Organizing the outdoors

‘Tis the season that brings about the cooler weather and therefore time to get rid of the last bits of summer.

To prepare your yard for the fall there are many things that you can do so that you  are cleaned up, organized, and ready for next spring.  If do a good clean-up job in the fall, then your set-up next season will be a cinch!

Things to do:

First thing is to make sure you have a package of yard waste bags.

Figure out what you need to accomplish and make a list so you don’t miss anything.

Dump planters – any hanging baskets and flower pots can be dumped out into compost bags.  Once you have dumped them and maybe rinsed and brushed them out, you can stack them together and put them into a shed, basement or garage.  Keep them all together so you’ll find them all to start again in the spring.

Clean out the vegetable garden, perennials, and any dying annuals.  There will likely be a lot of leaves here, so when you’re pulling out the annuals and the vegetables, and cleaning up the perennials, just dump everything into the yard waste bag.  It never hurts to leave some leaves in your garden for insulating your perennials over the cold winter months.

Cut back perennials, shrubs and any bushes that need to be done in the fall (consult the internet if you’re not sure how much or where to cut).

Rake leaves, and give the lawn that one last cut (hopefully!), then apply fall fertilizer.

Clean and put yard tools, garden supplies, and garden decorations,  all together in one place (shed, garage, basement).  If they are kept together you won’t waste time locating different items in different places next time.

If you own a barbeque, this would be a good time to do your bi-annual cleaning of it.  Using hot, soapy water and a good sponge or scouring brush are your best tools of the trade for this job.  If you have stubborn grease, use a mixture of vinegar and water and that should cut that grease. (I use vinegar and water for everything, it really does do a great job, plus it’s environmentally friendly!!)

Lastly, give your patio furniture a sweep, then a wipe down with hot, soapy water, and either stack and cover to leave outside, or put in a storage area.

Personally I love the fall.  Getting out there on any of the many beautiful days we have had is more of a pleasure than a chore.  Enjoy your fall duties!

😆🍁🍂🍃🌞