There’s no reminder of the importance of having a functional outdoor area like this pandemic. Naturally, your yard takes the role of a place of relaxation, garden work and cultivation, household maintenance and the long-forsaken contact with nature and quality family time.
Focusing on the big picture and the essentials is the foundation of an outdoor area but the details are what connects the dots from the outside within and vice versa. If you want your days to run smoothly both indoors and out, cover certain details you considered small and uneventful as they can steer the course of your afternoon or evening.
Clothes Lines
source: www.aucklandclotheslines.co.nz
When it comes to doing your laundry, it’s challenging to make this chore easier while taking away the clutter from your yard and creating a flow with the whole scenery. It’s hard to achieve both practicality and a sight for sore eyes but it most certainly can be done.
A ground mounted clothesline can suit any backyard, no matter how big or small. Each freestanding clothes line can be easily adjusted in width and folded down when it’s not in use. If you want to install it in the ground, a clothesline ground mount kit will help you do it in no time. A free standing clothes line is the way to go when a fence or wall is not an option. You get to choose where you want to set it up.
What Size Clothesline do I Need?
16m of hanging space is ideal for couples while still fitting king sheets. 11 lines with 26 metres of hanging space are the perfect size for small/med families. Don’t worry if you have a smaller yard, there are clotheslines with a slim and foldable design, allowing even the smallest gardens to stand out. To cover your medium or large family, get a clothesline ground mount kit with 13 lines and 31 meters of hanging space.
How Much Weight Can a Clothesline Hold?
Although it depends on the size and quality of materials, even a couples clothesline should be able to withstand at least 2 wet washes which can add up to 15 kg. Make sure it’s from durable, quality materials that are galvanized and powder-coated for corrosion and scratch resistance. The highest quality clotheslines come with a warranty, some even offer a 10 year one.
Where is the Best Place to Put a Clothesline?
Make sure you have a wide enough space in the front for your unfolded clothesline. Your instruction manual in the clothesline ground mount kit will have the dimensions required. You’ll need about 100mm of side space on each side of the clothesline that’s free from obstruction in order to open and close the clothesline properly.
It’s of utmost importance to make sure you have no conduits like water, gas or powerlines within 1 meter of the post locations or within 600mm in the depth of the posts of the ground-mounted clothesline.
You’ll need to figure out if hanging your summer or winter clothes is more important to you and what’s your usual laundry routine. In summer, the direct, strong sunlight will discolour your clothes over time. However, if you usually do your laundry past lunchtime, drying them at sunset might not be harmful at all. In winter, on the other hand, it will dry them quicker. It all depends on where you live exactly.
A breezy location is best and it’s usually the sides of the home and yard instead of its back or front get a faster flow of air.
Canopy
source: gardenwinds.com
Getting an outdoor umbrella is a long-term investment and a smart, durable choice. However, it’s quite large and although foldable, still takes a lot from the view and space. A portable canopy, on the other hand, can provide instant shade or protection from the rain. Storage and transportation haven’t been easier as its frame and top collapse easily. The legs of a portable canopy are height-adjustable.
Moreover, there are versatile ways to use a portable canopy. You can pop up your canopy if you’re planning on having an outdoor family event, enjoying some pool time, working in the garden at low heights while bent over or cleaning out your closet and putting up a stand at next Sunday’s garage sale.
Mosquito Control Gear
source: theconversation.com
Instead of waiting to find out exactly how bad are the mosquitos in Australia, prepare yourself for uninterrupted lunches and dinners in your outdoor area. They’re not going to be better than they were last year but your mosquito control gear can be.
You might have encountered a bug zapper ad or seen one in your friend’s yard. You have a hard time being convinced since you started to feel another itch you need to scratch. Do bug zappers work on mosquitos at all? What do bug zappers attract?
Bug zappers work by emitting a UV light that attracts bugs to the centre of the device where they’re electrocuted. Bug zappers kill bugs by the thousands but they kill the wrong ones. Mosquitos, however, are not attracted to UV light.
A study from the University of Delaware tracked 6 residential bug zappers over a 10-week period and found that of the 13,789 insects killed, only 31 were biting flies (including mosquitoes) or a minuscule 0,22 %.
Moreover, the collateral damage that a higher price than you previously might have thought. Some of the bugs that do get killed are pollinators meaning that you’d be disturbing the ecosystem by using a bug zapper.
Interestingly, moths play a much broader role as plant pollinators than previously suspected and could be considered as our night pollinators.
More than a few insect experts that have been studying bugs for years have unanimously condemned bug zappers. There are much better alternatives to keep you from being bitten. So, what really works to repel mosquitoes? Spatial repellents (mosquito-control methods that cover an entire area) with butane cartridges or the upgraded lithium battery ones that can hold up for 40 hours are most effective and user friendly.
You could try mosquito coils as well if you have a big yard and want to make sure every corner has its mini personal protection. However, they are not as portable, versatile, durable and they do release an odour.
Doormat
source: brainstudy.info
We surely don’t need to tell you what is the point of a doormat. However, in addition to being your home’s first live of defence against debris lodged in boots and shoes, it’s also the first one to welcome the guests and make a first impression. Hence, the mat’s material, size and also design of your doormat matter.
An outdoor mat should be made from weather-resistant materials such as teak, woven seagrass or waterproof coconut fibres, which are highly durable and ideal for busy indoor-outdoor areas. Mats made from sisal, jute and fabrics (like cloth) catch lingering debris and can’t withstand the elements meaning that they are best used indoors. Your doormat should be at least about 3/4 or 80% the width of the doorway and of course, both feet should fit.
If you really want the job done, look for mats with abrasive, textured or so-called "scraper surfaces," which are designed to whisk away get into every corner. Even so, scratch below the surface lol a non-slip base that will keep the mat in place. Although rubber doormats are cost-efficient, durable and won't slide when you wipe your shoes, they are susceptible to the elements and will crack during wintertime.