*Oh, my.  My heart is actually racing a little bit right now.  I just tapped into Facebook to see what Kudzu fans have to say today, and then I saw an announcement about the Kudzu Make Your Home a Ten Instant Win Game, where someone will win $25-$100 each day, and $1000 at the end of the summer.  I have been doing so many “little things” to improve my home lately that the thought of $1,000 feels like a million bucks.  What would I do?  What would I do? Hmmmm.   You know what?  I’ve always liked those little “porticos” that protect visitors (and packages) at your front door from the rain (photo from Design NJ magazine).  It somehow seems like an extravagance to me, however.  But if I won $1000?  I could put it toward that.

* I’ve also been remembering how my dad used to put awnings over our upstairs windows in the summer, and how much cooler they kept the house–and looked.  Truth?  I’ve always wanted them, but frankly, you know where they’ve been on the priority list?  Way low, right down there with window boxes.  Maybe $1000 would cover both.  I know this photo is of a hotel, not home, but look at how well the awnings and window boxes go together.  And if your home is anything like mine, you say, “Who do you think I am, the maid?” oh, at least five times a day.

* Of course, any daydream of extra money inevitably brings me out to my garden.  I’m not going to talk about the grape arbor again.  But $1000 could get me about five really good cedar raised beds, filled with organic compost.  In Atlanta, I can grow 2 pounds per square foot annually, so that $1000 expense could yield me 320 pounds of fresh, organic produce, for a value of $1600, with price per pound computed at an average of five dollars per pound (herbs and lettuces are worth much more, zucchini and potatoes are worth less).  That’s quite a return on my investment–especially when it wasn’t my money to start with! Pictured are five beds I help grow with food pantry clients–you can see how much food can be grown in this small amount of space.  Imagine this on the side or back of your house.

* Final dream of the day?  When I first set up my home office, years ago, I saw a really cool, colorful chair that I wanted to get but it was hundreds of dollars and not all that comfortable.  Guess what?  I’ve thought of that chair for 16 years.  It’s like the one that got away.  Well, times have changed, and I’ve fallen in love with a different chair (how pathetic is that?)  It’s from a line called Transit, made from recycled mass transit signs, by an artist named Boris Bally.  Really, I love it.  It’s $1100.  I could just about get it with that $1000.

* If I want my bucks (or, rather, Kudzu’s) to go  further, I could go to Restore, which is Habitat for Humanity’s retail outlet and sells reusable and surplus building supplies and thereby raises money to build more houses for those in need.  Might be a good place to get the wood for the garden beds!

Want to win $1000 of “mad money” for no good reason other than you got chosen randomly by Kudzu?  See Kudzu sweepstakes details here.  And then use Kudzu to find local service pros who can turn your winnings into winning details around your home.