5 Things You Can Do to Keep Your Yard Neat & Clean Before Selling

If you are planning on selling your home, your yard must look immaculate. A clean, spacious front yard and backyard are a high selling point for most buyers. A clean yard equals a space for children to play outside, entertaining guests, and spending some time outdoors instead of hooked up to a gadget. If you are fortunate to have a decent yard, here are five things you can do to keep it neat and clean before the buyers arrive!

Prune Your Plants

Like a trimming or haircut, pruning sloughs off the unnecessary plant parts to make your flowers, shrubs or trees appear in their prettiest condition. You will want to cut off any rotting, broken, disfigured, or unwanted branches as soon as you see them. When you should prune your plants depends on the season, but with spring approaching, it looks like it is about that time!

Pruning also helps maintain a plants’ health and keeping it at the particular size you want for your yard. If you have an out-of-control plant, this could lead to rats, birds nesting, insect infestation and an unsightly look to your yard. It is time-consuming work, but it is worth it—grab some pruning tools and get to work!

Clean Up Those Pesky Leaves

Nobody wants to see leaves covering their yard—unless you are looking to build a leaf bed to leap into. Depending on the plant life in your yard or your neighbors’ yard, leaves can pile up all year round. Heavy piles of leaves, especially if they are wet, can lead to mold and infestation. Before you grab that rake, wait until the wetness dries up and use a leaf blower instead.

If you are an environmentalist, one man’s leaf build-up is another man’s composting material! Leaves are essential for our pollinators out in the wild, but they are also great for composting. If you have a composting bin, all you have to do is throw those unsightly leaves into your bin and let nature do the rest!

Weed Your Yard

It is essential for the plant health in your yard to deal with the weeds, but you want to refrain from using a toxic herbicide. Herbicides, like the popular Round Up, are killing native bees in droves. There are organic, “pre-emergent” herbicides that you can spray before weed season (about early spring), which can prevent the growth of invasive weeds.

Depending on the weeds’ strength or how long they have been growing in your yard, you can also get on your hands and knees and pull them out by the root. The last thing a seller wants to see is your yard littered with ungainly weed growth!

Keep Your Outdoor Furniture Clean

It is easy enough to go outside with most outdoor furniture and brush the debris off your furniture with a hand broom. However, depending on how long your furniture has been left to withstand the elements, your furniture might need some TLC. You can rinse wicker down with a hose; also, you can sand down, restain or paint any peeling and chipping wood. If you have any wildlife that likes to use your outdoor couch cushions as a bed, you might want to wash the covers in the laundry.

Call An Arborist for Individual Tree Care

When would you need to call a team of certified arborists? If you have a lot of trees in your yard, the answer might be sooner than later. A certified arborists primary job is the care of trees, whether it is disease control, insect control, fruit reduction or deep root feeding. Happy trees can be a great selling point for any buyers, especially if they are adequately pruned or trimmed. An arborist can warn you if a giant tree is a health hazard or if its growth needs to be regulated before it becomes a health hazard.