Conrad Watson, the owner of Storage Plus in Massachusetts, has not only invested in environmentally friendly vehicles (three Toyota Prius hybrids), he's about to drop $45k on a solar-panel energy system at his facility. Granted, he'll save $5k per year on energy costs in the long run, and he got a $19,240 rebate from the state toward this effort, but I say Watson sets a fantastic example for the storage community in particular and the business community in general.

He says its mainly for economic reasons and because of pressure from his family, especially his daughter, who's an activist. (At least that's what he told The Daily News Tribune last week.) This is one of those ends-justify-the-means kinds of things. Or the means justify the ends? In any case, Watson's panels will generate 6,900 watts of power per hour once installed at the end of May. So whatever his personal motivation, the result is good for this company and the world at large.

Watson's enterprising drive doesn't just stop at the green depot, either. He's pushed forward with extensive add-on services at his storage site as well. The 23-year-old company offers self-storage, moving, mobile storage and records storage. It also provides pickup, inventory and delivery services.

Can you invest in environmental upgrades at your own site, getting a financial kickback from your state? Watson's rebate came via the Commonwealth Solar Energy Program offered by the Massachusetts Renewable Energy Trust. I don't know which other states offer similar programs; I'd welcome feedback from any readers with info on this. You can click on the "Leave Comment" link below or send me a message at [email protected]. I'll be happy to transmit your insights to fellow operators.

I admit I'm biased toward Canada. My mother is Canadian, and I lived on both coasts for several years.

And I'm by no means an economist, but I keep an eye on the financial activities of my second home, largely through the ubiquitous Internet. News on the Canadian money front has been more than heartening; it has been exceptionally good.

The Missoulian, a Montana newspaper, reported yesterday that the Canadian economy is booming, and its national debt represents just 30 percent of the Canadian GDP. According to the Globe and Mail out of Toronto, Canadian inflation is at a six-month low. A few days prior, the newspaper talked about the 43,000 new jobs created in Canada in February, far more than expected.

There are many reasons for Canada's recent economic strength. The country has vast natural resourcesoil, minerals, timberit has carefully husbanded. It's known for its conservation policies and has maintained natural preserves in the face of demands to allow oil and mineral extraction.

However, the country's economy is tied inextricably with that of the U.S., and there are the beginnings of some strain as the U.S. sub-prime debacle continues to take is toll. The recent parity of the Canadian dollar with the U.S. has caused some consumer concerns.

Still, overall, our Northern neighbors continue to look like a good prospect for prosperity. I have touted these findings to a few individuals in the storage industry, and some have expressed interest in the prospects of expanding north. To them, I say Canada is worth investigating by anyone looking for a little international self-storage expansion.

Yesterday, ISS Editor Amy Campbell began the blog discussion on spring and cleaning and freshening up your self-storage site. It echoed back to my weekend, in fact, when I walked around my yard to assess how it weathered the winter. With spring in the air, I am optimistically obsessing about how I can expand my gardening knowledge while beautifying my property.

The real work began at the hand of my husband and his chainsaw. Together, he and I took out a lazy, overridden patch of lilac trees. I hesitate to actually say trees though, because these were traumatized by windstorms and stunted by lack of care. We kept a few of the best and lopped off the others, leaving behind a large patch of stumps and the problem of how best to cover them.

Im new at this gardening game but enjoy learning something new, and I like this new hobby. Ive bought some used books (does anyone else love www.amazon.coms used-book affiliates more than me?) and have started to pick some potential favorite blooms.

Nothing makes a house look more like a home than flowers in a garden. Same could be true for a self-storage site. A few blossoms could spiffy up your place and create curb appeal thats never before curbed a passerby. Flowers say, Welcome! and send a message of We care.

Upon more reading, I learned my garden selections were all wrong for my zone. If you dont have any idea what your hardiness zone is, check out the National Gardening Association website and hardiness map, which will identify your regional climate and guide you to selecting plants that will survive and thrive in your area. This site offers a ton of info about gardening, providing photos, growing tips (even for urban areas), pest control, you name it.

If you have space for one, plant a garden near your entryway. If youre surrounded by gravel or pavement, consider window boxes are putting in a few garden containers, which can be very easy to care for and equally as rewarding. Visit these sites for pointers: www.containergardeningtips.com and www.container-gardens.com.

Visit your local garden center to get more info about what will flourish in the space you have to offer. Nurture your plants just a little and the rewards could be manydrawing customers to your site and possibly cultivating new business in colorful ways.

Last Thursday marked the official beginning of spring. While many in the Eastern part of the country are just beginning to thaw, those of use out West are already enjoying warmer weather. Spring days typically bring many thoughts to mind: kite flying, bright flowers, lush grass and cleaning. Yes, along with spring comes cleaning.

While year-round maintenance is always on a managers to-do list, spring is a chance to renew and refresh. After hunkering down through winter, its now time to replant the flower gardens, hose off exterior doors and windows, and replace faded signage. And dont overlook the front office. Get rid of tired and ratty-looking furniture or carpet, add a fresh coat of paint, clean those windows, and order new uniforms in spring-friendly colors like red, yellow and purple.

To help you create the best spring cleaning to-do list, check out this ISS archived article on the topic. Also, look for more on maintenance and remodeling in the July print edition of ISS.

If youd like to share your best spring-cleaning advice, hit the post a comment button or head over to Self-Storage Talk and start a new thread.