June 25, 2015

Since it is beginning of summer, it is a great time to start cleaning out the garage, storage shed, or any other area or room where there are items used for storage. Also, spring cleaning can mean to trim yard bushes and cut down neglected trees that have overgrown over the years.

Many times, we buy items at a moments impulse and end up bringing it home and a need to store it. Usually the items we purchase we use it but many times it just stays and collects dust on it.

So now is the time to go through each of the storage areas as shown below, inventory, donate, or trash the item as necessary

Garage/Shed Storage

Usually, the items shown below are the most useful items and should be in the garage and/or shed area.

• Manual Tools (toolbox, wrenches, screwdrivers, hammer, etc)
• Power Tools (Drill, Saw, etc)
• Yard Tools (lawnmower, snow blower, shovels, rake, cutting tool, trimmer, etc)
• Hardware (screws, nuts, bolts, etc)
• Ladders (Extension ladder, etc)
• Useful Recreation Equipment (Bikes, Hiking, etc)
• Useful paints (interior, exterior)
• Useful chemicals (car oil, steering fluid, brake fluid, pest spray, etc)

If there are any other items in the garage besides the items listed above, then you should carefully inventory the items and make a decision if you really the items stored in your garage. Maybe you have old: tools, paints, and chemicals that need to be removed in a safe responsible way? Maybe you have old children's toys that need to be donated? We need to really look at what is stored and keep what is really needed!

Cut Down Overgrown Trees

Sometimes we move into a new house and over the years we neglect to trim the overgrown tree branches. Well, it would have been easier to trim the tree in the beginning but now it got so big we decide to just cut down the whole tree!

That is what I decided to do at our house. We had a maple tree in the backyard that was huge! To cut down the maple tree was a process, I started with using the Fiskars Tree Pruner. I used the Tree Pruner in cutting down the branches. The Pruner can cut up to 8 inches diameter of tree branches. After the branches were cut, I used a Sears Craftsman 18" Chainsaw to cut down the main tree branches and tree trunk.

Check your local city for Neighborhood City Cleanup pickup schedules

Cleanup Instructions

• Place piles street side no sooner than five days before your scheduled cleanup date.
• Do not block traffic, fire hydrants, stormdrains or sidewalks. Keep piles away from light poles, mailboxes and trees.
• Pile size must be no larger than 20 ft. long X 5 ft. wide X 5 ft. high.
• Stumps and limbs must be placed in a separate pile for composting and cut to lengths no larger than 8 feet. Do NOT place lumber in the composting pile.

When you remove the cut bushes, trees, and composting, follow the rules below when placing on your curbside to get better pickup services. See the link above, for following the rules for pickup.