On my street, theres a lady by the name of Dorothy. Now, Im no spring chicken, but compared to Dorothy whose 95, Im really young. Still, thats not the only reason I like having her in my neighborhood.

In these parts, all the houses are really old; most are even older than Dorothy herself. Mine, in fact, has been around for at least 150 years and counting. Despite the fact that no one here is filthy rich, or even close to it, not one home looks like its in complete disarray or about to cave in. That has a lot to do with Dorothy.

She lives in a modest ranch by herself, having outlived two husbands and raised children who have since become parents, grandparents and great-grandparents in their own rights, going off in search of bigger cities, greener pastures. Hers isnt the biggest house or most expensive, but it sure is the tidiest of them all. How does she do it? All by herself.

And thats the catch. Its an unspoken but well-known thought lurking in the back of everyones mind: If Dorothy can keep her property in tiptop shape, theres no excuse for the rest of us. The house has a good paint job, the windows are clean, the mailbox upright, and flowers sprout from weedless gardens. The grass is perfectly coifed. She cuts it herself, regularly.

This is perfectly annoying to my sons, who used to say they werent big enough or strong enough to mow the lawn. Ha! You can probably guess what I have to say about that. If 95-year-old Dorothy can mow her lawn, you can be sure as the day is long (and youll be grounded for every minute of it if you dont do the job) that you can handle cutting the grass. My boys would hate Dorothy if it werent for the fact that she bakes chocolate cookies too and welcomes anyone into her home for a friendly visit.

With her setting the standard, this neighborhood shines. Everyone keeps paint from peeling, lawns from overgrowing and gardens free of grass shoots and dandelions. Were proud to live here.

How about you? Are you proud to be sitting in the front office of your storage facility? Does your property invite callers, inquiries for renting units? Or does it look like something on the other side of the tracks the kind of place your mother warned you against going near?

A little paint, elbow grease, a lawn mower and some flower seeds may be all you need to sparkle, sending an unwritten invitation to passersby to stop in for a visit, maybe even sign a lease. This annual maintenance and upkeep issue of ISS will give you plenty of ideas for improving the appearance of your facility, keeping it running smoothly and beautifully year round. Take your time to flip through these pages and take a lesson from my friend Dorothy. If she can do it, you probably can too.

Drew Whitney
Managing Editor
[email protected]