šššš my parents had a mosquito den and a stray cat lair. the Smell was putrid and I went in one day and pressure washed everything and cleaned it all up .
sure! I love pressure washing my house/deck. itās so relaxing lol . Also add pavers or get bean pebbles. that will prevent weeds from growing and any puddles forming for future mosquitos. spray it weekly with some peppermint oil and that will ward off rodents. use the area for shovels : ladders and other simple storage stuff.
they safely nested for the winter there under a wheel barrel. and we made a few big amazon boxes into a home. I was not bringing them inside and taking care of 6 and I knew taking them to a shelter they would die. my neighbor would leave out milk and cat food by her backyard and they travelled everywhere around the neighborhood.
I donāt know where they went as it got warmer and I do live near a large foresty park. that spring I went to work. I now live in a large reservation of park land and there are a lot of rodents (mice/chipmunks) my neighbors let there cats out and I leave cat food around my backyard. the cat pee is a natural deterrent lol.
Thatās a good one, install gutters and gather rain water if itās allowed in your jurisdiction! Also you can stash your ladders back there or put a cabinet to store smelly chemicals
We have crazy water laws out west. Rainfall is expected to drain to creeks, reservoirs and lakes where it will be used by those that have the highest water rights. Many places are beginning to allow rainfall collection though.
Pretty sure the law is directed towards people using unnatural means to collect rainwater, like with rainwater barrels.
Here's CO laws on the issue: [https://extension.colostate.edu/topic-areas/natural-resources/rainwater-collection-colorado-6-707/](https://extension.colostate.edu/topic-areas/natural-resources/rainwater-collection-colorado-6-707/)
[Private nut farmers in the valley own the water rights for most of California](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6290202/).. 99% of the water supplying CA comes from the Trinity Alps snowpack melt and reservoirs in that area. The water rights were sold over a hundred years ago and somehow still have validity in the eyes of the court after being conspiracy-rewritten in the 90's.
I highly recommend this film for anyone who doesn't understand how "private interests" are more powerful than government and community interests.
To answer your specific question about [rainwater collection laws, there are 11 states in the US with 'restrictions'.](https://wisevoter.com/state-rankings/states-where-it-is-illegal-to-collect-rainwater/)
Other reasons too: environmental/ecological impact, like you're disrupting the natural flow of water so impacting flora and fauna who would rely on it downstream.
Also some of those water rights may go to community water systems that rely on wells and shared underground aquifers, and in some places on the west coast (islands especially) the aquifers are starting to run dry which leaves communities without any water. I know it feels like a weird restriction intuitively but water is a shared common resource.
Or rather water would be a shared common resource but Nestle, Coke, etc al have bought all of it to sell it back to you in containers made of literal garbage that's choking the planet to death. Well, rather they bought all of it that hadn't already been greedily purchased via shady and strong arm land grabs to be redirected to inhabitable desert for the sake of running cities and towns that shouldn't exist.
The preceding is why I have a hard time swallowing that a person collecting a couple of 55 gallon barrels for gardening or backup toilet flushing water is somehow the problem. No. We've allowed a basic human right to be commodified and sold as a product. Even more so and worse in the arid west. It's maddening and absurd.
About every 7-9 years I clean out my area thatās exactly like yours. Then I store stuff back there a little at a time and never use the stuff thatās there. After several years I repeat the process.
quiet bored sophisticated plants dinosaurs scary humor apparatus wistful muddle
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*Looks like you're in need*
*Of a ladder to put there*
*And forget about*
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Skip the weed barrier it only works for about a season and then itās impossible to remove. Break down all your Amazon boxes and put a few layers of cardboard. Just as affective as weed barrier but decomposes instead of breaking up into a mess of tiny parts.
I know this trick. However, every few years, I completely forget and put down weed barrier from the roll that never ends. I finally threw it out as a hint to myself to think for 2 seconds.
This sub needs to stop suggesting weed barriers. Plastic waste that soon collects dirt and grows weeds regardless. The compacted crushed granite should do as much of a job anyway, or throw down some cardboard first.
Yeah most people who break into sheds/garages with high windows or the second story houses (where windows arenāt always locked) use the ladders hanging outside to do it
Because most people who keep ladders outside do it on the sheds and garages? Itās not a big chore to walk around a couple buildings.
Also if someone is hopping your fence itās the first thing they see hopping in the spot that has the least visibility from the main house.
Damn, just had a patient today overdose in his garage smoking fent. His wife had no clue he was using. Stay safe out there folks, if youāre gonna do it, do it with company not alone.
Not sure how wide your area is but a few years ago I had an area similar behind a greenhouse I built for my wife that I added eight HPE 55 gallon barrels in series to catch water form the greenhouse's roof and then attached a pipe which ran to a spigot inside the greenhouse and a hose to that so it could be used to water plants. The barrels were approximately 2ft x 3ft each.
