Spring Fever

by Debbie
Image by S. Hermann & F. Richter from Pixabay.

The official start of spring is just around the corner. The vernal equinox, or spring equinox, is Saturday, March 20th at 5:37 AM. This marks the end of Winter and the start of Spring. The snow has begun to melt and life has started to wake up from its long slumber.

Spring has this way of energizing me. I look around my house and see all the things that need cleaned and rearranged. DIY projects begin to surge to the front of my mind. When I look outside I can see all the opportunities. The yard and surrounding forest may look dull and dead, but it is far from gone. Life is stirring beneath the surface of the grass and within the roots of the trees.

Sadly, it isn’t quite time to plant the herb and flower garden of my dreams or jump into action on the DIY projects. Now is the time for planning. It is the time for cleaning and clearing out of the old and stagnate.

Spring Cleaning

If you too are full of extra energy and wondering what to do until the warm weather sets in, let me make some suggestions.

Lighten Up the Wardrobe

It is always healthy to go through your wardrobe and discard items. If you haven’t worn an item in a year get rid of it. Kids grow like vines. Often you will find their cloths no longer fit. This is a great time to pull them out and make space for the new. There are yellow bins all around that accept clothes and shoes. Goodwill, Salvation Army and others accept donations all year.

Weed Through Cabinets and Rooms

I give the rooms in my house a good deep clean, clearing out the stagnation caused by winter. When I go through the rooms I see what I am ready to get rid of or move to a new location. As time goes by, our tastes change. It is always healthy to look around and see what items in our homes no longer bring us joy. These items don’t have to become garbage. They can be gifted to family, close friends or donated to charities. They can live on bringing joy to others and free up space in your home. The kids toys and games that are no longer used can be given to family, friends, coworkers and charities also.

Here I rearranged a few things and got rid of some others.

Spring Into the Outdoors

The litter that has been hidden by the snow and ice is starting to reveal itself. As we begin to head out and explore the outdoors on some of the nicer days, we can do a world of good. Take along a bag and a glove and collect garbage as you find it. Some of this can even be recycled. Teaching children from a young age that it is wrong to litter is a very important lesson. Make it a fun game for kids to help clean up trails, roadsides and public spaces. This is also a great activity for Girl Scout and Boy Scout troops.

Image by Anastasia Gepp from Pixabay.

Planning for the Future

Besides decluttering and tidying, I am doing a bunch of planning. Country Fox has some big home improvements in mind for 2021 both inside and outside. As the weather begins to break, we can begin to plan. Spring is a great time to walk around and assess what you need to do and what you want to do. Once you have this list of needs and wants, you can begin flesh out what items will be needed and when to get them.

Now is a great time to take your excitement and energy and put it towards planning. As Benjamin Franklin said, “If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail.” So get your lists together and do your research so that once Spring is in full flow, you can succeed with your own DIY list.