Storm damage does not tidy itself up as it dries out. Broken wood invites disease and fallen debris starts breaking down into the lawn beneath it. Most of the clean-up is safe to do yourself. The important part is knowing where your own judgement should stop.
Assess before you touch anything
Walk the property from a distance and look up before you look down. Broken limbs do not always come down straight away, and a branch hanging by a strip of bark can drop hours or days after the wind has stopped.
Check for four things: hanging or partly detached branches overhead, any tree with a new lean or lifted soil at its base, damage within reach of power lines, and debris resting against a fence, deck or roofline under tension. Treat any of those as off-limits until properly assessed, not eyeballed from the back door. Everything else, fallen twigs, small branches, flattened bedding plants, is safe to start on.
Cut back to sound wood
A branch torn off by wind rarely breaks cleanly. It shears, leaving a ragged, splintered wound that is far more exposed than a deliberate cut, and an open door for fungal disease.
For anything you can safely reach, follow the tear back to sound, undamaged wood and make a single clean cut just past it. Do not try to save length by cutting close to the tear. You want a wound the plant can seal quickly, not the shortest possible cut.
Clear the lawn first
Fallen leaves and broken foliage smother grass within days in Auckland's damp winter, so work in order: lawn first, then beds, then paths and hard surfaces last. Stack larger branches separately from soft green material, since most transfer stations sort and charge for these differently and a mixed load costs more.
One thing that catches people out: a shallow-rooted shrub or young tree can be partly lifted without any visible damage above ground, especially after heavy rain on Auckland clay. If it has shifted at the base but the roots are mostly still in, firm the soil back and stake it temporarily. Forcing it upright in one movement tears roots that are still holding.
Our approach
We always cut back to solid wood rather than tidying the tear in place, because a rough edge left on an otherwise healthy branch is what turns a one-off storm knock into slow dieback over the following months. We handle tree and stump work up to four metres. Anything larger, or showing root or trunk movement, or near a structure or power line, goes to a qualified arborist. A leaning tree's real risk is underground, and a visual check from the lawn cannot rule it out.