I grew up working at my parent’s nursery. So I learned quite a bit about taking care of plants, yard maintenance and so forth. And like anything, having the right tools or right parts for the job can make your life so much easier. This seems especially true when it comes to things having to do with your yard, patio and garden areas. So below I have a list of the things that have been battle tested over the years, or things that I find indispensable for helping to take care of items I use outside my home.
Orange Heavy Duty Extension Cord
One of the things I use every time I mow my lawn is a nice long extension cord for my Sun Joe electric mower. I’ve learned that if you get the wrong extension cord for your electric mower, you can actually burn out the engine (not good). So with this extension cord, I never have to worry about that being a problem.
And the reason it’s orange (instead of green or black) is so it’s easy to sea in the grass. The other thing you don’t want to do is accidentally run over your extension cord with your lawn mower because it was hidden in the grass.
Of course, it never hurts having a nice, heavy duty extension cord for anything else you might need it for but this has been my go-to extension cord for years now. This particular one is made by US Wire and Cable and it’s not even close to wearing out so I expect I’ll wear out before it does.
Now of course there are different lengths and different thicknesses so you can get something that might fit your situation better.
Landmann Big Sky Fire Pit Cover
One of our favorite things to do in the backyard is to sit around our fire pit and talk and hang out. Even the kids love to use it, especially for roasting things. It’s probably one of the things we’ve gotten the most use out of in our backyard.
Landmann actually makes a really nice fire pit for under $100 and that’s what we use. Even though it’s not a super expensive item, we still like to keep it covered and take care of it. So we use the Big Sky fire pit cover and it works really well. It fits snug but yet it’s still easy to take on and off. I also like that it keeps debris from getting into the fire pit, especially when the wind is blowing around and so forth.
There are several different fire pit covers to choose one but sometimes they either don’t fit well, or they don’t last long and this has done really well in both of those areas. If you’re thinking of getting a Landmann fire pit or if you already have one and just need a cover for it, I’d highly recommend this one.
TruFuel Pre-Blended 2-Cycle Fuel
One of my favorite tools to use around the yard and to help clean up the driveway is our Hitatchi handheld leaf blower. But one of the things I hated doing was having to get the fuel and oil mixture just right to go into it. So a landscaper had recommended I try this pre-blended fuel by TruFuel and it works really well!
Saves me a ton of time and hassle. For me it’s also peace of mind because I don’t pay enough attention to these kinds of things to always know that I’m doing it the right way and then I worry if I didn’t get the mixture just right I’ll wind up hurting my equipment. So this way, everything is all taken care of for me.
It’s pretty inexpensive as well. You may be able to find it at a local hardware store but I get mine on Amazon since it’s so convenient that way. Definitely works perfectly for leaf blowers like mine.
Pressure Washer Pump Saver by Briggs and Stratton
In the fall I purchased a SIMPSON pressure washer to help clean up around the outside of the house, driveway and so forth. It works really well and I’ve been super happy with it. But what I didn’t realize is that harsh weather or even just not using it for a while can really do a number on your pressure washer and cause the piston’s to weaken. Pumps can also freeze or your o-rings can dry out. So there are a number of things that can become a problem if you’re not careful.
So this pump saver is something you can use to help prevent damage to your pressure washer, particularly during the winter or if it’s just sitting around and not getting used. It’s pretty easy to use though you’ll probably want to follow some instructions the first time.
Now the reason I’m so big on this particular pump saver is that when I tried another brand, the pump on my pressure washer failed over the winter. Ever since switching back to this I haven’t had any problems. It’s a great product, it’s not that expensive and it’s a whole lot cheaper and convenient then having to deal with problem with your pressure washer.
Full Length Patio Heater Cover by Fire Sense
Besides our fire pit, the patio heater is another item we use quite a bit in our backyard. Fire Sense makes a really sharp looking bronze patio heater and we just love it. It puts out a lot of heat so that we can all sit outside, talk and still be comfortable. Even when it’s freezing out, this will still help keep us warm enough to be outside.
What I didn’t realize though is that it’s a really good idea to get a cover for these, especially in the winter. I started noticing some rust starting to form so quickly decided to get a cover for this. Fire Sense makes a cover specifically designed for this heater and I really like it. The interior is felt-lined and now that I have a cover on it when it’s not in use, I’m not seeing any more rust building.
Something to keep in mind though is if you’re in a windy area, having the cover on can make it easier for the heater to fall over. So you’ll probably want to secure it down just to be safe. But otherwise, this has been a really great cover and I’m thrilled that it’s helping to keep our patio heater looking nice.