Are you thinking of spring already? I sure am. Though I am not thinking of the warmer days, we had warm days this winter. I am thinking about all the tasks I need to do this spring. It can get overwhelming. To help you and me with the planning, I constructed this list to jumpstart your organizing tasks. Here we go.
Important tasks to do this spring
1st task: Decide on your plan for your garden. You may want to do seedlings. You may want to get help with moving dirt or getting rid of a rotted tree. All of these require planning so making a detailed plan will give you a better idea of what you want to do and complete outdoors. Get a calendar just for gardening. Start when you want to finish and work your way backward to today. Add all the tasks you need to get done.
2nd task: Clean Out the mulch beds. Remove debris from the wintertime. Clear out under open deck areas like steps. Animals and rodents love to hide under those piles of old leaves.
3rd task: Go through your shed. Go through your garden tools and make sure they are cleaned and in good working order. Some tools can get rusted if not cleaned properly so checking them out now will save you time and money. Here is a post about What to Keep in Your Shed: List of Things to Keep in Your Shed.
4th task: Go through your garage. Not everyone has a shed big enough to hold all the items they use outdoors. That's where the garage storage comes in because these items most likely are stored in there. Here are several posts where I talk about efficient garage organization. Feel free to visit them.
How To Make An Effective Garage Organization
Organizing Small Sports Equipment
4 Areas of Your Garage to Keep Safe
5th task: Go through your lawn seeds and pesticides bags. Decide what you need to replace and what you need to remove. Be sure to get rid of pesticides properly. Not all of them are allowed to be placed in the trash.
6th task: Schedule the drop off times for mowers and other equipment. This task is the one job people don't do often enough until it's too late. Stuff will last a lot longer when you spend the time to do maintenance.
7th task: Pick out new plants for different areas of your yard. There may be some areas plants were killed from the frost this winter. Refresh these areas by adding new younger and more durable plants. Arbor Day Foundation has a Best Tree Finder page to help you find the right tree for your area, check it out.
8th task: Seed the lawn. This task will keep fill in the bald patches and other areas on your lawn. It also helps enhance the lawn’s ability to fight insects and diseases.
9th task: Trimming trees and shrubs. This area is what I have done every year since we moved into our home. It helps them get stronger at the roots if you trip the branches back and remove any cross branches. I also find that the tree looks healthier and can withstand the windy weather in our area. Having several different pairs of cutting scissors helps to keep your hands from getting fatigued. Over the years, adding scissors or saws with extension poles measuring 8-10 feet were helpful.
10th task: Clean and clear off your lawn tables, chairs, outdoor fabrics, and umbrellas. DIY Network says the best cleaning mixture for outside fabric garden furniture is one teaspoon of dishwashing detergent, 1-quart warm water, and 1 tablespoon of Borax in a bowl or spray bottle. Be sure to saturate the corners and folds of the fabric.
11th task: And, we can't forget our beautiful birds and animals. Making sure the feeders are stable and secure for them, so they don't hurt themselves is critical.
One final note, as you go around the outside and examine and organize your outdoors, make sure to have a piece of paper and pen or at least your phone. Write down all the things that need repairing. You can even take a picture of the space that needs repair by snapping an image and creating a visual to-do list in your favorite notebook app. I like to use Microsoft OneNote, but you can also use Evernote or any app that probably came with your phone.
If you need additional information, here are a few other articles that may help you get your outdoors organized this easy.
5 Ways to Get Your Garden Ready for Spring by Real Simple Magazine
Spring Gardening Checklist by Better Homes and Garden
Well, there you have it. I hope this helps you get your outdoors organized before you plan on using it. Please leave a comment below telling me about what outdoor areas you organize before spring. I would love to hear from you.
Sarah Soboleski
I just bought a gorgeous faux fiddle leaf fig and arranged some fake flowers on my mantle, so I don't think that counts as prepping for garden season! I have a black thumb and am not an outdoors person, but your points make good sense to get off on the right for planting season. And I like that you didn't forget about the birds - I at least do one thing on your list! Lol!
Hilda Rodgers
Great tips Sabrina! We tend to not get gardening weather here until May, but I love cleaning up my gardens before then so they look nice when all my perennials come through in April and early May.
Linda Samuels
Spring is a very busy time of year for the yard. We tend to keep it pretty simple and also enlist help when it comes to some of the larger maintenance pieces. One of my favorite things is going to the nursery to pick out some seasonal flowers that I plant in the glazed outdoor pots. I'm not much of a gardener, but I do enjoy doing that one simple thing...selecting plants and planting them. It makes me so happy and makes me think about my grandmother who loved her garden.
Seana Turner
The first thing I need to do is get rid of the snow! We had a mild winter, and now it seems to be taking revenge. Each year I feel that spring is getting longer/colder, while fall is warmer. I'm trying to wait patiently, because I can't wait to get outside!