe you will find a better or usefully different alternative. This was the opinion that friend K and I held after I showed her my new shelves for gardening gear and processes.

One day a few weeks ago I felt a determined need to build a garden shed, to solve my problems of storage and potting etc. On a sloping block I foresaw the need to level the ground and then create a solid base probably by pouring concrete. I researched the possibilities to the nth degree but none of the options felt quite right. Then one morning, with clarity I realised that my problem was only the lack of sufficient storage and action space and that the situation could be changed by other means – all I needed was more shelving in the cluttered area where I stored my gardening tools and products normally. Obvious, once I realised that. For the cost of a delivery fee and more dollars for two different flat pack shelves, I solved my problem. And in sorting through everything that was pushed into numerous under-the-house crevices, I discovered materials that I’d forgotten but needed and some I could now give away or turf into the rubbish bin. It was an exhilarating experience in the simplicity of the solution and the resulting order that all my gardening possessions now have. I know what I have and I can find everything!

The additional benefit is that when I host under-the-house parties, there is now another horizontal surface on which to place food and pour drinks. J

K’s story revolved around how she believed her fridge was no longer the right size for the contents she liked to keep in there. She was set to buy a new fridge. Then the idea came – remove one shelf and change the position of the remaining shelves. Problem solved. Products of heights that could not be fitted into the fridge previously with ease, now have proud standing room.

So the message is not to rush. Simply research and research then stop and mull it over. And ask yourself, is there a simpler quicker way? There probably is.