Just for fun, take an inventory of all the leaf removal tools cluttering your garage.

If you’re like me, you’ve got a half-dozen rakes of different sizes and materials, a couple of blowers in various states of repair, and a couple of infomercial gadgets that promise to make annual leaf gathering faster and easier.

In fact, you need only a few essential leaf removal items in your landscape tool collection to accomplish your autumn goal — removing the heavy leaves that smother grass and make your lawn a splotchy mess in spring.

Fewer gizmos and more elbow grease help home owners remove leaves and keep up with lawn maintenance, according to landscaping experts.

The reality is, you can’t avoid hard work when it comes to fall landscaping chores. There are some tools that will help us, but the best help is family and friends. The more hands, the better. Doing it yourself is daunting.

Unless you tether a mower to a stick and let it mulch leaves all by itself. 

Whether you rake, blow, or tie a mower to a stick, you should remove leaves at least twice each fall.

Some people wait until every last leaf falls, and then they pick them up. You should pick them up throughout the season. Don’t wait until the last minute.

Here are four essential leaf-removal tools that’ll help you clear your lawn before winter sets in:

• Rigid leaf rake. This plastic, fan-shaped rake is your go-to rake for collecting leaves. Pick one with a cushion handle and a 30- to 36-inch fan. Avoid the super-wide fans that can spread to 48 inches; they’re too big to rake between shrubs and in flower beds. Cost: $10-$20 (30-inch fan).

• Leaf tarp. Instead of scooping leaves into a million plastic bags, rake or blow them into a big pile on top of a polypropylene leaf tarp. Then drag the tarp to the curb and dump. Cost: $22 for 12.5-by-10-ft. tarp.

• Leaf blower. Select a two-cycle, gasoline-powered blower to collect leaves in tarps or blow them directly to the curb. If you have a large yard, buy a backpack model, which is more expensive but more comfortable than handheld blowers. Cost: 2-cycle handheld blower: $180; 2-cycle backpack blower: $300.

• Yard vacuum. This tool vacuums, shreds, chips, and bags leaves and other yard debris. Once leaves are ground up, they’ll decompose quickly in your compost pile. Cost: $400-$650.

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Originally posted at: Lafayette Real Estate News

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Looking for a festive way to kick off the Christmas holiday?  Bring your family to the Oil Center for the Festival of Light!

You and your loved ones will enjoy a magical evening full of music, food, shopping, and fun.  Take pictures with Santa, play in the (artificial) snow, and gaze at the beautifully strung Christmas lights on Coolidge Blvd.

The Festival of Light is one of Lafayette’s favorite holiday traditions.  Join in on the fun next Friday, December 4, from 5 PM to 10 PM in the Oil Center.  Admission and parking are free!

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Originally posted at: Lafayette Real Estate News

There are certain things you do on your phone every day–check the weather with your morning cup of coffee, open up navigation when you get in your car, and set your alarm when you go to bed.  What if there was a way to automate these processes without having to go through your phone each time?

Actually, there is a way, thanks to near field communication (NFC) tags.  Near field communication is exactly what it sounds like: you have to be in close range in order for it to work.  It’s essentially like wi-fi, with a much smaller range.  NFC tags are tiny stickers, key chains, or other trinkets that perform specific tasks whenever your phone comes in close contact with them.

How can you implement NFC tags into your daily life?  Program one to display the day’s weather forecast and place it near your coffee pot.  Your phone will automatically open up your weather app when you reach it.  Program another to open up navigation and place it on your dashboard.  Tap your phone on it and navigation will automatically open. Program yet another to set an alarm for the morning and place it on your nightstand.  The alarm will automatically set when you rest your phone near it.  These are just a few simple ideas…the possibilities are virtually endless!  

Of course, as with everything, there is a downside: not all devices have NFC capabilities.  Not surprisingly, Apple devices are one group that does not support NFC.  Most newer Android devices and some Windows devices do. Simply do a quick search on your device to find out if it supports NFC.

NFC tags can be fun to experiment with and are pretty cheap!  Some may think that using NFC tags is lazy, but I see nothing wrong with making your day a bit smoother and looking tech-y while doing it!

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Orignally posted at: Lafayette Real Estate News

We’ve all had days where the last thing we want to do is get out of bed and be productive.  How can we keep ourselves motivated on these particularly bad days?  Here are a few methods I use to keep me pushing through despite a strong desire not to:

Smile.  Smiling makes you feel more confident and at ease.  Think happy thoughts and give yourself a pep talk before work.  And when all else fails, fake it til you make it!

Cheat your diet.  Cheat a little, cheat a lot.  It depends on just how bad your day is going.  There’s nothing like a little sugar rush to perk you up!  Chocolate is my best friend on bad days.

Listen to music.  Happy and upbeat music are the perfect remedy if you find yourself drudging along, and soothing music can calm you down if you’re worked up.  Play your favorite jams on the ride to work or when you have some downtime to yourself.

Get moving.  Release those endorphins!  You don’t have to do anything strenuous; sometimes just a quick walk around the office or a round of light stretches can be enough to increase your mood and relieve stress.

Don’t let a bad day slow you down.  Remember, it’s only one measly day out of 365.  Just power through, and before you know it, you’ll be heading back home!

How do you keep yourself motivated throughout a bad day?  

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Originally posted at: Lafayette Real Estate News

Pruning keeps your plants in good shape–literally. This is usually done for ornamental garden trees to keep them healthy as well as attractive. The changing of seasons, especially when transitioning into the autumn season, means that all the shrubs and trees on your lawn will need a little bit of pruning. Are you going to burn all of you money into hiring tree care services when you can do this simple task by yourself?

This article provides you with the basics in maintaining your garden. These instructions that follow will be of great help especially to beginners with little to no pruning experience.

1. Before starting to prune, you must secure permission from local authorities to prevent any penalties unto you as well as your accomplices.
2. Wear your safety gear. As with any job, it is very important that you prioritize your safety over anything. Wearing protective gloves as well as safety glasses and a helmet will ensure that no sharp stray chips will cause you injuries.
3. Before starting, you should already have an idea of what you want the tree or shrub to look like. Take a step back and plan. A little more time spent thinking about the design is better than having months of unbalanced, misshapen ornamental trees on your backyard.
4. Start by removing all damaged, ailing, and dead branches. These shoots may endanger the integrity of the whole plant. Then follow up with the weak ones.
5. Tree care service professionals gave a healthy tip about cutting the shoots: You have to cut just over a healthy bud, an outward facing bud or branch if possible, to avoid branches growing in the brush, eventually promoting congestion and rubbing among the branches.
6. The cuts should be about a half of a centimeter above the bud. Cutting too close to the bud may cause its death. Cutting too far, on the other hand, may result to rotting and entry of infections into the branches.
7. If you are planning in removing larger, harder branches, an undercut should be done first, at about 20-30 cm away from the trunk. This is then followed with an overcut. Doing this will ensure the production of a clean stub because tearing of the bark is prevented from occurring.
8. When removing the stub, you should also do an undercut first, just outside a slight swelling that marks the joint of the branch to the trunk. This is then followed with another overcut which meets the undercut. You should avoid cutting the swelling (also called a branch collar) because this marks the area where healing begins.