Fall Home Maintenance: Clearing Leaves

It's time to take care of the beautiful fall leaves around your home! All you need to do is pick an option.

When the leaves change color it is one of the most loved moments of fall. Their bright colors add so much beauty to the world. While leaves can look pretty both on the ground or on the trees - leaves can cause some issues around the home.

We suggest focusing on problem areas such as gutters, flower beds, wood surfaces and walkways for clearing leaves.

• Clearing leaves from your gutters will ensure they can drain properly in the upcoming season.
• Removing leaves from flower beds prevents animals from setting up residence close to your home. It will also allow plenty of sunlight to reach the soil so in the springtime your plants will thrive.
• Leaves can potentially stain wooden areas such as a deck or porch. It can also cause the wood to rot. Sweep them off as often as you can!
• Removing leaves from walkways is important as they can cause the area to be slick when it rains.

Clearing leaves in your yard is not a must, but it is good for the environment. However, it does help to keep the areas around your home clean and safe if you choose to pick them up.

Removing leaves is a simple process you can either use a rake, mulch them up with a lawnmower or gather them in a pile with a leaf blower. Once they are collected into a pile there are several solutions for ridding the leaves.

• Use the leaves for your compost pile
• Burn leaves (check your local area to make sure there is not an ordinance about burning leaves or if there is a burn ban)
• Bag them for trash
• See if your community has leaf pickup days

Leaf maintenance can be a year-round job, so do not stress every time a leaf blows into your yard from somewhere else. Creating a good routine will help to keep the project manageable.

For more items you need to prepare your home - check out our fall maintenance list.