Guest post written by Maya Weber
Have you been putting your backyard cleanup on the back burner? In a world strapped for time this can be quite time-consuming. Let us help you hack the system with these helpful tips to save you time and money.
Be Equipped
No use in even starting if you haven’t got the right tools. Ensure that you have gardening gloves, big trash bags, clippers, shears, fertilizer and sunscreen. Also check if your tools and equipment are in a good working condition (especially if you’ve been procrastinating at the task at hand). If you’re not equipped, you won’t be very productive.
Have a Strategy
The only way to climb Everest is step-by-step and breathe-by-breathe. It’s usually a good strategy to work your way down. Start with trimming leaves and shearing hedges. The lawn will only be filled with leaves and clippings and the lawn will need cleaning up AGAIN. It also helps to make a list of all the chores, and checking them off as you go.
The Water Works
It’s time to drain and clean those fountains and hoses. This is especially important when winter is around the corner. Any frost will damage any electrical parts and the cold damages hoses.
Weeding out the Weeds
This is usually the part we all look forward to the least. So, let us teach a little trick of the weeding trade (literally). Get your kids to do it for you by offering some sort of incentive. A dollar for every bag seems to be a fair.
Check your Deck
Decks and any other forms of paving in the backyard needs constant cleaning. Especially due to mildew forming in the cracks. These are hard to get out. It may seem like you are always washing and scrubbing, but to no avail. This is a simple tip that will save you a lot of time: use a power washer. If you don’t own one yourself, you can rent one for the day. And the best news? You’ll only need to do this once a year!
Let Nothing go to Waste
There are rubbish and waste you cannot dispose of yourself. Well, to a certain extent. Check the waste collection schedule for your area, and ensure that all your rubbish is binned up and waiting for them on the curb to collect. They will know exactly which trash to take where – whether to the local landfill or to be recycled.
Mow it the Right Way
When you mow your lawn, ensure that you cut the grass a little shorter than normal. Not only is this extremely good for your lawn, allowing your grass to get as much oxygen as possible, but it will also take a longer time before you have to do it again.
Save those Perennial Pennies
If you have Perennials in your garden, you should cut them back and divide them around the rest of the garden. This will save you time and money in spring time.
Remove any Dead Plants
Decaying flowers and leaves do wonders for garden soil. Remove any dead plants and use them as fertilizer. That way you have a beautiful (and lively) garden, but also save on having to purchase fertilizer.
Need a Little Help Planting?
Put up some bird-feeders. Birds are fantastic gardeners since they spread seeds…and in their own fertilizer no less.
Get Someone Else to do the Dirty Work
Let’s face it; we all have our own set of specific skills…and gardening tools. If you are really not up to the task or simply don’t have the time, it’s worth getting a pro. And some of these won’t charge you an arm and a leg either. In fact, you’ll find that some of these can be Dirt Cheap Rubbish Removal.
Job Well Done
Congratulations! The yard looks great! But you’re not done quite yet. You still need to tidy up all the tools and equipment and store them in the shed. Before storing them away, you’ll need to do some prep work in order to save you time the next time around. Make sure you run all the gas out of the lawnmower, grease tools and wipe down furniture to prevent mold and mildew (making the job that much harder next time).