Why spring cleaning? Homeowners may have practiced this for so long. But the question remains about why spring is always the best time to clean. And this refers not just to your home’s interior but also to the yard. Many homeowners, however, tend to focus on the inside, leaving the outside untouched. But now’s the time to change that habit. Spring is the best time to give your yard much-needed cleanup and transformation.
Over the year, you may have accumulated all sorts of stuff in your shed, hence the need for junk removal Oxnard. Plants could’ve died or needed a bit of care. You could also have worn-out furniture that could benefit from a thorough cleaning. So many areas of your yard could use a lot of work, and there’s no better time than spring to get those elbows dirty and have some work done.
It’s a lot of hard work over the next few days, but the results will surely make you giddy to invite family and friends. Below, you’ll come across a spring yard cleanup checklist you can use. This way, you can maximize the beautiful weather, leaving no stone unturned for a new, beautiful yard space.
1. Clean Up Around Plants
The pleasant weather coming in the spring also means plants have regrown. But debris, fallen leaves, and other residues after winter can affect this regrowth as they remain stuck around the plants. They are unpleasant to look at because they are unhealthy for your plants.
You can start by raking out any dead foliage and leaves. If left to surround the plants, these can hamper growth by fostering disease onset. You should remove any fall-season plants that you haven’t had the chance to cut out yet due to the heavy snow during winter.
2. Mow The Grass
Having grass on your lawn elevates your outdoor lounging area, but this goes only so far if you regularly mow the grass. Your yard could look messy and unkempt when left to grow too long. The freezing temperatures of the past months are a good enough reason not to go out and mow your lawn, but when spring comes, it’s time to catch up.
Ideally, you’ll want to mow the grass as frequently as possible year-round. But keep the length to optimum levels so as not to cut it too short. Never cut anywhere beyond a third of the grass at any given time.
3. Prune Your Plants
Be it shrubs, bushes, or short trees, some plants have grown quite a lot in the few months since you’ve last spent time in your yard. Those still living and healthy don’t have to be cut, but you should at least take the time to prune or trim them. Start with the dead branches, as those prevent the smooth growth of plants.
When a plant has too many dead branches, those fight for sunlight and ‘attention.’ It means dead branches are hampering such instead of the healthy branches enjoying the sun and fresh air come spring. This competition makes it harder for healthier plants to get the right amount of sunlight they need to grow.
4. Remove All The Winter Mulch And Protection
Whatever mulch or layers of protection against winter you added last fall, it’s time to remove them now that the climate is good. Keeping them makes your yard unappealing, with that layer of protection currently serving no purpose in spring.
It includes burlap wraps, plant cones, windscreens, and any other type of winter protection you’ve placed. Also, don’t forget all the outdoor seasonal decorations you may have placed during fall and winter, which you could’ve also neglected. If you’re guilty of that, don’t worry, as many homeowners are. Just don’t have them lurking around now, on show, for when guests come over for spring and summer backyard gatherings.
5. Clean Walkways And Patios
The spring season is also the perfect opportunity to clean all the hardscape surfaces or your patio, driveway, and walkway. Whatever debris and leaves have settled on the walkways over the winter season, rake those out from your walkway. Then, bring out your pressure washer. If you don’t have one, call the experts who offer those services to power wash your walkway, patio, decks, driveway, and home’s exterior. Pressure washing can make your yard and entire outdoor areas shine like new again, especially considering all the dust and dirt they may have accumulated from autumn to winter.
6. Replace A Broken Wooden Fence
Wooden fences look great but don’t do well during winter. For households with wooden fences, part of your spring yard cleanup checklist entails going through your wooden fence and checking for any problem areas. Remove any rotten or damaged wood, as needed.
After replacing anything broken, it’s time to clean the whole fence well. Scrub the fence with a bleach and water solution and let it dry. If a fresh coat of paint is needed, taking this extra step is a plus, too.
7. Check The Outdoor Lighting
While this may not technically be a cleaning-related task, checking the outdoor lighting and replacing broken ones should still be on your spring yard cleaning checklist. You may never do it the rest of the year if you don’t do it now. The last thing you’d want is to panic at the last minute when you’ll have guests over for dinner, and you realize new lights have to be installed.
Your outdoor lights may have taken quite a beating during the winter. There could be broken ones that need a replacement.
Complete This Yard Cleanup Checklist This Spring
After a few months of ignoring your yard during the freezing winter, spring presents a new opportunity to refresh and bring it back to life. The pleasant weather also means families gather out in their yards more than usual. So, what better time than the opening of spring to spruce the yard up and give it that much-needed revamp? The bigger your yard, the more you’ll have to do. But the tasks are more or less the same. Avoid confusion about when and where to start using a checklist like the one above.