Home Projects: Outdoor Sitting Area

In the backyard between the house, concrete patio, pond, and brick wall was this very nondescript area of the yard, mostly taken over by weeds and a few random plants.

Before:I wish I could take more credit, but Steve spent a couple of Saturdays turning the area into a beautiful sitting retreat that overlooks the pond and can be seen from our bedroom window. He planted fragrant gardenia and jasmine, which we hope will fill the space with an inviting aroma.

This past Saturday we placed the stone pavers and brick edging (digging a hole for each) and spread the pine straw (big here in the South.) We are thinking about still planting some ground cover between the pavers, but for now, here in the finished product. I think it turned out beautiful. Do you like it?

After:

One Extra

With Spring comes Spring Cleaning! Yay! And I really do mean "yay!" Of course in my mind I think of organizing and cleaning out closets vs. the actual cleaning. I feel like we are generally pretty good about cleaning when it comes to vacuuming, bathrooms, and the surface stuff, but I admit, I am not good about the nitty gritty (window washing, moving furniture to clean, dusting, cleaning shutters, light fixtures, ceiling fans...well, you get the picture.) When we moved into our house last May, we did a good cleaning of all the cabinets, shelves, and drawers before unpacking, but that is pretty much where it ended. We had only lived here three months before Steve left for his deployment, so we did not get everything done as far as a good deep cleaning and also project-wise. I mostly did the obvious cleaning while he was away in attempt to keep my head above water and still have a little time to myself. So, in addition to our long "to do" list of outdoor projects before spring and summer really hit, we have a nice long list of indoor projects and "to do's" as well. To help us get our home clean and in order, Steve had this idea that in addition to our normal, every day/weekly cleaning tasks (such as laundry, dishes, wiping the counters, bathrooms, vacuuming, etc...) we should each tackle one extra task each day. Something that might be forgotten or go without being cleaned for a long period of time. For example, that might mean cleaning the shutters and windows in a room, the shelves in the refrigerator, or the baseboards or switch plates. Just those little things that get lost in the big picture. Lately I have been working on our windows and plantation shutters room by room. I haven't cleaned them the entire time we have lived here, and quite honestly I am not sure if the former owner ever cleaned them either. Yikes! So...it does feel good to have those cleaned instead of procrastinating and thinking, "I really should clean those one of these days soon." It is the little stuff. And though I was a little insulted at first by Steve's idea ("So you're saying I'm not a good housekeeper?") I am beginning to see how easy it is and how it will definitely pay off in the long run (especially since Steve is helping and doing "one extra" everyday too.)

I promise to post some pictures of the inside of our home sometime soon. It is about time! (Maybe once more cleaning is accomplished *wink.*) How do you keep up with all the housework, dust bunnies, and those little forgotten things?

[This is our home from last summer. Not sure if you can tell in the photo, but all the plants were crazy, out-of-control...so much so that it was a little hard to tell what was weed vs. perennial, shrub, etc. In addition to Spring Cleaning we have been working on a list of outdoor projects and yard work now before everything has a chance to take over at lightning speed. Cannot wait for that lush green though!]