Outdoor Organizing?

photo courtesy of vorakor, freedigitalphotos.net

When I think of organizing, I generally only think of my indoor spaces, but there's a lot to do outside as well.  Ideally, much of this is done in the spring so you're ready for the growing season... but life gets busy (including my own) and sometimes we get started a little late!

Depending on where you live, you could have yard items, tools, furniture, etc to organize.  Spring is the perfect time to clean up outside and make your outside spaces clutter-free.  

Starting in the yard:

• Clean up any trash that may have blown in with winter and spring storms.  
• Remove dead vegetation, such as last year's stalks and dead grass.
• Prepare planting beds for fresh annuals or your vegetable garden - till the ground, clean up any weeds. (Here's a great video on weed-free gardening.)

Prepare your outdoor living:

• Bring outdoor furniture (and cushions) out of storage.  P.S.  You should be storing these overwinter, unless of course, you live in a very mild climate.  At the very least, store cushions  and other fabric items during rainy weather so that the material lasts longer.
• If needed, use an upholstery protectant made for outdoor use on the fabric.  Most outdoor furniture comes with weather protected fabric, but this will need to be refreshed from time to time.
• For wood furniture, clean the wood with a good wood soap and re-stain if needed.
• For painted items, check for chips, sand and re-paint as needed.

For yard tools:

• Clean any remaining dirt from yard tools.  Again,  this is something that should be done at the end of the growing season - late fall or early winter, but if you failed to do it then, it's crucial you take care of the tools at this point.
• Oil tools with hinges.
• Sharpen tools with blades and oil the blades, if needed.

Of course, as I said before, this should be done earlier in the spring-time, but pretty much anything but the planting can be done at any point.  With these tips, you should be able to easily work your way through the "organizing" so that you can enjoy your outdoor living.

---