With spring all but upon us, now’s the time to make your to-do list. A well-thought out list will help guide you through the season, it will clearly outline the most important projects, and it will save time down the road. From indoors to outdoors, and from sustainability to frugality, this to-do list will help you in more ways than one.
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Outdoors #1:
Spring Cleaning for the Yard
One of the first things good to get out of the way is spring cleaning for the yard. Remove all the weeds that have begun to invade your yard, fix your broken fences or mailbox, trim those now overbearing branches from shrubs and trees, and even consider doing some repainting where needed.
Outdoors #2:
Set Some Gardening Goals and then Pursue Them
Spring is the time to re-do the garden. One cool idea most people overlook is soil testing. If you’re using hearty compost year round, though, chances are you soil is fine. Regardless, set some goals for your garden – maybe you want more leafy greens this year, or maybe you want more colorful vegetables. Whatever it is, start deciding now so you can purchase the seeds needed right away. Also, ask yourself if you want to try a new area for your garden, if you want to expand, and if you think trying a new technique, like a raised bed, would be interesting or fun.
Another great tip is to start keeping a gardening journal if you don’t already have one. After a few years, you’ll have some useful notes on what works and what doesn’t work in your yard.
Outdoors #3:
Repair your Tools
After a year or more of use, your spades, hoes, shears, and shovels will dull out. You can get scissor sharpeners from a hardware store, and these can be used on a few different types of tools. If you can any questions or concerns about sharpening tools yourself, go ahead and ask the friendly staff at your gardening supply store. Chance are they will be able to sharpen your tools right there, or at least offer some useful advice for your situation.
Indoor #1:
Give Your Home a Breath of Fresh Air
Getting a good air filter, like those that use HEPA filters, is always a good idea, and it comes especially in handy when doing spring cleaning. Open up all your windows, have you air filter running in hard to air out places, and start dusting and cleaning. After a few hours of this, your whole house will have literally taken a breath of fresh air.
After your done, consider getting some indoor plants to help new oxygen form.
Indoor #2:
Yard Sale!
Yard sales have always been a favorite thing of mine in spring. There’s something about getting rid of a ton of stuff I don’t use that makes me feel good – and it’s a important that I know it isn’t going to a landfill. Anything you don’t sell should be brought to the Goodwill or other donations outlets if they are in good enough condition. If some clothes are a little raggedy, consider making reusable bags out of them.
Indoor #3:
The Usual Spring Cleaning
Find a good time these next few weeks to pull up all your rugs (have those windows open like before), move your couches and beds, and shake out your drapes or curtains. Get in all those hard to reach places in each room – the kitchen, front room, bed rooms, bathroom, and living room. If you’re feeling adventurous, consider adding some new eco-safe paint to the walls or patching up a
ny holes. If nothing else, make a nice all-purpose cleaner and wash down all your doorknobs, light switches, and other high frequency points in your home.
As Fresh as Spring Herself
This is just a guide, so you may find yourself needing a whole host of other activities to satisfy your spring-cleaning bug. Whatever you need/want to do, though, be sure you write it down somewhere prominent so you don’t forget. Even if it takes a few weekends to get all this done, it will be worth the wait – just be strategic with your planning (I suggest doing all the outdoor stuff first, so you dirty the indoors after you cleaned them).
Happy Spring!
