at the bottom of our back deck staircase is a ~12x12 foot patch of grass that stays wet for several days after each rain. this is annoying and i was recommended by YouTube to dig holes and back fill them with rock for better drainage.

with my shovel and post hole digger i created a 1x1 foot hole, going 2+ feet deep.

a pro tip here was the piece of tarp for the dirt, which makes it easier to reset the job site afterwards. not only does it prevent dirt turning to mud, but you can easily haul away the extra (displaced) dirt from the new rock we're putting at the bottom.

i dug at least 5 of these holes, carefully cutting out a piece of grass cake for the top cap replacement later.

next i encased each hole with garden fabric and filled them ~80% full with river rock from Home Depot. this provides drainage for water while keeping the ground functional (it won't collapse when you walk on it).

and that was it. within a couple hours you'd never know this was done, but rain now has a new place to go.