Langham Family Business

24/04/2026

🌿 A final update from Langham Family Business

It’s been about 6 months since our last update… and now spring is in full swing, it felt like the right time for one last look at how things have come along.

First — a bit of honesty.

This will be the last post for Langham Family Business.
I got a bit ahead of myself thinking it would simplify life, but in reality, Kettering Handyman and Kettering Cleaner are both doing really well, and there’s no need to overcomplicate things.

Sometimes the simplest setup is the best one.

🌱 The garden… where are we now?

Things are properly coming to life.

- The onions are doing really well
- We’ve got a raised bed growing potatoes, carrots, lettuce and radish
- Raspberries and strawberries are in
- And today, the kids were properly excited to see their sunflowers starting to grow 🌻

That alone made it all worthwhile.

We’ve also got masonry bees nesting in the garage wall and bug hotel, which has been amazing to see — a proper sign that nature’s starting to find its way back in 🐝

🌿 The grass (or… what’s becoming grass)

This has been the biggest learning curve.

We ripped out the artificial lawn and tried to bring it back naturally —
but I definitely pushed things a bit too far:

- seeded early
- not enough soil down
- stones still coming through
- constant footfall from us and the kids playing on it
- and the birds helping themselves to the seed

By all accounts it shouldn’t really be working…
…but somehow, it is.

It’s patchy, uneven, and far from perfect —
but seeing real grass coming through again has been a win.

🪵 The rest of the progress
- Fences painted
- A path created
- Garage door replaced
- Slowly bringing in more colour and life

And a special one…

We planted a pair of pear trees at the back, which my pair of kids got me for my big 40th 🍐❤️

💷 Doing it on a shoestring

This hasn’t been a big-budget project.

Most of it has been done using:

- leftover materials from jobs
- free soil where we could get it
- bits reused and repurposed

The main cost has really just been seeds, plants and compost.

It’s proof that you don’t need thousands to start changing a space.

♻️ One thing that didn’t stick…

We’ve actually stopped composting for now.

In theory, I love the idea — but in reality, it just wasn’t practical for us at this stage.
Maybe something we come back to later.

🌿 What this has really been about

This was never about creating a perfect show garden.

It’s been about:

- learning as we go
- getting things wrong
- working with what we’ve got
- and creating a space for the kids to grow up in

Mud, patchy grass and all.

👋 What’s next

We’ll keep working away in the garden — just without documenting it under this page.

And for everything else, we’ll keep things focused on:
🔧 Kettering Handyman
🧼 Kettering Cleaner

Thanks to everyone who followed along, offered advice, or just quietly watched. It’s genuinely meant a lot.

– Simon & family 🌱

25/11/2025

And it’s live!!!

It’s taken a while but the homepage is up now, and over time it will be updated.

Open the door to our new website here…

https://langhamfamilybusiness.co.uk/

Be the first to join our Langham Family Card and access special offers for maintenance, cleaning and more!

Langham Family Business — Where comfort lives. Local, family-run property and home services.

23/11/2025

It’s been a couple of weeks since our last update… because, well - life.

November has been one of those months where everything seems to land at once. MOTs, servicing, van repairs, weather delays, and trying to squeeze in as much work as possible before we take a much-needed week off at Christmas.

But even with all that, we’ve kept Sundays as our protected family day - walks, fresh air, time with the kids, and a chance to slow down. That’s felt just as important as ticking things off the garden list 🍂

So, no dramatic garden progress…

BUT we did grab a precious 30 minutes today to position and build the foundation for our raised vegetable bed.

And the best bit?

🌱 Our winter onions have started to sprout!
A tiny sign of life, but a big boost of motivation.

Hoping for a steadier week ahead so we can catch up on postponed jobs — and hopefully get a little more garden time too.

Thanks for following along and supporting our little family business through the ups, downs, and muddy bits 💚

06/11/2025

✨ Support Local This Christmas ✨

When you buy from our family this Christmas, you’re not just supporting a small business — you’re helping us build something real for our family’s future ❤️

In return, you’ll get a surprisingly fantastic natural cleaner that actually works — made right here in Kettering with gentle, effective ingredients and beautiful fragrances to either deter pests or bring in the festive season 🎄

🧴 Two for £5 (mix & match!)
📦 Local delivery to NN14, NN15 & NN16
⏰ Offer ends 30th November

Simply message us your address, and we’ll send over payment details. WhatsApp Kettering Cleaner (+44 7398 211319) or Kettering Handyman (+44 7404 106402) today.

