Make your backyard cozy and functional

In this day and age, ravishing backyards are the par for the course for most homeowners. The backyard is an area at the rear of the house that is often underutilised but can be transformed into an amazing space by the homeowner.

Although cleanliness and tidiness of the home is required for the wellbeing of the family, the backyard is given less or no attention at all yet most times it is the depository of all the clutter that comes from the main house and anything else that is rendered useless in due time. This inevitably makes the whole place messy.
In order to have an appealing backyard, the homeowner has to embark on the journey of cleaning, organising and embellishing.

Cleaning
According to Judith Namugenyi, a room attendant at Pearl Apartments Munyonyo, cleaning of the backyard is not as hard as people may think. The following steps can help homeowners to clean their backyards with ease.

Declutter
“First the backyard has to be carefully decluttered before it can be cleaned. The home owner has to first sort out all the clutter into one that can be recycled like plastics and Scrap, that can be given away and that is to be thrown away. Clutter that is to be recycled should be sold to the scrap and plastic collectors and the one to be thrown away, should be discarded immediately. This will leave the backyard clutter free thus making it easier to clean,” says Namugenyi.

“Secondly, the homeowner should sweep the back yard. Then clean with water and some liquid soap. If it has a shelter with walls and a concrete floor it should be scrubbed and cleaned thoroughly. The home owner can put shelves that will keep the staff that keeps coming in from the house organised.” Namugenyi remarks.
If the back yard has a garden with accessories, it should be kempt and watered - and the accessories like the outdoor seats wiped and maintained.

Organising
According to Peninah Babirye, the cleaning expert and General Manager of Perla Care services, in order for the homeowner to contain the clutter that comes from the house, they should make shelves that will accommodate these items and should ensure that whatever is brought to the backyard is sorted and stored in good order.

Maintain
Babirye adds that the system of order that the homeowner comes up with should be maintained as well as the accessories that may be installed. This will make the backyard look smart and neat.

Embellish
Allan Muwonge, an interior designer with KRA Construction says that homeowners can make their backyards captivating by ameliorating them in a number of ways:
Planting small shade trees that will give shade in the backyard as well as enhancing it.
Creating a sitting area by paving the back yard with stone or pavers or outdoor tiles basing on the place you have and put suitable outdoor seats.

Putting a shade using shade nets or tarpaulins to create an extra sitting area for relaxing.
Putting some outdoor lighting to create a cozy ambience especially at night.
Installing tripods near the sitting area that give warmth at night and also repel mosquitos and other insects.
Putting a turf carpet or a lawn to have extra greenery so that there is a balance between concrete and nature.
Muwonge concludes by advising homeowners with big backyards to add water ponds that add extra life in the backyard.

Accessories
According to Babirye, one can carefully design accessories such as a handwash sink which may be placed on the perimeter wall for guests and family members to easily wash their hands without going back to the house in case of an outdoor party.
“Secondly one can have an outdoor kitchen in the backyard that will help keep the food aromas out of the house as well as creating more space in the house. More especially when one hosts a large number of people.

“The mess that would have been in the house is borne by the outdoor kitchen and easier to clear and clean up.
The homeowner should ensure that this outdoor kitchen is always clean and tidy.” Babirye asserts.

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