Daily Record/Sunday News file photo
That’s what Stacey Burroughs found when she moved last fall to McKenzie Street in York.
“We call our little area ‘Camp McKenzie,’” Burroughs said of the neighborhood. “We have a bunch of friends that live right in the area.”
One of those friends is Amy Chamberlin, who lived just around the corner on Jackson Street. Chamberlin owned an electric mower.
“She was storing it on her tiny back porch,” Burroughs said, since she didn’t have a garage or outbuilding, when the two struck up a bargain.
In exchange for storing the mower, Burroughs could use it.
“It’s been convenient from the first moment,” Burroughs said.
Burroughs and her boyfriend, Daniel Cane, have plenty of room in their three-bay garage. Cane often headed down the alley after mowing their lawn and cut Chamberlin’s grass too, since her yard was even smaller than theirs, Burroughs said.
Chamberlin bought a home and moved to another area of York in June. Burroughs and Cane even helped her move. The pair also purchased the lawn mower, which Chamberlin won’t need at her new home.
Deep discounts
Another way neighbors can help each other is by negotiating a better price for some services. When replacing sidewalks, sealing a driveway, having trees trimmed or getting mulch delivered, check with neighbors to see if anyone else is in the market for the same job and talk to contractors about a discount.
Heidi Hormel, a resident of the Deerfield neighborhood in Hanover, says her condominium association found a company to power wash the homes.
“We get a special price because a number of people do it,” Hormel said, adding that the association has also organized a window-washing service for residents.
Share the costs
Sharing lawn equipment with your neighbors can be cost-effective.
“Every once in a while two neighbors will come in for an aerator,” said Jay Harvey, owner
of Harvey’s Rent-All, 1409 S. George St., York.
Harvey said the most common rentals for lawn and garden use are rototillers, aerators, lawn thatchers, bedding edgers and trimmers.
Sometimes, homeowners will rent a jackhammer, skid loader or trencher if they have experience with those items.
For indoor jobs, customers often need floor sanders and wallpaper steamers.
The business aims to supply a fairly expensive piece of equipment to customers who need it for just one job. Renting is more cost-effective than buying, Harvey said.
“If you’re only going to use it once a year, twice a year, it really doesn’t pay to own it,” he said, with the investment required to purchase, store and maintain an item.
He has a customer who rents a lawn mower, about once every other week. The man spends about $150 per season, Harvey said, but would rather rent than have to store and service the mower.
