Taking care of a lawn or other maintained landscape has many elements that can be challenging, but in recent months, increased supply chain shortages and product costs have created an entirely new set of issues.
While many homeowners who maintain their own lawns don’t always have a clearly outlined maintenance schedule and budget, now more than ever it is a necessity to project those needs and plan ahead!
Here are some ways to be prepared for these new issues:
- Decide on a quality standard. When supply and budget issues enter the conversation, it may be time to decide just how committed you are to a higher-input lawn or landscape.
- Set a budget. With rising costs, you can end up footing a substantial bill for products and services that have previously fit well into a more modest budget. Factoring in those higher expenses across the board for a family budget can help finetune your lawncare spending.
- If your quality standard and your budget don’t align, it’s time to decide which products or services can be delayed, reduced or dropped altogether. Your lawn has been a major investment already, so of course you don’t want to lose that! But there may be ways to lower maintenance inputs and still retain the health of your lawn.
- Plan Ahead. Impulse buying or last-minute purchasing can be a major culprit for overspending on anything, even lawncare. Keep an eye out for sales or deals on products, rather than just grabbing it at the last minute. If you know you’ll need fertilizer or pest control products at certain times in a season, start looking a few weeks early to possibly catch a lower price when demand is less.