Did you check if that slower pace changes your filler rod angle too?

so what happens when that $15 putty knife finally snaps on you mid-project, do you actually stop and go get the good one or just keep the cycle going? the real question is whether youre counting the time spent going back to the store plus the frustration, not just the dollars on the receipt. i mean i had a cheap level that was slightly off and it messed up a whole cabinet install, so cheap stuff can cost you more than money sometimes.

And that whole "feed the soil, not the plant" thing really clicked for me too after a couple seasons. I noticed my flower beds just looked happier, like the blooms lasted longer and the colors were deeper, even though I was using way less stuff on them. The soil itself got softer and darker, and I started seeing earthworms everywhere, which felt like a good sign. I still keep a little bag of synthetic around for my picky container plants, but the beds that get compost basically run themselves now. One thing that surprised me was how the compost pile actually cut down on my trash, so it feels like a win on both ends. Just give it time, your first batch might be clumpy and weird, but by next year you'll be hooked.