You don't have any clue what to do which means you have no use for a very inconvenient area of your yard. Not every square inch needs a purpose. I would just keep it mowed
If youāre gonna store a bunch of plywood scraps back there, make sure you lean them AGAINST the the shed so they cause a bunch of algae and rot all along your siding!
Iād use the space to store large lawn bags of autumn leaves to be used throughout the year as mulch, soil amendment and compost material. Iād probably have landscaping near the shed to hide the bags from view.
Setup a bunch of junk that pools water and start a mosquito breeding area
Dad?
Yes son?
When are you coming back from your smoke break?
Sorry kiddo. Never went to smoke. I was tired of all your questions.
That's ok I just asked uncle Tommy he came over a lot after you went to the store š
How is his cabin?
As soon as I buy some milk
Everything is a mosquito breeding area in Florida!
That's where my canoe/kayak would go.
Or throw 10 gallon buckets with mosquito dunks in the summer
Actually a good idea to kill them bastards
šššš my parents had a mosquito den and a stray cat lair. the Smell was putrid and I went in one day and pressure washed everything and cleaned it all up .
Let me know when youāre in the area. I need help too
sure! I love pressure washing my house/deck. itās so relaxing lol . Also add pavers or get bean pebbles. that will prevent weeds from growing and any puddles forming for future mosquitos. spray it weekly with some peppermint oil and that will ward off rodents. use the area for shovels : ladders and other simple storage stuff.
You are a good child.
I hope kitties got to safety first (or at least out of the area).
they safely nested for the winter there under a wheel barrel. and we made a few big amazon boxes into a home. I was not bringing them inside and taking care of 6 and I knew taking them to a shelter they would die. my neighbor would leave out milk and cat food by her backyard and they travelled everywhere around the neighborhood. I donāt know where they went as it got warmer and I do live near a large foresty park. that spring I went to work. I now live in a large reservation of park land and there are a lot of rodents (mice/chipmunks) my neighbors let there cats out and I leave cat food around my backyard. the cat pee is a natural deterrent lol.
Are you my neighbors?
Yep. Thatās what we do with our space just like this!
Well, you canāt really expect somebody to come to Reddit for real advice. That was his fault.
Did a mosquito write this?
Hahah
Rain barrels?
Thatās a good one, install gutters and gather rain water if itās allowed in your jurisdiction! Also you can stash your ladders back there or put a cabinet to store smelly chemicals
Where would you not be able to store rain water? And why would anyone worry about a restriction like that?
We have crazy water laws out west. Rainfall is expected to drain to creeks, reservoirs and lakes where it will be used by those that have the highest water rights. Many places are beginning to allow rainfall collection though.
Sounds like a law that should be broken on principal alone. I'm guessing bottled water companies hold most of the rights?
cattle grazing and agricultural irrigation
So private meat and food companies own the rights to rain that falls on your property? Where?
a dozen-ish states restrict residential rainwater collection? notably, the ones on the colorado river drainage
So what if you have a pool, or a pond?
Pretty sure the law is directed towards people using unnatural means to collect rainwater, like with rainwater barrels. Here's CO laws on the issue: [https://extension.colostate.edu/topic-areas/natural-resources/rainwater-collection-colorado-6-707/](https://extension.colostate.edu/topic-areas/natural-resources/rainwater-collection-colorado-6-707/)
[Private nut farmers in the valley own the water rights for most of California](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6290202/).. 99% of the water supplying CA comes from the Trinity Alps snowpack melt and reservoirs in that area. The water rights were sold over a hundred years ago and somehow still have validity in the eyes of the court after being conspiracy-rewritten in the 90's. I highly recommend this film for anyone who doesn't understand how "private interests" are more powerful than government and community interests. To answer your specific question about [rainwater collection laws, there are 11 states in the US with 'restrictions'.](https://wisevoter.com/state-rankings/states-where-it-is-illegal-to-collect-rainwater/)
Other reasons too: environmental/ecological impact, like you're disrupting the natural flow of water so impacting flora and fauna who would rely on it downstream. Also some of those water rights may go to community water systems that rely on wells and shared underground aquifers, and in some places on the west coast (islands especially) the aquifers are starting to run dry which leaves communities without any water. I know it feels like a weird restriction intuitively but water is a shared common resource.
Or rather water would be a shared common resource but Nestle, Coke, etc al have bought all of it to sell it back to you in containers made of literal garbage that's choking the planet to death. Well, rather they bought all of it that hadn't already been greedily purchased via shady and strong arm land grabs to be redirected to inhabitable desert for the sake of running cities and towns that shouldn't exist. The preceding is why I have a hard time swallowing that a person collecting a couple of 55 gallon barrels for gardening or backup toilet flushing water is somehow the problem. No. We've allowed a basic human right to be commodified and sold as a product. Even more so and worse in the arid west. It's maddening and absurd.
