(NAPSI)—Spring is here. Finally. After the 2018 winter season, you may be itching to get outside and spend time in your family yard. Having the right outdoor power equipment, like lawn mowers, chain saws, generators, edgers, trimmers and more, ensures you have the tools to get “backyard ready.”

“The right outdoor power equipment can be your best friend when you start to work in your family yard—not to mention the best friend of the neighborhood,” says Kris Kiser, president and CEO of the Outdoor Power Equipment Institute (OPEI). “If you have a yard, you have a playground, but only if it’s ready for outdoor living and recreation.”

Here are several ways outdoor power equipment keeps life humming, prepares family yards to be useful and play worthy, and keeps homeowner associations happy.

1. Plain and simple, outdoor power equipment makes the yard. The right equipment makes it easier than ever to create and take care of a great living landscape. You might not even break a sweat with the right equipment. Make mowing, trimming and pruning a little easier with some of today’s ergonomic, supercharged mowers, trimmers, edgers and chain saws.
2. Outdoor power equipment saves you time. Doing things outside is fun, and using some of the latest equipment will make sure grass is mowed, trees and shrubs are pruned, and borders are edged efficiently and quickly. After all, you have games and barbecues to attend and friends and family to meet (or invite over!). The right equipment can help you quickly take care of outdoor tasks, so you can have more time to enjoy your outdoor family room and relax.
3. The latest and greatest outdoor equipment innovation can make you the envy of neighbors and family. Today’s outdoor power equipment is powered in a variety of ways, from solar to battery and electric, from propane to gasoline. Your neighbors may be jealous if they see you lounging on the front porch with a cold drink watching your robotic mower trim the grass—but don’t let it bother you. Enjoy the time outside and encourage them to check it out.
4. The right equipment at the right time can also win you the Most Popular Neighbor award. Be the person who can whip out a chain saw when the tree falls across the road, or fire up a snow thrower to clear driveways and cul-de-sacs with ease (be sure to use safety precautions, too). Your house will be the most popular one in the neighborhood during a power outage if you have a generator and let your neighbors charge their phones and borrow space in your refrigerator.
5. Storms may wreak havoc, but outdoor power equipment makes sure your life and work aren’t interrupted. Engine-powered water pumps can help dry out homes after a flood or powerful rainstorm. When the lights go out, generators keep your house humming with light and power.

Outdoor power equipment not only helps you handle your personal green space, but it also supports our first responders. You can rest easy knowing they have the tools to get their important jobs done. Generators, chain saws, the jaws of life, utility terrain vehicles and more help those who are injured and hurt every day. The efforts of our firefighters, utility contractors and those who work with nonprofit organizations such as Team Rubicon and AmeriCorps Disaster Response Teams are all amplified with the help of outdoor power equipment.

Follow hashtag #PoweringGood to learn more about people making a difference with their outdoor power equipment. Go to www.opei.org for safety tips and more information on outdoor power equipment.

“The right equipment makes it easier than ever to create and take care of a great living landscape. Make mowing, trimming and pruning a little easier with some of today’s ergonomic, supercharged tools. http://bit.ly/2jkTjIW”