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OUTDOOR MAINTENANCE MONEY SAVING TIPS
Lawn and garden tasks are enjoyed by many and dreaded by others. But, unless you are building a showplace garden, taking care of your lawn and shrubbery can be relatively easy , and does not need to be an expensive endeavor. Consider the following tips to make your landscaping look nice, at an affordable cost.
1. Lawn mowing and trimming chores can be minimized and your lawn still look nice, without hiring that expensive lawn service.
a. When deciding what kind of lawn mower to purchase, ensure it has the following
three features to minimize the time required to mow your lawn. First, buy a self-
b. Consider getting a dual-
c. Also consider getting a dual-
d. Sharing mowers and other expensive lawn equipment with neighbors can be a great way to save. Yard equipment is unused most of the time, and with a little coordination sharing can be easily scheduled.
e. But if doing lawn work is just not for you, save a lot by finding a local teenager to do take care of the lawn. They will no doubt be far less expensive than a lawn service.
2. Taking care of your shrubs and landscape beds can also de done with a minimum amount of effort, and very little cost.
a. Pruning shrubs is just not that difficult or time consuming, as long as you do it once or twice a year (depending on your climate). Make it easy by using manual pruning shears instead of an electric hedge trimmer (unless you have very large and lengthy hedges). Electric hedge trimmers tend to be dangerous to operate, and really do not save much time or effort for the average homeowner. If you stay on top of shrubbery trimming, the job will never be that large or take that long.
b. Weeding beds also does not have to be a chore. If beds are properly mulched, weeds will be minimized. If you really want to make an investment in weed control, consider putting landscape fabric down on your beds before you mulch. But if plucking weeds by hand becomes a large and continuous chore, simply spray the weeds carefully with weed killer to minimize effort. But be careful to not get the weed killer on your plants.
c. Whenever your beds need mulching, either for weed control or simply for looks, just buy and spread some mulch an inch or two deep. But if you have large bed areas and require a lot of mulch, do not buy mulch in bags. There will be one or more companies in your area that sell all different types of mulch in bulk and deliver it by truck. Just measure the square footage of the areas you want to mulch and the depth you want to apply the mulch (usually about 2 inches) and figure out how many square yards of mulch you need. Just have the company dump the mulch in an area that will allow you to take your time to place it in your beds. It’s a bit of work, but your beds will look great and you will save some money. To save even further, join with one or more neighbors to buy mulch at the same time and save on delivery fees. Some mulch companies even have trucks that can deliver different quantities to different homes at the same time, so splitting up the pile of mulch with the neighbors is not a problem.
3. Fertilization, bug and weed control is perhaps the easiest lawn and garden chore, and takes very little time. The fertilizers and other chemicals for both lawn and shrubs are not real expensive, and are easy to apply. Doing it your self ensures that it will be done right and will save you several hundred dollars a year, compared to hiring a lawn care company to fertilize and chemically treat your lawn and shrubs.
OUTDOOR MAINTENANCE
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