Reclaim Your Yard Before Springtime

Now that the holidays are over and the new year is in full swing, you might be starting to notice what sad shape your yard has fallen into over the winter. Now's a great time to start thinking about spring and planning what you would like to do with it when the weather starts to improve.

You know that inground pool cost you a pretty penny when you had it installed, so make the most of it. Start making sure that it's well-taken-care-of and in good shape for the swimming season.

Skim out any leaves or pine needles that have collected on the surface of the water. If you have one, user your Kreepy Krauly sucker to remove everything from the floor, from algae to debris floating along the bottom.

Does the water need to be replaced entirely? If you've been keeping up on the servicing and chemicals all winter, usually water is considered "clean" for five to seven years. If you've let maintenance go by the wayside and have more frogs and larvae in the water than chemicals, it's a safe bet that you need to empty and refill.

While the pool is empty, clean it! Chemicals are available for purchase to scour the poor interior, but simple white distilled vinegar, baking soda and Dawn dish soap can do the job equally well. Best of all, they're nontoxic. Your pool is the yard's showstopper, so prove it. Make your pool sparkle in time for the summer.

Bright, colorful blooms are the joy and envy of all your neighbors...but right now your flowerbeds look better suited for jungle excavation than planting flowers. Start taming the jungle and make your gardens beautiful again.

If everything is crazily overgrown, you might need to go through with hedge trimmers to get rid of especially large or prickly weeds. Get rid of the biggest first and work your way down.

Start pulling weeds once you've reached the sod. Make sure that you're properly equipped with gardening gloves and a knee rest so that you don't ache as badly when you're finished.

Rake and apply fresh bark to your flowerbeds. It's too early to start planting now, but at least you can make it look nice in the interim.

Once spring arrives your garden is all set to house some beautiful blossoms. There's something so primal and satisfying about taking control of your garden.

Mother Nature's temper tantrums affect us all, and if she's been especially moody over the season then your grass is probably starting to show it. When the weather turns from cold to less cold, start doing some landscaping to repair the damage leftover from the winter.

Blustery weather makes for a lot of debris. Enlist your family to work together picking up sticks, branches and whatever else the wind has tossed on your lawn.

Trim any hedges, tree limbs or anything else sticking out where it shouldn't be. The end of winter is actually an ideal time for doing this since so many of the trees are bare for the season and look like sticks.

Mow the lawn and rake up the clippings before tossing them in the yard waste bin. Mowing is the equivalent of vacuuming your carpet: It simply feels better and makes everything look fresh again.

Ahhhh, it feels so good to look at your lawn and see a job well done. It makes a huge difference when you've not done yard work for a season and interestingly, you might inspire your neighbors to do the same.

Your yard is the first impression that you give to the world, so make it a good one. Take the time to replenish your yard and repair what's happened over the wintertime.