02/11/2025

The office is down — just the foundations left to tackle!
We’ve carved out a new flower bed and planted 100 winter onions 🤞.
We’ve even started a couple of compost bins… with little hope but plenty of aspiration 😅

The kids have been kept out of the way for most of it, but they’re very excited and keen to get stuck in when they can.

Next steps? We’re hoping to plant a few fruit trees at the back (most likely a pair of pears 🍐) and build a raised vegetable bed ready for spring.

We’re trying to get out in the garden most Sundays to make slow but steady progress — so check back in for updates, and if you’ve got winter gardening ideas, we’d love to hear them 🌿

28/10/2025

✨ Local Launch Offer ✨

We’re so excited to introduce our brand-new Langham Family Business General Cleaning Sprays — made by our family, for yours.

🌿 Nature’s Guard – a gentle, natural cleaner with ingredients that help keep pests at bay.
🎄 Festive Comfort – warm notes of cinnamon, cedarwood, bergamot and geranium for a cosy seasonal clean.

Both refills are made in Kettering using naturally derived ingredients that work effectively without harsh chemicals.

To celebrate our launch, we’re keeping it simple:
💚 £5 each — and for a limited time, buy one, get one free (mix & match).
📅 Offer ends 5th November.
📦 Local delivery only to NN14, NN15 & NN16 — delivered within 3 days of payment.

To order, just message us with your name, address, and which refills you’d like. We’ll send you a quick payment link or bank details — easy as that!

WhatsApp or message Melissa on 07398 211319‬ or read the comments for a link.

We’re also working hard to:
✨ Add more fragrances & products
✨ Source durable spray bottles for refills
✨ Extend delivery once we’ve perfected postage
✨ Launch our online shop soon

Thank you for supporting a small local family business — every refill helps us grow 🌿

21/10/2025

🍂 WANTED: YOUR LEAVES! 🍂

The leaves are falling… and we’re after them!

If your garden’s been buried under autumn leaves, we can help clear it up quickly — and here’s the best bit:

🌿 Get a competitive quote for garden tidy-up or maintenance, and we’ll dispose of your leaves for free.

We’re keeping this offer for small family gardens around Kettering only — it’s our way of helping locals get gardens looking neat again before winter.

Message us for a quick quote or collection.

🧤 From the Langham family — keeping local gardens tidy, one leaf at a time.

19/10/2025

When we first moved into our home, the garden was basically a gravel pit. The quickest and cheapest way to make it usable was to lay some artificial grass, add decking, and later build a small garden office.

But after a few years of offering landscaping services, we’ve realised something — we’ve had enough of fake lawns and “no-maintenance” gardens. Nature needs a place to breathe, and so do we.

So this winter and spring, we’re starting right where it matters most — at home. We’ll be knocking down the office, digging up the gravel, and bringing our garden back to life.

We want to create a real family garden — somewhere the kids can get muddy, learn to compost, grow their own food, and see where it comes from.

Can we make the garden productive for our business at the same time? Let’s find out together 🌱

Check in most Sundays to see progress (expect it to be slow 😂).

15/10/2025

🌿 Introducing Langham Family Business

Where comfort lives.

We’re Simon and Melissa — a husband-and-wife team based in Kettering, running a true family business built on trust, honesty, and a shared belief that home should feel like comfort.

Many of you will know us already through the work we’ve done locally — from kitchen fitting and property maintenance to cleaning and landscaping. Over the years, we’ve built a reputation for doing things properly, with care and consistency, and for treating every home as if it were our own.

Now, we’re bringing everything we do together under one name — Langham Family Business.

This isn’t just a rebrand; it’s a reflection of how we want to live and work.
Our business has to work for our family — and for yours.
We’re raising two young daughters, and the balance between earning a living and living well has never felt more important.

Our goal is to keep things simple: to earn a living doing meaningful, quality work without unnecessary stress or complication — and to help other families enjoy that same sense of comfort and contentment at home.

We focus on jobs we can do ourselves — the kind where craftsmanship, care, and reliability make all the difference. Whether it’s refitting a kitchen, tidying a garden, fixing something that’s been nagging at you, or giving your home a fresh, natural clean — we’re here to help.

You can contact us about most things property-related, and if it’s something we can’t take on, we’ll happily point you in the right direction.

At its heart, Langham Family Business is about looking after people and homes with honesty, good intent, and a personal touch.
If something isn’t right, we’ll own up and make it right — that’s a promise we stand by.

Thank you to everyone who’s supported us so far. Your trust has allowed our little family to grow this dream, one home at a time.

🪴 From our family to yours — thank you for letting us be part of your home.

👉 Follow us for updates, home inspiration, and our new natural cleaner launch soon!