With the changing seasons, fall leaves and sticks often end up clogging up your yard. Of course, like most homeowners, sweeping around your outdoor condenser unit and yard maintenance becomes a weekly chore, but you can do more with those leaves than tossing them in the trash.
Rake up Your Leaves
Raking can be a pain, but here are a few tips to help you rake up those pesky Fall leaves faster:
- Rake from the bottom up, just like the pros do! This way, you won’t have to bend over as much and can sweep leaves directly into your bag or pile.
- Rake in sections and then sweep them together into one big pile for easy dumping into a trash bag or leaf shredder on your lawn tractor. This will also give you less work by not having to rake every single leaf into place before dumping them out of the way temporarily.
- Don’t get stuck on any one section of your lawn! Ensure all areas are covered because any unraked area will be difficult to reach later when raking is complete because you’ll have piles everywhere!
- Don’t worry about “perfect” piles of leaves — they don’t exist anyway! Just place them where they’ll fit best.
- Carry out HVAC maintenance. Don’t forget to clear Fall leaves from around your outdoor condenser unit. Leaves can block airflow, impede cooling and cause damage to your equipment so clear the space regularly.
Compost the Leaves
The leaves that fall from your trees, bushes, and flowers can produce great compost. Composting is a way to turn organic materials into rich soil. Leaves are very high in nutrients, so they are an excellent starting point.
When spring arrives, turn the pile over with a pitchfork or shovel to mix everything together again and expose new surfaces for decomposition.
Make Leaf Mold
You can use fallen leaves for leaf mold year-round, but it’s best to collect them during the fall so they can have time to break down before spring planting season.
Mulch Those Leaves
Mulch is a layer of organic material that’s placed on the soil surface around plants. Use your leaves as a weed barrier. Lay down sheets or strips of leaves over bare soil to keep weeds out. The leaves will eventually decompose and create a layer of organic material on top of the soil that helps keep it moist and holds nutrients in place.
Mow Leaves into the Lawn
Mowing leaves back into your lawn is a great way to nourish your lawn, save money and reduce waste. The act of mowing helps break down the leaf matter, which releases its nutrients back into the soil, where they can be absorbed by your grass.
Using this method, you’ll spend less on fertilizing your lawn because it’ll naturally get its nutrients from the leaves. And even better, you’ll spend less time raking up those pesky leaves – more time to drink hot chocolate by the fire.
Create Leaf Art
One way to get rid of some of those old leaves is by turning them into leaf art. The best part? It only takes a few minutes! Here are a couple of easy ways to create beautiful leaf art pieces with the kids –
- Leaf shapes – Cut out simple shapes with scissors and glue them onto paper, then use markers or paint pens to color them. You could also cut out more complicated shapes if you like, but simpler designs tend to be easier on young children’s hands and minds.
- Leaf collages – Take a bunch of different kinds of leaves from your yard, along with any other materials you want (such as colored paper). Arrange them on a cardboard or poster board in whatever design looks best.
- Leaf Mosaics – If you want something more colorful than plain prints, try making mosaics out of leaves instead! Simply cut out different shapes from different colored leaves and glue them together. The leaves form beautiful mosaics you can hang on your wall or keep in an album as keepsakes.
Keep your Southern Californian home’s HVAC furnace system in peak working order this fall by scheduling HVAC maintenance. Contact the Adeedo experts to get your furnace in peak working order before the chill of winter arrives.