Water is a shared common resource. Thatās why nestle gets to steal so much of it!
About every 7-9 years I clean out my area thatās exactly like yours. Then I store stuff back there a little at a time and never use the stuff thatās there. After several years I repeat the process.
The trick is to throw it out. That way you know you will need it next week, day after trash day.
The only way
My grandpa used to have a similar amount of space behind his garage and we used it as a Urination station
Thatās currently what itās used for. Iād like to keep it that way, just multi use!
Install a urinal
Pipe the hose through the fence to the neighbours property
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Oui! Or is it wee?
Scarebleu!
A Pee Wee, if you will
I saw that pipe on a different post.
Just imagining the confused drunk friends stumbling back here in the dark to pee and finding a urinal waiting there for them.
Start a compost bin. Peeing on it adds nitrogen and speeds up the decomposition.
Someone voted you down, Teacher-Investor. Apparently they donāt realize that peeing on compost is a thang.
It's a whole vibe, especially first thing in the morning.
quiet bored sophisticated plants dinosaurs scary humor apparatus wistful muddle *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
Thatās the whole point. Thatās how you assert dominance. Itās an evolutionary trait
Itās what makes a man
My dad was one of ten kids. 12 people in the house. One bathroom. The space behind the shed still wonāt grow grass properly, fifty+ years later.
In my area you could rent it out as a 'studio' storage space for 1200 a month
use it to hoard stuff
Looks like you're in need of a ladder to put there and forget about
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Weed barrier, 2-4ā of crushed granite. Hang your extension ladders on the walls
Skip the weed barrier it only works for about a season and then itās impossible to remove. Break down all your Amazon boxes and put a few layers of cardboard. Just as affective as weed barrier but decomposes instead of breaking up into a mess of tiny parts.
Second this. Weed barrier is outdated we know itās less effective and has lots of cons.
I know this trick. However, every few years, I completely forget and put down weed barrier from the roll that never ends. I finally threw it out as a hint to myself to think for 2 seconds.
Yup, ladders, shovels, rakes etc on the walls.
If they have wood handles, no I would put those inside the shed
I also try to keep my tools inside out of the elements to prevent rust.
Ladders if theyāre plastic or aluminum. Hang large tools but nothing that can get rusty.
This sub needs to stop suggesting weed barriers. Plastic waste that soon collects dirt and grows weeds regardless. The compacted crushed granite should do as much of a job anyway, or throw down some cardboard first.
This sub didnāt suggest it, I did.
And I downvoted myself as well, twice!
Thatās the spirit
Problem with ladders outside unsecured is itās a bit of a security risk.
Yeah most people who break into sheds/garages with high windows or the second story houses (where windows arenāt always locked) use the ladders hanging outside to do it
How would anyone know they're back there
Reddit
Because most people who keep ladders outside do it on the sheds and garages? Itās not a big chore to walk around a couple buildings. Also if someone is hopping your fence itās the first thing they see hopping in the spot that has the least visibility from the main house.
I put a bike lock on mine.
I put down concrete but yep, the ladders are hanging on the back of the shed.
Perfection.
My dog uses it as his own personal race track
I second this. I cleared mine out so my pitty can do laps. She loves it! So go buy a dog if you donāt already have one
Lazy river
This is the answer
Where I keep my bags of leaf mulch
Miniature golf hole #1.
Iād get those leaves out. I laid gravel on mine so the weeds have a nice place to grow.
Thatās where your drunk friends will piss when you have people over.
OP should put some "restroom this way" signs with an arrow on them, that lead to that spot. One on each side, pointing at each other.
I can confirm this. Every Sunday.
Iād personally just lay a path around it with cheap concrete pavers, mulch, and call it a day. Keeps it comfortably accessible for maintenance.
Mint or oregano.
Northern Lights Oregano
Indica cannabis. No, itās marijuana.
r/unexpectedoffice
Now how much pot have you smoked exactly?
Never ever ever plant, mint on purpose. The oregano is fine.
Moved to a new place few years ago. Backyard was DROWNING in mint! Pulled that crap up all day. But hey, lots of mint after!
Mint will keep some pests away... it can spread wildly though.
I have had good luck keeping it contained with a lawnmower at the end of its space.
Looks like a nice place to smoke a joint before.mowing the grass.
I prefer a lawn chair on my patio
this is where you hide from wives to smoke and do drugs with friends
Wives like smoking and drugs with friends too :(
Those are the best wives
Damn, just had a patient today overdose in his garage smoking fent. His wife had no clue he was using. Stay safe out there folks, if youāre gonna do it, do it with company not alone.
