Tips For Preparing Your Garden For Winter

Whether you have a large garden or a small one, there are still things that you need to do to prepare for when winter is on its way.

You do not have to be an expert gardener to make your garden ready for the cold and make sure that it is in the best condition possible for the spring the following year.  But it isn't just about your garden, you need to take care of your equipment too.

Do a Pre Spring Clean

After months of mowing your lawn with grass getting clogged up every time, don't just store your lawn mower in the corner of the garage for months on end.  Give it a good clean, clean out the grass and soil and if you have an older mower, maybe get a service done so that it is in perfect working order when you come to use it again.

Clean up your shears, forks and spades.  Make sure that everything is dried properly and oil the metals parts so that you are not greeted with rust in spring.

Use the Leafs Pro Actively

Where we live we are surrounded by trees, not only close around the property but also with large trees across the road when seem to shed their leaves and deposit them all over our garden, paths and patio.

Cleaning them up is such a chore (especially when they aren't even your trees!!) and then there is the question of where to put them.  Your gardening bin can be filled within a couple of days.  But there is an answer.

After doing some reading last year, I found out that leaf mould is a great way to give structure and organic matter to your soil which will in turn help your plants to grow again in the spring.  All you need to do is find a corner and create an open bin using mesh and a few wood posts.  Shred down the leaves a little, put in your bin, pour water over them and then use leave them.

Once the leaves get mulchy (technical term!) and crumbly, you can then cover your soil and borders.  This is a long time process that can take a couple of years to complete but it gives you somewhere to put your leaves and will benefit your garden in the long run.

Cold Protection

Protecting the plants outside that are in pots is easy.  Simply wrap the pots in sacking and tie up the leaves.

Check out the wooden elements of your garden such as gates, fence posts etc and see if anything needs repair or replacing before the snow, ice and gales hit.  Wooden can degrade quickly if not properly protected and you don't want to have to start fixing things like garden gates and doors in the depths of winter.

Cut back any trees with overhanging branches to enable them to properly grow again in the warmer months and whatever you do, stay off your lawn once the weather turns wet and icy.  The footprints and mess that you mess will still be there in spring and will a mess.  Trust me.

Hire a Gardener

If you are not green fingered or are not sure how to properly protect your garden in winter, hire a gardener  They will be able to tell you what plants you can use during the cold, what plants to put away, what plants to leave and also give your garden a good clean up and tidy so that you are in a great place when the lovely days of spring arrive.

We pay someone to come for 2-3 hours just when autumn arrives so that we are in the best time for making any changes and doing what needs to be done.  

If in doubt, hire an expert!!

The Unspoken Rules of Giving Gifts

As the most festive time of year is inching ever closer, the mind immediately wanders towards gift giving: what to buy your friends and family, and more often than not, the gifts you yourself would like to receive too. There are some unspoken rules when it comes to buying presents for your nearest and dearest, though – and can even cause anxiety – is your present expensive or sentimental enough? Should you have just stuck to joke gifts? Who are you expected to buy a gift for?

Gift Giving Rules to Live By

Why is it that these rules never discussed? It would make life so much easier, don’t you think?

We have all been there – having bought someone a gift card last minute and then receiving an incredible gift that you adore in return. Avoidthe awkwardness and create some hard and fast rules to live by, for Christmas, Easter and beyond!

• If you know someone is buying you a gift, be prepared and make it reciprocal
• Set a cost limit for gifts – either with the individual or as a blanket across the board so that you don’t get blindsided
• Be consistent with the people you buy gifts for, year in year out

By making the most of gift-giving etiquette and these rules for buying presents for your loved ones, you can easily avoid any awkwardness and potential conflict. And we can all agree that this will only ever be a good thing!

Finding a Suitable Gift

Knowing how to find the right gift is something that many people struggle with, but it doesn’t have to be. You just need to know where to start.

Firstly, do some research. Have a look through their social media – what have they been talking about, or is there something they are excited about but haven’t bought already. Instagram and Pinterest – and even Amazon wish lists –are a great starting point.

Make a list of all the things you know and love about your loved ones and use this to help when looking for inspiration. It doesn’t even have to be a gift, organising something you can do together is also a great way of spending some quality time together.

Finally, make it personal – while buying something the person wants or needs is a great start, be sure to add a personal touch. Does your loved one love cheese boards? Put together some of your favourite cheeses and crackers for example.

