maintenance Archives - Airtasker Blog

Apartment balcony inspiration

Taking in the city skyline from your apartment balcony is an enjoyable way to pass the time. Whether your balcony "Apartment balcony inspiration"

Taking in the city skyline from your apartment balcony is an enjoyable way to pass the time. Whether your balcony is open or closed, small or large, you can style it and make it functional for many different pass times. Here’s some apartment balcony inspiration.

Source: Pinterest

Beautiful apartment balcony gardens

Having some greenery on your balcony is magic; it’s good for the soul and looks beautiful. You can get very creative with designing an apartment balcony garden that suits you. Having vertical gardens, planters that hang on balcony railings, potted plants and mini urban vegetable gardens are some great ways to achieve a sense of nature. Succulents are big right now, and the cactus is making a comeback; you’ve got so many options!

Airtasker have fantastic garden experts available to help you design, establish and maintain your apartment balcony garden. Also, if you’re into growing your own vegetables and herbs, check out our advice on apartment vegetable gardening.

Source: Pinterest

Create some privacy

If you can see straight into your neighbour’s apartment, they can probably see right into yours. The addition of a privacy screen will give you a little extra seclusion, especially in built up areas. You can purchase privacy screens, or create your own stylish aesthetic by planting bamboo, building up a vertical garden or training crawling jasmine around the edge of your balcony railings. Leave a little space so you don’t completely block out the sunshine, or have your screen mobile.

Source: City Farmhouse

Designated ‘chill zone’

We love the idea of positioning a comfortable little day bed on your balcony so you can relax and unwind in your own dreamy balcony enclave. There are some beautifully made weatherproof day beds and outdoor sofa options around. Style your ‘chill zone’ with the addition of a little side table or drink holder, some scatter cushions and a soft throw. It’ll be the perfect place to get into a good book, or admire the horizon on sunset with a glass of wine.

Source: Sea of Shoes

Laze back in a hammock

Alright, this probably belonged in the ‘chill zone’ section, but who can beat a hammock? If it’s not possible to be strung between two coconut palms on a tropical island, then why not on your balcony? If you really wanted the whole resort style shebang, you could have a little wading pool on your balcony too.

Source: NORD no.27

Create an entertainer’s nook

All you need to create the ultimate entertainer’s nook is a drinks cart, along with a little mountable bench or table for nibbles, and some fun lighting. Invite your guests to take a seat on your carefully chosen outdoor chairs, or scatter some cushions around so they can lean back against the wall and look up at the night sky while taking in the intelligent conversation. If you’ve got the space, a small BBQ will fit right in too!

Source: BLOGLOVIN’

Bring the backyard to the balcony

Have you got a boring cement slab balcony on the second floor? You don’t have to feel limited to working with what you’ve got; all you need is a little inspiration! You could liven it up by creating a ‘patio’ with some temporary wooden flooring, or by laying down some faux grass (this is very trendy according to every rooftop bar there ever was in Melbourne!).

Image credit: nellygoing via Buzzfeed

We hope you’ve enjoyed these ideas, and would love to hear more suggestions from you on how to redesign and fall in love with your apartment balcony.

Summer gardening tips

It's hot and dry or humid and wet. So how do we look after our garden in summer?

Summer is almost here! Your lawn is probably growing like crazy already, and staying on top of maintenance at this time of year can be time-consuming. Here are some tips to help make Summer gardening a breeze.

Water your garden efficiently

In most regions of Australia, our Summers are a little on the warm side. Heat and evaporation rates are at their peak during the middle of the day, which can cause your plants to stress and wilt. It’s best to water your plants and lawn either first thing in the morning, or later in the afternoon. This way, the water will have a better chance to soak into the ground, instead of evaporating straight away. Giving your thirsty garden a decent drink at cooler times of the day is also an efficient use of water.

Source: Homestructions

Bee-friendly summer gardening

A lot of fruit and vegetables in your garden probably require bee pollination. This Summer, attract bees to your garden to pollinate your fruit and vegetables by refraining from using harmful pesticides, and by planting bee-friendly flowering plants – this will help bulk their food supply up. Not only will your crops grow, but you’ll help save the bees!

Set up an irrigation system

Setting up an irrigation system is a great afternoon project, and can be very cost effective when you do it yourself. You can tailor your design and materials to best suit your garden needs; options include sprayers, sprinklers, drippers and more. The very brief version of the instructions is that you would start by measuring out your garden and map out your irrigation system design. You’d then choose your materials, measure out your water flow and start assembling. To make your irrigation system easy and water efficient, you could add an automated timer attachment to your tap so you don’t miss (or forget) the optimal watering timeslot.

Bunnings have some great tutorials for planning your irrigation system, and installing your irrigation system. If you’d rather not spend your weekend installing polytube, there are plenty of Airtasker garden maintenance professionals available who would be happy to do this for you.

Source: Gardener’s Supply Company

Weeding the pavers around the patio and pool area

How frustrating is it when the pavers around your patio or pool area get overgrown with weeds in the warmer months? Most people put gap sand between pavers to prevent this (and set pavers in place), but after a while, weather can wash it away and weeds creep back up. Environbond suggests a step-by-step way to resolve this issue when it occurs:

Start by removing any large weeds by hand.
Use a rough broom or pressure washer to brush or blast the smaller weeds out.
Follow up by applying a solution of white vinegar and boiling water to help kill any remaining roots.
Allow the area to dry then fill the gaps in-between the pavers with sand to prevent weeds from re-sprouting.

