As soon as we bought our house, we knew our home needed some TLC outdoors - gutters had been neglected, yard was patchy with grass, flower beds were filled with many years of leaves and grass clippings, bushes and trees needed trimmed back, we were hosting the county's largest kitty litter box along with a ginormous swing set that two twenty-somethings would probably not be using. Not to mention the longest clothesline we'd ever seen in our lives.
Front of House - Before
Back of House - Before
Back Deck - Before
We got started by mowing the yard and overseeding to try to fill the patches in our yard. With the help of M's mom, we trimmed bushes and attempted to clean up as much debris from the flower beds as possible. These things made a HUGE difference, but there was still work to be done. M, along with a friend, cleaned up the gutters and cleaned debris off the roof. M painted the support poles on the roof and cleaned up some shingles after a small hail storm came through town.
Before Bushes were Trimmed
Next up was to plant some flowers to add some color and get some chairs and decor on the front porch - we wanted to have a welcoming home, even if it wasn't very pretty.
Front Porch - After Some Flowers were Planted
All this time, we were trying to find a new home for the swing set in the back yard.
Our Swing Set
It was in decent shape, but it wasn't going to make it until we had kids that would be old enough to use it, so a new home was a must. This fall, we found it a new home with some grandparents that were going to clean it up for their grandkids to play on when they came to visit. We went out and had one last swinging session and then sent it on it's way.
The backyard looks a little bare now, but someday that spot will be filled again - now to just get rid of that clothesline and litter box...
