Sponsored by Wheelie Wraps.
You’ve mown the lawn, swept the path and put a decent plant by the door. Then you pull into the driveway and the first thing you see is the wheelie bin.
It’s easy to stop noticing the things you walk past every day: the faded house number, the empty pot, the bins parked beside the garage. But once you spot them, they can bother you more than the bigger jobs you’ve been putting off.
Before you price a new fence or spend another Saturday at the garden centre, stand out on the footpath. Pick the one thing that draws your eye for the wrong reason. These seven fixes are a good place to start, and several cost nothing.
A plain bin and the Lemon Squeeze cover, side by side. Image supplied by Wheelie Wraps.
1. Clean it before you replace it
Start with a broom, a bucket and the front door. Brush down cobwebs, wipe the door and letterbox, and shake out the mat. Work from the porch down to the path so you’re not sweeping the same patch twice.
It’s also a useful spending test. Once the dust is off, you may find the door needs a touch-up rather than a full repaint, or that the “old” porch light was mostly dirty.
2. Give the garden a clear edge
Grass creeping over the path can make an otherwise tidy garden look neglected. Trim it back, pull weeds from paving joints and gather the leaves that collect along the fence.
If the garden beds look bare, top up the mulch you already use rather than buying more plants to fill every gap. Finish one visible stretch properly before starting on the rest. The strip beside the front path is a manageable first job.
3. Choose one thing to change at the door
If the door still needs attention after a wash, decide what’s letting it down. Peeling paint calls for preparation and a fresh coat; a worn mat is a much smaller fix. You don’t need to replace the handle, knocker and light as well.
For paint, try a sample beside the existing brickwork or cladding and look at it at different times of day. A colour you love on a screen can look quite different on a shaded porch.
A simple entry with one large pot and a clear path to the door.
4. Put a plant where it can thrive
Check how much sun your entry actually gets before choosing a plant. A covered porch and an exposed west-facing step need different things, however similar they look in a photo.
One substantial pot can be easier to place than several small ones, especially beside a narrow doorway. Leave room for the door to open and for someone carrying shopping to get through. If you already have a healthy plant elsewhere, try moving it before buying another.
5. Check what visitors see after dark
Walk out to the street one evening. Can you read the house number? Is the route to the door obvious? Those two checks are more useful than buying a matching set of outdoor accessories.
Clean or reposition obscured numbers and clear foliage around existing lights. If a bulb needs replacing, a warm-white option can soften the entry. A portable outdoor lantern is another way to try extra light before committing to a new fitting.
6. Give the bins a place in the picture
If there’s room down the side of the house, a tidy storage spot may solve the problem. For homes where the bins have to stay out front, there’s another option.
Australian brand Wheelie Wraps makes fabric wheelie bin covers for standard 240L bins. The fabric fits around the body while leaving the lid visible and the wheels accessible. The brand says fitting takes about two minutes, with no tools, and the covers can be machine washed on a gentle cold cycle and air dried.
Lemon Squeeze brings yellow and green to the driveway; Shell Yeah pairs blue with pink and cream shells. The founders spent nearly three years measuring bins and refining prototypes before arriving at the finished cover.
Shell Yeah brings a splash of colour beside the garden.
Selected designs belong to the Bins for Good collection, with 30% of the profit from each of those covers donated to registered Australian charities supporting its cause.
Covers are A$59.95 each, plus shipping. Check the capacity moulded into your bin before ordering: these fit 240L bins, not 120L, 140L or 360L sizes.
7. Take away what doesn’t need to be there
Before adding anything else, move the empty pots, put the hose away and find a home for the shoes beside the door. Keep the things you use; clear the things you’ve simply stopped seeing.
Start with the thing you notice most
You don’t need to work through all seven ideas in one weekend. Choose the thing that catches your eye every time you come home, and start there. Finish that job before deciding what to spend money on next.
Then take another look from the footpath. You might still want a new fence one day, but the place can feel more cared for long before you get to it. Sometimes a better welcome home starts with a broom, a pot or a better-looking bin.
Beauty and Lace is an online magazine for women. We hope you enjoyed this article!