The Lawhead Team would like to share these tips from The Maids and Coldwell Banker to help you get everything cleaned up before the guests arrive to your party.

The Yard

• Mow the lawn: If your lawn is starting to look like a jungle, it’s time to press the mower into service and cut the blades to a reasonable size. You don’t want wee party guests to get lost in the undergrowth.
• Get rid of debris: If your party includes children, you can bet they’ll want to show off cartwheels and summersaults. Carefully walk through the lawn and look for anything that might cause a problem, including rocks, gopher holes, or pet waste.
• Wash the deck and patio: Over the course of the seasons, layers of dirt, moss, and leaves can build up on
  your deck and patio. A quick rinse with a power washer will blow the mess away.

The Furniture

• Spray down outdoor furniture: Certain surprises at parties are a good thing. Sitting down in a wet or mud-stained chair is not one of them. Do a quick spray down of all your outdoor furniture to remove stains and dirt, and then make sure everything is dry before the guests arrive. Don’t forget to clean outdoor umbrellas—you don’t want any drop-ins, be they spiders or debris.
• Indoor furniture needs to be cleaned too! You may have to use indoor furniture to provide extra seating and comfort. Just because a chair or table usually resides inside, doesn’t mean it’s guest-ready. Get out the glass cleaner and fabric stain remover to make sure all the furniture is ready for duty.

The Home

• Clean all the bathrooms: You may intend for guests to use only a specific bathroom in the house, but they may have other plans, especially if someone is taking too long. Clean every bathroom as though your nosiest in-laws are coming over.
• Clean all the main rooms: Even during a backyard party, guests will migrate into the house, so make sure your home is prepared for inside scrutiny. This means vacuuming and sweeping the floors, wiping down countertops, and cleaning windows and mirrors.
• Put away personal things: Because parties are fluid by nature, guests will be coming in and out of the house. Keep important items protected, including mail, work files, personal items, and medications.
• Keep valuables safe: If you don’t want guests in a certain area of the house, lock it if possible or post a sign. This is a good place to store valuables that you don’t want to be damaged during the party.
• Take out the trash: Preparing for a party will fill up the trash fast. Before the doorbell rings, haul out all the current trash so that there is plenty of space for guests to throw out paper plates, plastic cups and napkins.

The following information is from http://blog.coldwellbanker.com/10-cleaning-tips-will-make-rockin-backyard-party-host/

Check out our helpful tips to creating the perfect backyard for you to enjoy all year long.

Perfecting Your Deck Or Porch – You want to make sure your deck has ample room.  This doesn’t mean it has to be really big by any means, just making the space user friendly is important. Arrange BBQ’s and patio furniture on your backyard patio so you can easily move around it. Instead of crowding the floor space with potted plants, try hanging these plants or placing them on the grass where they won’t be in the way but still provide color to enjoy.

Make The Outdoors Comfortable – Just because you are outside in your backyard doesn’t mean you have to suffer. It is important to have protection from the sun and other outdoor elements. You may want to enclose your porch or build a cover for your patio. A good idea is a retractable canopy or awning so your patio isn’t always covered.

Outdoor Furniture – There are so many different styles of outdoor backyard furniture to choose from you don’t have to settle for options that do the bare minimum of simply providing a place to sit. Find furniture which allows you to relax in comfort for as long as you desire.

Choose Quality – Just because a backyard idea may seem flashy and fancy at the time doesn’t necessarily mean it will be a good idea. Be careful going overboard on creating a lush and tropical backyard getaway. You want to make sure you can get a return on your investment. Choose backyard upgrades that will add lasting value to your home.

Wouldn’t it be amazing to have your own little private, tranquil retreat in your backyard? The Lawhead Team would like to share some tips to turning your backyard into the perfect tranquil backyard escape.

Unless you are an expert in landscaping, we suggest hiring a professional landscaper. Tell him your ideas of what you’re looking to create and make sure you add different elements such as shrubs, trees and flower. The more variety you have, the more pleasing to the eye your tranquil backyard view will be.

One of the most beautiful things about a lot of resorts and beaches are the beautiful trees and plants that you see. So, why not purchase a couple of your own to place in your backyard. Also, if you can afford to add waterfalls, do it! Water is one of the most relaxing and therapeutic sounds to unwind to in your tranquil backyard retreat.

Create your own outdoor living room by adding some nice patio furniture. Make sure the furniture is made for outdoors and can withstand the elements.

Create a meandering path out of stone or brick. This will help separate certain areas of your backyard. Have one path lead you to your pond or other type of water feature, while the other one leads you to a bench.

Lighting in your tranquil backyard retreat is important. It can add a wonderful accent and bring life to your ideas even in the dark.  Accent a patio, walkway, stone wall or shrubbery.

Speaking of lighting, adding candles definitely creates a feeling of peace and tranquility. Adding candles and paper luminaries will make your tranquil backyard a place of escape that is easy to get to and you won’t want to leave.

Adding flowers to your retreat is not only pleasing to the eye, but can provide a scent which will serve as a subtle aromatherapy. Orchids, Wildflowers, Chrysanthemums, peonies and tulips are all good flowers to add to your tranquil backyard.

Springtime is here and it is time to get your backyard looking its best!  Barbeques, horseshoes, and backyard parties are all a reason to get your backyard looking its best this season.

If you are a fish lover, and want to add some life to your backyard, you may want to think about getting a Koi Pond put in your back yard. While they are expensive, if you have the funds they look absolutely amazing, not only that, they can be customized to fit the entire look of your back yard.

Another great home improvement for your backyard, would be putting in a concrete area and building a fire pit. If you are someone that likes to cook on the grill, then this would be a great way to host parties and stuff.

One type of backyard home improvement for homes that are on the water are tiki huts. Tiki huts give your back yard a great tropical feel and it goes without saying that if you have a tiki hut, then you must have a bar there. If you want to take it a step further, you can install some outdoor HD televisions inside of your tiki hut.  However be mindful that these types of televisions are more expensive than normal ones, but they are made to withstand certain weather conditions, and the sea salt, if you happen to live on saltwater.

Of course you can also do the popular types of home improvements, such as building a shed, remodeling or installing a swimming pool, planting palm trees, building a playground, putting in a sand box, or anything that you heart desires.

If you have kids and want to get them into sports, and have the room, why not modify your backyard for the certain sport that they like. For instance putting in a basketball court is not as hard and expensive as one may think, with the right planning and budget, it can be done for a little over a thousand dollars, depending on many factors of course, as you may need to have a concrete truck show up at your home once you get the foundation in tact.

Another idea that you may want to consider is building a treehouse for your kids. If you kids are around the age that they are in Kindergarden they will absolutely love it. That is something that they will enjoy throughout the years probably all the way up to when they are in high school. The way you might have to go about getting a tree fort made would be to go through a professional handyman or carpenter that has lots of experience building structures, as tree forts are usually do not come out of the box with assembly instructions.

If you are feeling really frisky, you could even build a small guest house in your backyard.  These are just a couple of ideas that you could do for backyard home improvements, so let your imagination run wild, and see what you can come up with.