End of Summer Clean-up
The school bus is rounding the corner before the swim towels are completely dry on the line. Backpacks are replacing beach bags, and we feel a slight shift in the atmosphere. The sun starts to go to bed a trifle earlier – and sleep a little later. Summer is packing up her bags and prepping to leave us once again. Are we ever really ready to see her go?
Whether we are reorganizing our schedules to meet the challenge of the school year or are trying to savor the last days of the season, we know Autumn is right around the corner and necessitates a shift in the way we enjoy our homes and properties. Ready or not, we will be spending less time on the deck, the patio, and in the garden.
Do you keep an end-of-summer checklist of chores and maintenance issues that you routinely handle at this intersection? Or do you wait until the weather actually turns from kind to unfriendly? At our house, we usually let the season and the schedule dictate the jobs, trying to squeeze in the gardening and the lawn care around everything else. And we don’t remember to do all the things. But in a perfect world, one might want to consider a few items:
Deck maintenance – repairing, staining, sealing
Patio furniture – cleaning and storing
Grill – cleaning (and storing if you don’t use it in the winter)
Gardening tools – cleaning and storing
Hoses and sprinklers - emptying and storing
Garage – cleaning, sweeping, organizing
Labor Day is right around the corner, so we’re still using and dirtying most of these things. This conversation is probably premature, but we can plan and pace ourselves over the next several weeks. Besides, college football starts soon, meaning that one of the key maintenance people at my house will be busy most Saturdays.
Let’s squeeze every drop of goodness out of these last few warm weeks – one more cookout, one more trip to the park, the last outdoor concert, a final pool party, the final lap around the lake, more time outside with those we love. And maybe Autumn will treat us gently, with plenty of mild weather and more good days to come!