diff --git a/.scrutinizer.yml b/.scrutinizer.yml
index 52868ff..95c52fb 100644
--- a/.scrutinizer.yml
+++ b/.scrutinizer.yml
@@ -135,7 +135,7 @@ build:
 
         tests-and-coverage:
             environment:
-                php: 7.2.22
+                php: 7.4.28
                 
             dependencies:
                 before:
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 5283dda..5709306 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -39,6 +39,21 @@ php values of `true`, `false`, or `null` respectively
     * NOTE: Any value string containing 'true' with any combination of case and/or leading/trailing whitespace still returns php `true`.  
 `false` and `null` are handled similarly.  Other value strings will have leading/trailing whitespace trimmed.
 
+1. __getString__ - `public static function getString($varname, $default = null): ?string`
+
+    * searches the local environment for `$varname` and returns the corresponding trimmed value string
+    * if `$varname` is not set or the value is empty (only whitespace), `getString` returns `$default` parameter
+
+1. __getBoolean__ - `public static function getBoolean($varname, $default = null): ?bool`
+
+    * searches the local environment for `$varname` and returns the corresponding boolean value string
+    * if `$varname` is not set or the value is empty (only whitespace), `getBoolean` returns `$default` parameter
+    * if the value string corresponding to `$varname` is 'true', 'false' or 'null', `getBoolean` returns
+      php values of `true`, `false`, or `null` respectively
+    * if the value is not boolean, `getBoolean` returns `$default` parameter
+    * NOTE: Any value string containing 'true' with any combination of case and/or leading/trailing whitespace still returns php `true`.
+      `false` and `null` are handled similarly.
+
 1. __getArray__ - `public static function getArray($varname, array $default = [])`
 
     * searches the local environment for `$varname` and returns the corresponding value string with comma separated elements as a php array
diff --git a/composer.json b/composer.json
index 651f157..5ca0108 100644
--- a/composer.json
+++ b/composer.json
@@ -7,9 +7,9 @@
         "psr-4": {"Sil\\PhpEnv\\": "src/"}
     },
     "require": {
-        "php": "^7.2"
+        "php": "^7.4"
     },
     "require-dev": {
-        "phpunit/phpunit": "^8.0"
+        "phpunit/phpunit": "^9.0"
     }
 }
diff --git a/docker-compose.yml b/docker-compose.yml
index d1a512b..b66d24a 100644
--- a/docker-compose.yml
+++ b/docker-compose.yml
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 version: '2'
 services:
     test:
-        image: silintl/php7:7.2
+        image: silintl/php7:7.4
         volumes:
             - ./:/data
         working_dir: /data
diff --git a/src/Env.php b/src/Env.php
index bf7a5f8..a641baa 100644
--- a/src/Env.php
+++ b/src/Env.php
@@ -2,7 +2,6 @@
 namespace Sil\PhpEnv;
 
 use Exception;
-use Sil\PhpEnv\EnvListNotAvailableException;
 
 class Env
 {
@@ -78,7 +77,33 @@ public static function get($varname, $default = null)
         
         return $trimmedValue;
     }
-    
+
+    public static function getString(string $varName, ?string $default = null): ?string
+    {
+        $originalValue = \getenv($varName);
+        if ($originalValue === false) {
+            return $default;
+        }
+
+        $trimmedValue = \trim($originalValue);
+        if ($trimmedValue === '') {
+            return $default;
+        }
+
+        return $trimmedValue;
+    }
+
+
+    public static function getBoolean(string $varName, ?bool $default = null): ?bool
+    {
+        $value = self::get($varName, $default);
+        if (is_bool($value)) {
+            return $value;
+        } else {
+            return $default;
+        }
+    }
+
     /**
      * 
      * @param string $varname