Yard work. It comes in many forms, whether it be mowing the lawn, landscaping, shoveling snow, or trimming trees and bushes. It can be seasonal or throughout the year, depending on where you live (e.g. if you live in Florida, the yard will have to be mowed every week).
But there are two particular tasks that in my opinion could be phased out.
The first task is cleaning the gutters. If the gutters are not cleaned, then the yard will be flooded, as would the basement (for those people who have basements). However, getting up on a ladder or on the roof is potentially dangerous, especially for senior citizens who choose to clean the gutters themselves. Hiring someone to clean your gutters is okay. However, if you choose to do so, it is best that you hire someone who is licensed and insured. Doing so will avoid any lawsuits should they fall and get injured.
That is where an invention which has emerged in the past fifteen to twenty years comes in — gutter covers. These screen-covered contraptions can be installed on your gutters, thus eliminating for any further cleanings. You can purchase such contraptions and install them yourself, but there are some businesses who will install gutter covers, even cleaning the gutters before doing so. If you choose this option, then I would recommend shopping around in regards to the quality of the product and business that installs them, as well as the cost.
The second task (more of a seasonal task to be exact) is raking leaves. Some people do it in late fall on a weekly basis, while others wait until the end of November to do so. Either way, the task will be time-consuming, something that may not be desirable depending on how cold it gets. Plus, the leaves would have to be raked into piles and burned, raked to the edge of the sidewalk for the city to come and pick them up, or be bagged up.
So instead of spending extra hours each week or an entire day raking leaves, it is better to just mow the yard on a weekly basis until the end of November. In addition, the grass might continue to grow in November, especially if it isn’t too cold.
I would also like to provide the following tips when it comes to weed eating:
• Use the weed eater after you are done mowing. In fact, I have come up with the following plan when it comes to mowing the yard: if you can’t get it with a riding lawn mower (particularly for large yards), then use a push lawn mower, and if you can’t get it with a push lawn mower, then use the weed eater.
• Use a weed eater that doesn’t require you to lean over too much, which will be easy on your back.
• Avoid weed eating any area that is rocky or gravelly. Doing so will result in less wear and tear on the weed eater. Plus, weed eating in a gravelly area will send gravel flying everywhere, which could result in you or someone else being injured.
• Areas with multiple cracks will have weeds growing out of them. Using the weed eater is a good option. However, to avoid excessive wear and tear on the weed eater, it is best to weed eat and/or use weed killer, and then fill in the cracks.
Following all of these tips on gutters, leaves, and weed eating will save you time and trouble.
Image: Excerpted from: https://pixabay.com/en/head-success-ladder-of-success-2713347/
