For the ultimate summertime luxury on a shoestring budget, suspend a plain white sheet from a garden wall, fence or a PVC frame to make an outdoor theater, HGTV says. Gather whatever lawn chairs you can scrounge from local garage sales, invite your friends, pop some corn and kick back for a backyard blockbuster. Not enough furniture? If the weather is dry, you can bring indoor furniture such as chairs and end tables outside for a festive dinner party or film night, or ask guests to bring a few folding chairs. Blankets on the ground will work, too!
Tag: outdoor living
Garden Cleanup Before Garden Dress-up
The garden may be looking a bit haggard after a long winter and wet spring, and you’ll need to clean it up to make it presentable for the summer. Trim the bushes and prune the trees; clear the yard of sticks, leaves and other detritus. Weed the flower beds, plant annuals and mulch the beds to keep weeds at bay. Clear the cobwebs from your shed or garage and organize your stuff into bins. Finally, give your deck or patio and its furnishings a good power wash and dress up the whole are with hanging baskets and pots, House Beautiful says, and you’ll be able to create a welcoming space for entertaining guests or relaxing in the great outdoors.
Make a Kondo-Quality Outdoor Space
Take a cue from celebrated declutterer Marie Kondo to bring order to your outdoor space. Set aside time to examine each category of goods populating the patio, yard and shed — tools, furniture, plants, etc. — and ask yourself Kondo’s quintessential question as you encounter each item: “Does this spark joy?” If it doesn’t, get rid of it. In doing so, you’ll free your mind of the need to make everything somehow fit into a perfect scheme. “Let go of the ‘what-ifs’ and ‘somedays,’” says the Houzz blog. “Toss that half-dead plant into the compost bin and tidy up the debris of an unfinished garden project.”
What Is Your Patio’s Purpose?
Consider the purpose of your outdoor space so that you can declutter it more effectively, says Home Storage Solutions 101. It might be a playground for the kids, a place to hold elegant al fresco dinner parties, or your own little garden spot. Whatever its function is should help determine the stuff that occupies the space. The rest can go into a garden shed and storage bins when not in use to free up space. As you weed, clean and organize your patio, toss any broken items, and save any still-useful items that just don’t fit into your scheme for a donation to ClothingDonations.org.
Declutter Your Outdoor Space
Unseasonably cool weather will give way to warmer temperatures soon, and that means one thing: outdoor living. Get your outdoor space ready for summer by clearing it of the clutter that has gathered there over the winter. Start by throwing away any broken tools, flower pots and garden ornaments, then decide what to do with the stuff that might be repurposed if you only had the time. Patio furniture and containers are good examples, The Spruce says: If you have extra chairs and planters that others might be able to use with a little refurbishing, donate them to ClothingDonations.org so that your trash can be someone’s treasure.