hey hard to tell w/o a pic ... but if the green is attached to the brown inside.. one might suggest you dont go trimming it all out ... most trees and conifers are barren on the interior .. and that is normal.. so you can see our conundrum on how to advise w/o pic .. that said.. if these are your standard monsters .. which were once cute little plants.. planted a foot or two from the house.. then most likely.. its time for them to go ... ants dont nest in trees .. so i am confused by that... but my bottom line usually comes down to the fact that this is .. presumably .. the front of your new house.. and you should not do long term renovations out front.. and you should get rid of the prior owners mistakes.. and start afresh ... a pic MIGHT change my mind.. ken

Many of us don't worry about cleaning under a range until you replace it.

Maybe the solution is to do either/or but not both types of chores in the same day. Organize a room, then clean it. I was watching Hording Buried Alive last night. They had a woman, a former teacher, who had 2,000 totes in her home, neatly arranged but full of stuff she no longer needed, hobby supplies, many books, school supplies. It was neatly organized but they hit the nail on the head when they said "You have too much stuff for this small house." To add to it, she was reluctant to give anything away. She picked 16 items she was willing to donate, but that made no dent in the 2,000 "organized" labelled tote boxes. Her daughter (an adult) was very upset. No neat, happy end , showing her well-organized beautiful home. They left her with her overcrowded house and her many issues, which included family deaths, isolation, and her shopping addiction. Truly scary stuff.

some how you live in an area of zone five that has wind that where I grew up in zone 3 and wind coming off the north Dakota prairie, we still could grow things you can't. I know the above sentence is nonsensical, but good grief girl...you are trying to reinvent the wheel with every thing you do, and nothing can possibly grow where you are because you have conditions no one else on the planet has. I've seen it, done it, trumped it...unless you are in a desert, which east of the Mississippi, unlikely. here's one for you...I have references that cite Saybrook Gold Juniper as prone to winter burn. From eastern north Dakota, u of mn, and multiple landscape sources of impeccable repute from the five state area of the upper Midwest (ND, SD, MN, WI, IA), it's perfectly hardy and shows superior resistance to winterburn. So for every source you can show me, I can show you another citing the exact opposite. That's how horticulture is...it's not always as nice and neat as people like to believe. I know people on the North Dakota prairie that don't have the problems you have. You know, that place where two story buildings are built for windloads of 170 mph straightline? Where the governor has a standing order for cancelling school when the temp is colder than -55 degrees. I'll let you ask if it's F or C...that's just cold any way you cut it. What I know about J. chinensis is that wind tolerance is kinda variable and will most likely be hard to discern apart from winterburn. Some cultivars will have winter tolerance to wind and sun in spades, some under certain conditions, some not so much. If you want to know which, you gotta go local. there has to be some local place that's been around forever...even in ottertail county, mn, there's a nursery that's been in operation for over 100 years...there's always a place like that, been around forever, if they don't carry it, or know of it, don't bother. J. virginiana is plenty hardy, all cultivars. IN ZONE FRIGGIN 3. WITH NORTH DAKOTA WIND. prone to turning purple in winter. J. scopulorum is plenty hardy, some variation among cultivars, but don't discolor the way that J. virginiana cultivars can. NOTE: Medora juniper, from the town of Medora, on the north Dakota prairie. Yes, I know I cite ND a lot, but if you have problems with wind and cold and want hardiness above all else, look to what does well under conditions that make any part of western NY look like a walk in a balmy spring breeze. J. scopulorum 'Medora'.