"Should we have to do work others are paid to do?" My honest answer

I’ve been chipping away at clearing an overgrown, neglected pavement over in Kelsale, on my own time, for free. Here’s a clip of one of the sessions in progress:

When I shared it, a guy called Tony left a comment that I thought was a completely fair thing to ask:

Well done those who tidy and clean up public areas that are neglected. But as tax payers, should we have to do work that others are paid to do?

It’s a good question, so here’s my honest answer.

The short answer, and the honest one

If you want the simple answer, then the answer is probably, “no we shouldn’t have to”.

However, for me personally, yes I could have the attitude of, “this is the council’s responsibility, and that’s final”.

Although, I know if I had that attitude, I would have never touched it in the first place.

The council isn’t likely to sort it any time soon

Also… I can clearly see this area hasn’t been tackled properly for what seems like a couple years, if not longer. I see the opportunity for myself to be able to do something about it.

So basically, the council isn’t likely going to do it properly anytime soon, so either we all just leave it for another 10 years, or someone in the community does it.

For me, it’s a win-win-win

There’s also another aspect to it. For me, I see it as a win-win-win.

I go out, do this stuff for free, on my time, my energy, gets me out, I contribute to the area I am planning on living around in the near future, good workout for me, and I get to create a value driven, positive social media post.

It then creates a better feel, aesthetic, easier walking or access on paths for people, area feels cared for, spreads some positivity into the world and on social media also.

Value first, the rest is a bonus

The social media post then makes some people aware that I offer gardening, and other services also, and maybe they then need my services, maybe not??

Either way, everyone wins!

I love when things can happen like this, and I also don’t want to advertise my services like I’ve done in the past, just posting constant before and after photos of the work I did. I want to provide more value to people on social media, that’s my main goal. Value first, whatever comes after that is an added bonus!