🧹 A proper clean-up isn't one big job - it's a sequence of small ones, done in order, so nothing doubles up. Here's the order we work in when we tackle a yard from scratch, zone by zone.
🏡 Front
Lawn first (mow, edge, blow down). Then the front beds - weed, prune any leggy growth, top up mulch if it's thinned out. Front hedges are last, because cuttings fall on the lawn and we'll sweep the area on the way out.
➡️ Sides
Side strips are where green waste piles up - fence-line trimmings, pavers covered in leaves. Whipper-snip the edges, clear the path, deal with any vine creep on the fence.
🌳 Back
Same order as front but bigger zones - mow, edge, weed beds, prune, mulch. If there are fruit trees, prune any deadwood and skirt the lower branches.
🪴 Beds
Once everything's cut and cleared, the beds get the last pass. Weeds out, mulch refreshed to 50–75mm. Mulch any thinner than that won't hold moisture or block weeds.
🚛 Green waste - everything goes with us. Clippings, prunings, weeds, the lot. Your kerbside bin shouldn't be doing this work.
Work the zones in order and nothing gets missed twice.
A solid clean-up will set most yards up for three or four months. After that, regular fortnightly mows and a quick weed pull through the beds is all most homes need to keep the look.