Do you do your own yard upkeep?

[txex86]

In some parts of the country this may seem like a premature question since some of you are still getting snow. But, here in the Dallas area the high temperatures have been in the mid-to-upper 70's and everything is growing, from the plants to the lawns.

While I was outside yesterday trimming bushes and edging the lawn, I noticed that 7 people on my block (there are twelve houses in total) had lawn services come and mow/trim/fertilize their lawns. We receive flyers for these services frequently and they average about $30/week for basic mowing to over $100/month for fertilizing/weed control, etc. So, these folks may well be spending upwards of $220/month 8 months a year(March-October) for basic yard maintenance. Our lot sizes average no more than 1/3 of an acre, so we're not talking large expanses of space.

A couple of these homeowners have mentioned they are behind in their house payments, yet they still pay for these services. I guess some folks don't enjoy yard work, but I find it a great form of exercise. It also gives me a sense of satisfaction in that I am the one keeping my home up and paying close attention to detail, plus it saves money.

I know that some of you may have larger home sites to care for, but I would be interested to hear your comments.

[disneysteve]

We have a 1/4 acre lot. For the first 10 years we lived here (next month will be 13) I mowed the lawn myself. After the first 2 or 3 years, however, I paid someone to rake leaves in the fall as I hated it and did a lousy job.

I finally stopped mowing the lawn, which I also didn't do particularly well. I pay $25 every 2 weeks for that and it is well worth the price.

[Joan.of.the.Arch]

Do everything myself. Seriously into gardening. Also mow, trim, weed, prune, plant vegetable garden and/or flower garden for next door neighbor. In winter I clear our sidewalks and theirs with old fashioned shovel and ice hoe. I rake autumn leaves so that I can have them for my vegetable garden.

[JoyJoy]

Our lot is 2226 sq ft. We do pay to for lawn and snow removal services.

[PrincessPerky]

We do it ourselves, though we actually don't do much....we have a desert....in the middle of green lawns (thanks to lots of chemicals, some by owners some by services) we have the lousy brown, dusty desert...and some scraggly bushes...and a couple scraggly trees.

And I like it that way...because I have allergies, not snotty snuffly itchy eye allergies, ever since last spring I can't breath well around pollen, I feel like a constricting band is wrapped very tightly around my chest, the corset of pollen...

Not that I mind flowers, weeds, grass or anything, just that I am a bit reluctant to help it grow right next to my door/mailbox/windows.

[jodi]

We live (with my parents) next door to my brother and his family. My parents own a top-of-the-line mower - very fast - which my brother uses to mow both our lawns (very large yard between the two houses). My DH does the weed-eating. My mom does the trimming with clippers and takes care of the flowers. I do the vegetable gardening. My dad - well, he's a farmer, so he has enough field work to do! We have never even considered paying someone to do all of this, but all of us also have a much more flexible schedule than a lot of people who work 9-5 jobs.

[getforfree]

I do my mowing, and DH does the trimming. I would never pay somebody to do the job. I would rather let the grass grow big n tall, but I will not spend $$. I even try to mow it every 10 days instead of once a week to save the gas for the mower. That reminds me, the gas is always more expencive in the summer, so I need to fill up that container to last me a whole summer. 5 gallons will cost about $15, still, its the money if you'll add it up.

[cheapdoggy]

That's what younguns are for

[MonkeyMama]

We have a 1/10 acre and not much yard but we have a yard service for many many many reasons.

One, I have a black thumb and not a lot of time. Dh just will not do the yard work. His black thumb doesn't help either.

We have very picky neighbors and a homeowners association to answer to.

Stressed out during my last pregnancy (& busy work season to boot) and dh's lack of help and yet another note from the homeowners association I finally broke down and hired a gardener. I had gotten a big raise and figured that is what I would like more than anything.

We will most likely get rid of the gardener when the kids are old enough to help. Then we can all help together in the yard. For now with babies it just takes my time away from them and stresses me out too much.

If your neighbors hired gardeners from those flyers then they may just be idiots. I get flyers all the time for $100/month to just mow the FRONT lawn - which is tiny square on these lots. But we pay $80/month for an excellent full-service gardener. I would rather work 2.5 hours overtime a month to pay him (all it takes) then spend all my weekends out in the yard miserable, personally. The yard needs maintenance year-round. Before I would have to spend at least 6 hours a month in the yard myself to have it look so nice, so I save far more time and less headache.

Anyway, I do get a lot of judgements for having a gardener and am quite defensive of my decision. To me it is a very smart decision, saves so much time and stress.

Those yard service flyers always annoyed me because to me the mowing part is easy. I don't mind it, could do it myself. But I need help with everything else - and found a reasonably priced guy to do everything. It is hard to find a full-service gardener out here though - way more demand than supply.

[crabbypatty]

I do the vast majority of our yardwork, DH does the big stuff and some things he likes to do his way. I love to work in the yard and mowing is one of my great pleasures (on a rider of course). 2 of his toys are the weedwacker and the leaf blower, neither of which I am "authorized" to touch.

I also enjoy shoveling our driveway. I like the immediate gratification I get.


I thought mowing was about $50 each time around me from a service, you could probably get a nieghborhood kid to do it for a little cheaper.

[tinapbeana]

do it myself, as does my mother in her current house.

however, at their previous house she had a local man for about 10 years come and mow the acre of lawn. he saw her working in a flower bed and approached her about mowing he lawn when he was working at a neighbor's house. he was 70 at the time! having the work to do helped keep him healthy and engaged, not to mention the price was good and he did an amazing job.

[zakity]

We have an acre. We do it all ourselves (well, with the help of our boys).

[barbara L]

My little yard.

When I owned the 1/2 an acre, I had a gardener come by about every six months to help me catch up by bringing in new mulch, flowers and fix sprinklers. Now I just have two lots with just a little plot of land. I can do everything in about 1/2 an hour. I'll eventually get my back yard done. I expect at least one of my boys will be in college by then so I'll probably get a gardener to help out.

I would never go with a lawn mowing service.

[Ima saver]

We have always done the yard work ourselves. Most of our neighbors have a mowing service and one has a full time service that does everything. I always cut the grass until I hurt myself trying to pick up the riding mower to get it out of the garage. Now, I am not supposed to use it. We are going to have to go buy a new mower this week cause our old one has been fixed several times, but just has no get up and go.

We have 2 acres of grass. My next house will be on a wooded lot, I hope.

[gackle]

I have always mowed the lawn myself, but ironically this week as I was watering the lawn with my non-stop sneezing while mowing I had the thought if paying somebody would be worth it.

But, here in the Dallas area the high temperatures have been in the mid-to-upper 70's and everything is growing, from the plants to the lawns.

BTW, are the weeds in Frisco growing as much as they are across Lewisville Lake in Corinth? It's the worst I've seen it in years.

txex86 = University of Texas 1986 grad I suppose?