When budgeting for home maintenance, your lawn is one place you don’t want to forget. You don’t need a fancy landscape or expensive bushes and trees to make your yard look good. There are plenty of ways to care for your lawn without breaking the bank. Here are the best tips to reduce your lawn care budget.
Get Dirty
A big chunk of your lawn care budget can be reduced by getting dirty. Instead of hiring someone to maintain your lawn, get out there and get it done yourself. Hiring someone to maintain your lawn can cost as much as $1,000 per season!
If you have children that are capable of performing lawn care duties, you might even consider paying them to work for you. You’ll still save money as opposed to hiring a professional, and it gives a chance for the family to get involved in lawn care too.
Herbicides and Insect Spray
Not only are herbicides bad for the environment, but they can dip into your lawn care budget slowly. Instead of using store-bought chemicals, you can make your own herbicide with everyday household products such as vinegar, salt, and dish soap.
You can also make your own insect spray to help deter pests from destroying your lawn and garden. A simple mixture of soap and water can prevent mites and other pests, while beetles can be kept at bay with cayenne pepper, garlic, and water. These mixtures are less harsh on you, your lawn, and the environment.
Freebies
Another typical expense for lawn care is mulch or dirt. While dirt is readily available everywhere, getting clean fill dirt can add to your budget unnecessarily. Some cities offer soil or mulch free of charge to residents, so check with your local municipal center to see if they have a similar program! Even if they don’t, keep an eye out in local buy, sell, trade groups, and other classified postings to see if anybody is offering free fill dirt or mulch.
Watering
When there is a shortage of rain, watering your lawn will help keep it from turning brown and dying. However, overwatering your lawn increases your water bill. Once you can figure out how often you need to water to keep your lawn alive and green, you’ll be doing your water bill and the environment a favor.
Mowing
Maintaining a proper height for your lawn will reduce your lawn care budget. Over mowing is not healthy for your yard. Not only does it waste gas and time, but keeping your lawn too short opens the doorway for weeds and makes your grass vulnerable to the elements. Unhealthy grass means more money needed to repair and maintain it.
Lawn care doesn’t have to be costly. Most jobs can be done yourself, saving you money on labor. If you’re looking to reduce your lawn care budget, be careful, how often you mow, and water. Figuring out the least amount of water needed to maintain a healthy lawn will reduce your water bill while less frequent mowing saves you money on gas and is better for your yard. Keep an eye out for free fill dirt and mulch if you’re landscaping instead of buying it. The best tip to reduce your lawn care budget is to get dirty. It may be tedious work, but you can maintain your lawn for much less than professionals.
Additional Options
Aside from overall routine lawn care, you may also want to set aside budget for any larger projects you might be interested in pursuing, such as building a retaining wall or updating your backyard lighting.