For many young Calgary citizens, owning a house is a typical goal as they enter the workforce and start their journey into adulthood. However, this dream can quickly become a nightmare as they realize the sheer amount of work that is needed to keep their home looking good and functioning well. This can easily become compounded when you consider the amount of work that is needed to keep your yard in good condition, given that the garden is the most visible part of your property to anyone who is walking by.
A Typical Year Round Property Maintenance Checklist
Fortunately, there are some simple ways to keep on top of your yard, and even to help improve it so it requires less maintenance as the years go by. A first step is to have a quick checklist of tasks to perform each season, and the following is a jumping off place to get your started:
- Spring – the joys of spring in Calgary are almost unlimited. There’s a freshness in the air after the long cold winter months, and as the snow starts to melt, you can start to tend to your property. First and foremost, spring is the ideal time to check out your lawn, give a good mow to let all the moisture in from the spring rains, and patch up any bald spots with some quick growing seed. In your beds, you need to start prepping the soil for growth, and making sure that all your spring pruning and trimming is done ready for summer.
- Summer – in the summer, you’ll want to be able to split your time between property maintenance tasks, and actually being able to spend some leisure time in your garden (though for some people, these two are the same thing!). Make your life easy by setting up a mowing schedule so you can plan your social life around when the grass is short, and allot a set amount of time each for weeding and watering your garden beds as necessary. If you have dogs at home, you’ll also want to make sure you’re keeping on top of their waste so it doesn’t dissolve in the sun, causing toxins to seep into your soil.
- Fall – as the weather starts to cool down, you need to undertake a full fall clean up. This means removing all branches and debris from your lawn and vegetable gardens, trimming back old summer growth, and giving your grass one final mow before the snow starts to fly. You also want to pot and bring inside any plants that aren’t hardy enough to survive the Calgary snow storms, or provide protection and wraps to your more fragile trees and bushes. Finally, you’ll want to do one last full check for dog poop as there’s nothing worse than finding a pile that’s been left out all winter long.
- Winter – while the snow can make the city look beautiful, winter is often the homeowner’s least favourite season. Heating and electricity bills dramatically shoot up, and the only outdoor tasks are shovelling snow and treating your drive and walkways to avoid ice build up. Instead of complaining about these tasks, look at them as an alternative to going to the gym; it’s always amazing just how much wet snow weighs when you’re trying to clear a path to get your car out in the morning! When you’re not outside dealing with the snow and ice, use the quieter months to plan out your next garden adventures, and to make a property maintenance schedule for the rest of the year.
Getting Professional Help
As with all things to do with owning a home, there is a balance to be struck between the amount of time a task takes against the amount of time you have to enjoy the fruit of your labours. It’s clear to see that owning a home in Calgary results in a serious amount of property management, and there comes a time at which you will want to consider paying for professional help to free up your leisure time.
Here at Scoop Cut N Shovel, we have a wide variety of services that will save you time and give you a professional finish to your property at the same time. Our most popular service is our snow and ice removal package, where our team of winter cleanup experts will come to your home after every snow storm and dig you and your walkways out so you can get on with your day easily and without breaking your back. Another common option is to pay our landscaping professionals to come and analyse, plan and implement a series of projects to completely rejuvenate your garden and help you envision your outdoor space in ways that you’ve never thought of before. We also offer dog poop clean up services, a one off spring and fall cleanup as well as mowing services through the growing months.
Saving Money With A Bundle
It’s worth looking through the checklist to decide which tasks are ones that you’re willing to commit time to and which ones you want to contract out to Scoop Cut N Shovel. However, if you’re looking for the ultimate in time management, we offer a selection of packages that will save you money if you subscribe to our services. For example, you can save a considerable amount by contracting with us for snow and ice removal for the entire winter season instead of calling for help after each individual storm.
For the best savings, however, you should talk with us about our year round property management package. For one low price, you’ll get access to all of our services, from dog poop clean up to landscaping and everything in between. We’ll come to your property to give you a specific list of what needs to be done, and having an external pair of eyes on your home and garden will allow you to not only maintain the good look of your property, but we’ll help you think about how to grow and develop your investment.