Source: manoswelt

Cut your lawn a little longer

Grass grows at a much faster rate in Summer and you may be tempted to mow it as short as possible to avoid having to do it so regularly, but your lawn will keep in much better condition if cut a bit longer. Having your lawn a little longer will actually suppress weeds and bindi growth (Coleby-Williams, J.).

We hope you enjoy these summer gardening tips. Once you’ve got your garden in its Summer prime, you’ll want to have guests over, so have a look at these summer outdoor entertaining ideas.

How to prepare your home for selling and moving

If you’re putting your home on the market, there are a number of things other than paperwork that you’ll need "How to prepare your home for selling and moving"

If you’re putting your home on the market, there are a number of things other than paperwork that you’ll need to do in preparation for selling and moving.

selling and moving home staging
Source: The Everygirl

Focus areas

The front door

Great first impressions matter. Make sure the entrance to your home is clean, tidy and looks nice. Gurnie the driveway, weed the front garden, and give the front door has a fresh lick of paint.

selling and moving front door
Source: Pinterest

Key rooms

The homemaker will want to focus on the kitchen, bathroom, toilet and laundry, so make sure repairs and cleaning for these rooms are on point. The other rooms of the house can usually be sorted out with a coat paint.

Repairs

Generally, you don’t need to fully renovate your home prior to selling and moving, but it should be in good, working condition. Little issues like mouldy shower grouting can put off people off. Small expenses and a little effort will go a long way in making your property more attractive to prospective buyers.

Do you need to?…

Re-grout bathrooms
Fix the fence
Fix leaking taps
Replace fixtures, e.g. chipped door knobs, rusty towel rails
Replace blown light bulbs

selling and moving repairs
Source: Getty via Popular Mechanics

Any investment you make in more expensive improvements prior to selling and moving, should be driven by where you’ll get the best return.

If you’re thinking of renovating prior to putting your home on the market, check out some Top renovations mistakes to avoid.

Rules and regulations

When selling and moving, there will be a number of rules and regulations that you’ll need to comply with, e.g. a pool safety certificate needs to obtained by the seller or purchaser in Queensland (Department of Housing and Public Works, 2015). It’ll make your property more attractive to a prospective buyer to have these things taken care of prior to sale.

Walls and painting

Check walls for marks, scratches and stains that might require plastering and a fresh coat of paint. Paint walls and ceilings in neutral colours; your property will appeal to a larger market (not everyone loves a bedroom in each colour of the rainbow).

selling and moving neutral paint
Source: Better Homes and Gardens

Declutter and depersonalise

The sale of your property is a great excuse to clean out your belongings! Declutter to maximise space for the open house and inspections. Depersonalise so buyers can imagine their own belongings in the space.

selling and moving decluttering and depersonalising
Source: Homey Oh My!

Cleaning

It’s important to give the impression that your property has been kept in good condition all the time (not just for the sale), so attention to detail is a must! For the best results, you should do an ‘end of lease’ style clean.

Inside

Here’s a list to start you off:

All surfaces, benchtops and cupboards
Walls, skirting boards, power points
Windows, window sills, doors, screen doors, fly screens
Floors, carpets, tiles, timber
All built in appliances, e.g. dishwasher, oven, stove, range hood, etc.
Sinks, basins, taps (descaling)
Baths, showers, shower screens
Mirrors and wardrobes
Fans, air conditioners
etc.!

If the thought of scrubbing the oven makes you die a little bit inside, get some help from Airtasker’s reliable and flexible residential home cleaners.

selling and moving cleaning
Source: Pinterest

Outdoors

Outdoor areas should not be forgotten. Make sure the:

Gardens and garage are tidy
Lawn is mowed
Garden beds are weeded
Gutters are cleaned
Pools are cleaned
Patios and driveways are clean
Cobwebs are removed

For open houses and inspections, you should also remove all rubbish, empty and wash bins, and make sure pet poo and pet bedding is removed.

selling and moving garden maintenance
Source: funky junk interiors

Odours

Sometimes if you’re living in it, you don’t notice it… Invite an honest friend with a keen nose over and get them to check for smells. Odours in the home are usually from pets, mould and mildew. Find the source and address the problem, rather than trying to ‘mask’ it.

Staging your home for display

Put your best foot forward when presenting your home to prospective buyers.

selling and moving staging
Source: Home Adore

Furniture and décor

If your furniture is a worn, mismatched, or a little ‘dated’, consider hiring a home stylist to furnish your home during the sale period. It might be necessary to put your furniture in to storage temporarily.

If you need some assistance with heavy lifting and getting things in to storage, consider hiring a local furniture removalist to help you out.

Greenery

Create a calm and inviting atmosphere by adding some healthy, green plants to your home’s indoor and outdoor areas. Little potted herbs perched on the window sill can freshen up the aesthetic of the kitchen. Hire larger plants if you don’t want to purchase them.

selling and moving staging greenery
Source: BLOGLOVIN’

Good smells

Make your home smell inviting by roasting some coffee beans or baking fresh bread on the day of the open house.

Selling and moving

You’re on the home stretch when you’ve sold your property and the time comes to sort out furniture removal and storage. If you’re lucky, you’ve got access to a ute or small truck and the manpower to do the moving yourself. If not, seeking a professional furniture removalist will be on your list.

selling and moving furniture removals
Source: Moving Company Brisbane

If you’re in the market for a trusted, reliable removalist, check out the removalists for hire via Airtasker. They’re located across Australia and covered by insurance.

Let us know if you have any other great tips, and best of luck with selling and moving your home!

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