New Years’ Resolutions for the Lawn and Garden

As we move into the new year, everyone is making resolutions, whether it’s quit smoking, lose weight, or other personal goals. One great place to make resolutions for 2014 is in the area of your lawn and garden. Let’s look at ten resolutions you should be making in the New Year:

10. Get in better lawn care shape: Start of by mixing a lawn resolution with a general resolution – getting in better shape will allow you to take care of lawn work faster, and with less pain and strain. Getting on that treadmill will help you move your push mower around faster, and for a longer period of time without a break.

9. Read more, learn more: This blog is a good place to start, but gaining knowledge about lawn care, lawn mower repair and maintenance, and lawn care techniques should be high on your list. Kick back in a lawn chair with a glass of iced tea and read up.

8. Take a class: Along with reading, make use of the cheap or free classes offered nearby, be it from a local college, a store, a landscaper, or even through community programs. Learning from those who work in lawn and garden care every day will provide unique insight.

7. Don’t put things off: Procrastination can kill your lawn, and it can give you plenty of headaches. Make a schedule for certain tasks and stick to it,

6. Be a little more colorful: Green should be the base color for your land, not the only color. Make sure to have plenty of splashes of color throughout your lawn and garden, it will highlight your grass even more.

5. Stop smoking: Stop your lawnmower from smoking, that is. Make sure all oil and gas lines are in good shape, flexible and not leaking.

4. Slim down: Just like losing weight is a popular resolution, look at losing weight in your shed or garage – get rid of tools you haven’t used in the last few years. Sell them at a yard sale, donate them, or offer them to neighbors.

3. Greener practices for greener lawns: Evaluate everything you do with your lawn and see where you can make changes to be more environmentally conscious. Getting a yard in tip-top shape should always be done while making the lowest possible impact on the surrounding ecosystem.

2. Improve your equipment maintenance skills: Learn more about maintaining your equipment on your own this year, to make yourself more self-sufficient. Even if it is just something as simple as learning how to sharpen your own mower blade, spending time learning to maintain your equipment is less time and money spent having someone else do it for you.

1. Own your lawn, don’t let your lawn own you: When it comes down to it, your lawn is there for your enjoyment, If you are spending more time caring for your lawn than enjoying it, you should find ways to cut down the time you are spending doing work on your lawn. This should be your most important resolution for the new year.