Just keep everything in the same spot... muscle memory kicks in and you're not fumbling around for the remote at 2am.

Wet noodles" is the perfect way to put it. My first fence project looked like a funhouse mirror because I used green posts and just shoved them straight into mud. I had to redo the whole thing after one winter, so now I'm a total convert to the gravel and cured post method.

My uncle had the same thing happen with his fence in River Forest. He told me the contractor saved money by skipping the middle posts. By the second winter, three panels had snapped at the center from the snow load. He ended up having to pour new concrete and reset the whole line.

But like, how much damage can a little extra flower food really do? Plants are tougher than we give them credit for.

My old Doc Martens took a full year to break in, but now they're perfect. Christopherjackson is right about that cardboard feeling with new boots, it's like your feet need to teach them how to walk. The good ones just get better when they stop being new.