Cleaning up your backyard is a serious undertaking. It can be difficult to figure out where to start, so I’ve outlined 13 simple tips to help you get your yard in order.
Once you’ve completed this process, you’ll have a clean and organized backyard that you love spending time in.
Here are 13 tips for cleaning your backyard.
1. Plan Your Yard Cleanup
Before you begin your yard cleanup, take a walk around and look at everything with new eyes. What is working well and what isn’t? What do you want to change? Write down any ideas that come to mind and make a plan for what you need to do.
2. Wear Gloves When You’re Cleaning Up
This will help prevent any nasty cuts or scrapes from happening while you work on getting everything in order.
3. Start With The Big Stuff
Get rid of what you don’t want or need. Things like old furniture, broken toys, and lawn tools that are no longer useful should go away. If they’re still in good condition, find someone who could use them or sell them at a yard sale. Otherwise, see if they can be recycled or disposed of.
4. Remove Leaves And Debris
Walk around your yard with a rake or leaf blower and remove leaves and other debris from your lawn, garden beds, walkways, and patios. Make sure to get the corners that often get overlooked too.
5. Start A Compost Pile (Or Bin)
Once you have all those leaves raked up in one place, why not start a compost pile? Composting is great because it’s free fertilizer for your garden and a wonderful way to recycle.
6. Don’t Use Harsh Chemicals Or Herbicides On Your Lawn
Many of these products contain dangerous ingredients such as formaldehyde, which can cause cancer and birth defects in children; methyl iodide (VI), which has been known to cause cancer; and methyl bromide (VI), which makes ozone depletion worse. Avoid these if you can.
7. Inspect Fences
If you have a fence, make sure it is secure and free from damage. You don’t want children or pets getting through the fence and into the street, so inspect it regularly for damage and take care of any maintenance that needs to be done. Check for rust or corrosion as well.
8. Clean Up After Pets
If you have outdoor pets, maybe you don’t clean your backyard as often as you’d like. After all, in 24 hours it could be full of dog poop again. It’s hard to keep up with pet waste, but if you do, you’re contributing to a cleaner environment by reducing the amount of waste in the yard and driveway.
9. Use A Blower
Before you start digging into your flower beds or pulling out the rake, take a few minutes to blow the leaves and debris out of them. It will make working in them easier and will help you get rid of more of the junk.
10. Keep An Eye On Sprinkler Heads
If you have sprinklers in your yard, make sure they are kept in good working order.
11. Trim Bushes
Trim back bushes that are overgrown or touching the house or other structures. If you’re not sure how much to take off, just trim 1/5 of the total growth — that way you don’t stress out the plant too much.
The best time to trim bushes, hedges, and shrubs are in the spring or late fall. You should wait until the blooming season has ended before cutting into them.
12. Keep Weeds In Check
Weeds can be an eyesore and, depending on the variety, might be dangerous for your pets and kids. If you’ve never really had a big problem with weeds, you might be able to keep them in check with spot-treating rather than a full-on chemical battle.
Pull out weeds by hand to get the roots.
13. Tackle Pest Control Issues Early
Not every pest control issue will require professional help; sometimes simply treating the problem yourself is enough. But if you’re dealing with more serious critters like raccoons or skunks, you’ll need outside help to control the problem.
When in doubt, call a professional.
Why Should You Clean Your Backyard Regularly?
There are many reasons why you should keep your backyard clean, but the most important one is that it keeps everyone in good health. A messy and dirty backyard can attract rodents and insects such as mosquitoes that carry diseases like malaria, dengue fever, yellow fever, and more.
A clean backyard helps to improve the aesthetic beauty of your home. If you’re planning to sell your property, having a clean front and backyard will help to attract potential buyers. They’ll be able to see that a lot of effort has been put into maintaining the property.
Conclusion:
So, now you know the 13 tips for cleaning your backyard. You know how to do it and why it’s important. Now all that’s left is to do it.
You can keep future maintenance easier by making sure to keep your tools organized and ready for the next time you need them.
Your backyard is one of the most common areas in your home where you will entertain visitors so it’s important to keep it looking its best.
Cleanup can be a great weekend project for yourself or with your family. Give everyone a job, play some music, and have fun!
If you want to read more DIY articles, please read my article on How to Deodorize the Cat’s Litter Box with Baking Soda.
Thank you for reading.
-Baking Soda Guy
Photo by Anders Kristensen from Pexels
