For the most part, I think the reasons given by Davidandkasie are the main reasons against mixed plantings. Different crops require different amounts of water, are planted at different times, germinate under different conditions, grow at different rates, and require different fertilization (if at all). Balancing these factors can be done, but it takes considerable planning. Theoretically, if you have problems with insects or diseases, these will be reduced in mixed plantings. I have seen this with several of my vegetables. But on the other hand, since a particular species is already spread out, if a disease still appears (say, in a bad year) then rotation to uninfected ground would be next to impossible the following year. The issue of size has been covered, but is not necessarily a problem if you consider the width of the leaf canopy for any vegetable at full growth, and plan spacing accordingly. When my garden is mature, very little bare ground is visible, but plants do not appear crowded. Taller crops need more space, due to the shade they produce... but this can be overcome (to a point) by planting them on the North side of the beds/plots, and planting the shortest crops furthest South. Plants of similar habit & culture can be mixed together as broadcast plantings. Lettuce, peas, radishes, spinach, and bok choi can be planted together in cool weather. Low-growing root crops can be planted with leaf crops, since they will mature after the leaf crops have been harvested. Bush zucchini & indeterminate tomatoes can do well adjacent to pole beans, since they are tall enough to overcome the shade. I also highly recommend planting flowers throughout the garden. This not only provides beauty, it attracts pollinators & provides a food source for the adults of some natural insect predators.

Walls. Oh, dear deity, walls. I can remember buying my first home--as a single person, I was looking at condos. My guess is that 99.999% of condos just plunk the kitchen in a corner of the living room, adding a counter/eating bar to create "separation." My agent had a hard time understanding that I wanted a kitchen that was a separate room. Open concept may be great for entertaining or if you have kids. But I am home alone a lot more than I entertain and I don't have kids. What I want is walls to contain the noise of the dishwasher and doors to keep cooking odors contained. The idea of having the kitchen in the living room and the smells and grease getting into my nice furniture is not appealing. And there's the dirty dishes issues, as expressed by lavender lass. There are mornings I don't have time to wash my cereal bowl before dashing out to work. There are days when I eat dinner and just want to collapse. So while the dishes get done promptly most days, some days they don't. And I don't want to curl up in the living room to relax and have those dirty dishes staring at me from across the room, reminding me that I'm being lazy.

Anne....Our furnace in town was under (well not clear under) but it sat in a lot of water several times...one time the water was over the fourth step coming up the stairs. So I know the fan and moter were wet. That happened more than once. And yet 27 years later when we sold the house the same furnace was still in there and still worked. The people who bought the house put in a new high efficiency furnace. Hope yours works too...but if it doesn't I hope you have enough insurance money to cover it...a new one will cost less to run. That amout they were talking about should cover most everything...that is a lot of money...but then I'm thinking for do it yourselfers....we always have done it ourselves. Good luck...and big Hugs...I'm so sorry there is so many miles between friends on cyberspace. I would loved to have helped you.....lol...I'm a basment cleaner upper pro. patti

I have been looking for such a bio window cleaner for a long time, thank you for your suggestion! Actually, I have health issues and toxic cleaning products negatively affect my health, so if I use them, my body is covered with red spots. So, I have been using natural cleaning products for several months and I feel great. As you know, some natural products cannot remove tough stains or rust, so I'm looking for a universal product that will cope with this. I hope the bio window cleaner works great. Anyway, if I want to do general cleaning, I hire a cleaning company that helps me clean the windows inside and outside the house. I have 2 large windows that I can't wash, so I'm very grateful to the staff of the cleaning company for their help. By the way, if you are nearby and looking for professional window cleaners, then you can visit this website to learn more about the best window cleaning service in that area.