Learn how to get your yard ready for spring with these beautiful outdoor decorating ideas. Free printables, simple tutorials, and lots of tips and tricks included in this totally customizable plan.
The May Household Organization Diet
Happy May! I’m so excited for the nicer weather to get here and have my fingers crossed that those April showers will bring lots of May flowers. It’s so nice to start getting back outside again! This is actually my favorite month of The Household Organization and I love getting our outdoor spaces ready for the warmer months. I’m just hoping that the weather cooperates. 🙂
THE HOUSEHOLD ORGANIZATION DIET PLAN
If you’re not familiar with The Household Organization Diet, it’s basically a year-long plan to work on decluttering, deep cleaning, and organizing every space in your home. Each month we work on a different room. Some spaces may need a lot of time and others will be easier. Just work at your own pace, do what you can, and feel free to adapt the plan to make it work for you. The key is to just get started!
At the beginning of each month, I post a free set of printables for the month including a task list, a blank task list for you to add your own tasks, a calendar, and a notes sheet. I recommend that you print these out and put them in a binder for frequent reference. You might even want to print two copies of the task sheet so you can hang one up on the fridge or other visible area of your home. You can read a little more below about how to use them.
I also always post some helpful tutorials and tips to help you complete each of your tasks. Be sure to pin or bookmark this post so you can read these over before you get started. I’ll be updating them throughout the month with any changes I’ve made and will be sure to let you know when I’m working on anything new. Please leave me a comment or email me if you have specific questions or ideas that you would find helpful to complete the tasks and keep you on track. I love to hear from you!
The May Household Organization Diet – How to Clean and Organize Outdoor Spaces
Last month we worked on organizing the home office spaces and paperwork, and this month The Household Organization Diet is moving outside! We’re going to be working on any decluttering, organizing and outdoor decor projects to create your perfect outdoor space. This one can be a little trickier due to the weather and I find that scheduling off bigger chunks of time {such as a whole afternoon or even a weekend} is really needed for me to get everything done. Put in the time now to get your yard cleaned and organized, and you will be able to kick back and enjoy your outdoor living spaces once summer arrives.
You’ll find everything you need here to learn how to get your yard ready for spring and summer – free printables, tips and tricks, lots of simple DIY outdoor tutorials, and, of course, some beautiful outdoor decor ideas. Also, if your family needs a Mother’s Day gift idea, some new plants or outdoor flowers, new patio furniture or decor, or even an I.O.U. for a yard helping day might be a nice suggestion! 😉
May Household Organization Diet Printables
So here are the plans for this month to get your yard ready for spring. You might need to adjust some of the tasks depending on your yard and goals, but it should give you a good starting point!
May Task List
It’s always a good idea to have a plan in place for any organization task, so here are the May tasks and calendar for you. As always, you can use my pre-made plan or download the blank task sheet to create your own.
DOWNLOAD THE MAY TASKS HERE
DOWNLOAD A MAY BLANK TASK SHEET HERE
May Calendar
I like to keep track of when I’m going to do what on a monthly calendar. Make your {realistic!} monthly plan and stick to it! Some people like to do a little each day and others would like to block off a longer time period once per week or on the weekend. Do whatever works best for your time schedule and personality. Just be careful not to bite off more than you can chew – there’s nothing worse than getting overwhelmed.
DOWNLOAD THE MAY 2019 CALENDAR HERE
May Notes Sheet
Keep a notes sheet {or two!} handy to jot down any projects, home improvement ideas, extra tasks, etc. that you would like to do. You might want to use one for tasks that you would like to do this month and a second sheet for future projects that you would like to do. Sometimes just getting it down on paper, will give your mind a bit of a rest.
DOWNLOAD THE MAY NOTES SHEET HERE
A couple of years ago, we decided to paint our wooden deck due to the poor condition of the wood. We chose a pretty grey color and I loved how it looked against the stained wood on the fence. I was really wanting a New Hampshire beach cottage feel and was so happy with how it turned out. Unfortunately, it didn’t do well over the winter with the weather and constant abuse from our dog.
While we could’ve re-sanded and painted, we were really looking for something that was lower maintenance and could stand up to all of our use. So, last summer we totally re-did our backyard patio design and put down some Trex decking. It was definitely an investment, but it has held up really well so far and should be much easier to get ready for the summer. I’m hoping to do a review for you once it’s all cleaned up. You can read more about our new backyard patio design HERE.
Outdoor DIY Tutorials
I’ve put together all of my past outdoor posts for you so you can have them all in one place. These should pretty much get you through all of the tasks on your list with outdoor cleaning tips, easy DIY projects, and lots of outdoor design and decor inspiration. If there is anything else that you need, just let me know!
Outdoor Decorating Ideas
Simple Ways to Increase the Curb Appeal of Your Home
How to Put Together the Perfect Summer Tablescape
DIY Outdoor Wooden Planter Holder
How to Create a Backyard Retreat
Outdoor Cleaning Tutorials
How to Clean and Maintain Outdoor Patio Furniture
Printable Home and Garden Maintenance Checklists
Whew! I think that should keep you busy for the month!
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The Household Organization Diet
This post is part of The Household Organization Diet. If you need some organization inspiration, check out THIS POST to learn more about the plan and THIS POST for all of the 2018 updates. It’s updated on the first of every month with the new plan so don’t forget to bookmark it! You CAN get that house cleaned and organized once and for all! To see all of the previous posts click the Get Organized tab at the top of the blog and go to The Household Organization Diet. I also have all of the posts pinned to my Household Organization Diet Pinterest Board. Start at any time and make sure you are following along so you don’t miss out…
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If you haven’t ordered it already, be sure to check out my book, The Home Decluttering Diet. It’s the perfect companion to my posts here on the blog! Having something in your hand that you can constantly see and refer back to can make such a difference in keeping your attention and motivation up! Thank-you so much to those of you that have ordered already and supported my adventure. It is SO appreciated, and I hope that a happy, healthy home is my gift back to you. You can order from Amazon HERE or HERE, or from Barnes and Noble HERE.
Kate says
I love your patio, you have such a good eye for picking colour combinations and textures. It’s inspired me to sweep the cobwebs off my own in time for that summer BBQ!
Jenn Lifford says
Oh good! Happy BBQing! 🙂
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Jenn Lifford says
Thank-you so much! What a great collection of blogs!
Zhade says
Oh my gosh! SO many great ideas! It has been scorching hot here in Florida and I really cant remember the last time we had rain. So there is no grass at all in our backyard and the grass in the front is slowly erroding and giving way to the sand underneath. So sad!!! I am also planning on buinding a wood patio off of my bedroom (as a surprise for my husband for fathers day) so I cant wait to see how yours turns out!
Jenn Lifford says
This has been the first weekend that we’ve had sun and I’m SO enjoying it! I can imagine how hard it would be to keep grass in the Florida heat though. I hope your husband enjoys the new patio – what a nice Father’s Day gift!!
Mallory Elliott says
Just completed my May outdoor tasks! We live in Brooklyn so our “yard” is more of a large patio space, but all the same, I needed to get things Spring-ready. Got all my gardening supplies and patio furniture out of storage, planted flowers, and got the hubs to dust off the grill just in time for our Memorial Day party. Love following your organization tips every month! Can’t wait to see what’s on the list for June 🙂
Jenn Lifford says
So glad to hear that! The June tasks should be up tomorrow night!
Lissa Hurst says
Awesome timing! I had already planned on working outside tomorrow (going to be a nice 80), so this is a big help!
Ellen from Ask Away Blog says
welp, I know whats on my to do list this weekend lol!