
Let me first say that we are not garden specialists but we do know that a garden can be a lot of work. Should gardens be a lot of work? It depends on how you take care of your garden. Most people that have gardens will say that they love their garden but they hate all the work it takes to get their reward. Then you will run into that one person who says their garden is low maintenance and there are no weeds and they get the best vegetables. Why is that? Why does one person say their garden is low maintenance and the rest of the population says their garden takes a ton of work? We found its many things. Some of the reasons why the one person has low maintenance on their garden is because they prepared their garden better than everyone else. First, they had a vision of their garden and what the end result should be. Second, they studied where their garden should be located in their yard based on the water it will get and the sun it shall receive. Third, they studied the soil the garden should be in, if there needs to be boxes, how to handle the water, how to handle the weeds, how to handle the bugs and the diseases that come with each type of plant. They even study the exact time of the year thats best for each type of seed that goes into the soil. Then once the garden is in place and you have everything in order, just consistent monitoring of the garden and time is all it needs before the fruit and vegetables are ready for harvest. Technically the one person who says their garden didn’t take much time really meant they took more time in the beginning to be prepared but after the garden was in place, there wasn’t much work. When everyone else didn’t prepare as well and in the end spent way more time trying to maintain their garden to get the same result.
Home maintenance is just like a garden. We should be taking the time to prepare our homes in a way that helps us build our foundations first. Once the foundation is built, the maintenance is easier and cheaper to deal with in the long run. For example, we run into homes all the time that have never had their windows washed since they have lived in the home or since the home was built. We have heard some homes not having their windows washed in over 30 years or more. When this happens the windows have so much build up from hard water, dirt, and wind that the window is almost damaged and has to be replaced. It will also cost more to clean due to all the damage that has been done. If consistent cleaning occurs on the windows over the years, the windows will last longer and will be easier to clean and cheaper to clean. So just like gardens, if we learn to prepare our homes better and consistently watch over them and care for them, our homes will last longer, be easier to take care of and will be cheaper to fix when issues do arise.