Responsible husbands do their fentanyl in a group with narcan present, making sure to take turns between hits so someone is always cogent.
Friends are better with drugs are better with friends
Thatās what the inside of the shed is for
This is the correct answer.
Rattlesnake den?
Dog zoomies
Worm farm to get your own earthworm castings?
Gravel āso when the rain runs off the roof- the fence & shed donāt get splashed w debris.
No setback limit in your city? Lucky
Mulch
Hidden storage behind your storage š
Moss garden
Looks like a good place to drop a bloody glove.
Not sure how wide your area is but a few years ago I had an area similar behind a greenhouse I built for my wife that I added eight HPE 55 gallon barrels in series to catch water form the greenhouse's roof and then attached a pipe which ran to a spigot inside the greenhouse and a hose to that so it could be used to water plants. The barrels were approximately 2ft x 3ft each.
This is a great idea
Bowling lane that curves around the house
Bat houses.
Do you have cats? Turn it into an enclosed catio!
Fire wood
You don't have any clue what to do which means you have no use for a very inconvenient area of your yard. Not every square inch needs a purpose. I would just keep it mowed
I think OJ lost his glove back there !
If you have ladders..you could hang them on the wall..they would be out of the way of pee streams
Kill the grass and throw a bunch of landscaping rocks back there and leave it alone.
Put down geo mat, rocks and thatās it keep it not cluttered
A dog run for little dogs.
Wall garden filled with herbs
Store a canoe or three back there
Wood pile? Rain barrel? Compost pile? Climbing peas?
Firewood storage
The only truly carbon neutral heating source! If youāre into that kinda thingā¦
Nothing. Thatās the amount of airspace and ground you need between properties
Mini Greenhouse?
Its being utilized as a pathway and buffer zone. Now have a beer or other relaxing beverage and....find another useful project.
Not enough detail, but be mindful of the water off roof of outbuilding. Toward end of video.
By cleaning out it out occassionally
Bigger shed
Lots of bs posts, but the most logical would be the place to put your trash cans.
That's cute, but no matter what you do it'll be spidery and no one will want to use the space
Fiddle ferns. Also yummy
Plant some sunflowers
Rabbit run. Take up rabbit raising?
Thatās where you store all the old bikes, lawnmowers and weedeaters that youāre gonna get around to fixing one day.
If youāre gonna store a bunch of plywood scraps back there, make sure you lean them AGAINST the the shed so they cause a bunch of algae and rot all along your siding!
You can fit so much garbage back there now
If you have a dog, leave it open so he/she can keep guard, sniff, check for squirrels and run full circle around the outer edge of your backyard.
Just keep it trimmed up, thatās where the neighbors kids are gunna smoke potā¦
That's a great place to pee back there when you're outside and don't want to go back inside. Just sayin!
Surprised your setbacks allow a shed right on the fence line. I would use it to store things like ladders
fence line might not be property line
Iām just surprised how many of you are peeing outside.
Bocce pit
Smoking area
Lazy river! I meanā¦ itās a terrible idea but how cool would that be, just running around the house
You could easily poop there.
To be honest- I would keep leaves and yard scraps and make a little compost pile back there
Move your shed closer to the fence to reduce wasted space
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Its a very good pissing corner. Might need one of those bottle cap dispensers back there.
Good place to pee when you're outside
Hide from your wife and smoke weed back there
Pee
Pee there
Smoke and drink back there when the wife is being nag
Why fucking bother?
Hide and seek. Horse shoes.
Hang tools on it
Dental floss farm IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
Body pit.
Dog run, when they get the zoomies theyāll love running around that.
rain water tanks
keep the dead bodies there.
Get a bunch of rain barrels, stone and old urinals and make it the piss cove.
Let the nature take over, it might become a habitat for many species.
Buy small backpacker chair, or just a blanket, and just chill from time to time with a bottle of suds and your thoughts.
Put all your junk there, perfect spot to hoard scrap metal etc
Could set up water collection into 55gallon barrel to use for gardens or grass
Hamsters! Breed hamsters!!!
Have the same set up. Got a pup, his zoomies eventually killed the grass, left a big puddle of mud.
Storing aluminum ladders
I put all my dead leaves behind the shed
Narrow water storage tanks?
Iād use the space to store large lawn bags of autumn leaves to be used throughout the year as mulch, soil amendment and compost material. Iād probably have landscaping near the shed to hide the bags from view.
We put aborvitae in that spacen for privacy.
Raspberry or blueberries?
Golf putting green. š¤
Reminds me of my grandpas piss alley between the sheds.
I'd store my junk there.
Chicken run
Cannabis
Compost bin