It’s cliché for a reason, but being prepared in this way can really make gift giving an easy task, and you will go down in history as someone who gives the most thoughtful and generous gifts – and that’s never going to be a bad thing!

Alternative Ideas

These days, knowing what to buy as a gift in itself can be difficult. You always run the risk that you end up buying something they already own or buying something they simply won’t ever use. A great alternative to getting around this is to opt for something less physical; perhaps a donation to a charity or sponsoring an animal, a gift with real value to the recipient. These kinds of gift are so easy to organise and really demonstrate how well you know your friend or family member, and always go down well.

With just a little bit of planning and forethought you can be the gift giving queen or king that you were always destined to be. Follow the rules and you can’t go wrong. It is always worth remembering, though: Christmas is but one day of the year. Don’t get yourself into debt for this one day, your family and friends really will understand if you can’t afford it this year, and more importantly, they will still love you on Boxing Day!

Top Tips When Moving Home

When I walk my dog at the weekend my steps always seem to take us past my childhood home.  I lived there from birth to the age of 16 and I have many wonderful memories of living there.  

The garden where I spent many an hour on the swing.  The sitting room where we all used to vie for our favourite seat on the couch (I never seemed to win).   The built in wardrobe and shelves in my bedroom that my dad built for me.  The cherry blossom tree from next door that used to tap on my window on stormy days and that I used to spend hours sitting on the large window ledge staring at (think gloomy teenage years!).

I was utterly distraught when we moved from that house and despite moving since, it is and will always be, my favourite house in the world.

Each time you move house you learn something different about how to do it better.  Can arranging a house move be anything less than stressful?  Well yes, it can, but it takes planning and forethought.

Declutter

When you decide that it is time to move house, the first thing that you should do, before you start looking for a new home, is declutter.  Be ruthless and go through everything.  From clothes that you haven't worn for the past ten years to the five whisks in your kitchen that you have accumulated (yes even that one you've had since 1994 that is somehow sentimental but belongs in a museum).

The longer you live in a house, the more that you will accumulate.  

This will not only help with the packing process but when it comes to the time when you sell your house, a decluttered, tidy home will sell faster and hopefully, for a better price when the buyer can see what they are actually buying.

Save the Memories

This isn't a tip for moving home, it is preserving memories.  Be ruthless in your declutter, but save your photographs.  All of them.  The silly ones, the old ones, the ones with your family where you hate the way that you look.

5, 10, 25 years down the line, you will miss them.  Put them in a box for attic storage in the new house.  Your future you, will thank you.

Removals

Order your removal company ahead of time.  Get as many removal quotes as you can and get recommendations.  Everyone you know will have moved home at some point and everyone has a different experience.  You want a good price with a recommended firm that won't break your valuables and won't take all day with the removal.

Notify Everyone

Sounds obvious doesn't it?  Which it is, albeit very, very time consuming.  But we live in 2018 now, not 1960.  Embrace the power of the internet and use a website like I Am Moving where you can put your details in and notify all the companies you use.  Utilities, credit cards, internet shopping providers like Amazon, subscriptions and insurance.

Create a Fact File & Ask For The Same

Pay it forward by creating a fact file for the buyers of your home.  Things like reliable trades people, who your utilities are with and when you last changed them, what make your boiler is, the best local takeaway, when the rubbish is collected; where the best place is to walk your dog nearby and most importantly, which is the best local pub.

Have a conversation with the people you are buying your new home from.  Ask for the same and mention you are doing this for your new buyers.  Maybe even offer a cash incentive.  In all the costs of moving, what is another £50 to gain this sort of information at your fingertips when you first move in? (Particularly the best local takeaway when you are surrounded by boxes and losing the will to live and cook).

Create a Survival Box

That first night that you are in your new home you are going to be exhausted, bewildered, tired and hungry.  Get a big plastic box that you can transport on your lap to the new house.  Put in tea, coffee, sugar, a kettle, milk, toilet rolls, a DVD (if you manage to set up your TV system), scissors, warm socks.  Yes I said socks.  Working out the heating system on the first night, if the owners didn't leave you a fact file, may be confusing and you will be cold.  Socks.  Trust me.

Lastly

The obvious things.  Don't over pack your boxes and LABEL.  Label everything.  Try and get a good night's sleep the night before.  If you are working full time, hire a company to pack for you.  Again, someone reputable and recommended.  Have a glass of wine to calm the nerves of moving (the night before, not on the day!).  Breath.  Just breath.  You are organised.  You will be fine.

*Collaborative piece