We talk all the time about your indoor spaces.  But this week in Georgia I just CANNOT stay indoors.  It’s BEAUTIFUL outside (if you don’t have a pollen allergy). I have moved my laptop outside so I can enjoy the breeze.  I’m hosting a baby shower this weekend so I decided to spruce up the outdoor space.   So let’s talk about the great outdoors.

How do you feel about your back yard?  Is it a space you enjoy?  If not, take a moment and tell me why?  Is it space?  Is it too sunny?  Is it ugly?  Is it uninviting?  Do you have nowhere to sit or hang out?  Do your kids hate the space?  Can you do something about that?

Yes!  Yes you can!  Take a short inventory of your space and let’s consider how we could make it great.  Sometimes all it takes to make our back yard (yes…you can include side yard or front yard…wherever you’d like to play) is a little sweat.  Grab a pair of gloves, a shovel, some clippers and get out there (before it gets too hot).  I like to rearrange things in my yard if they don’t work.  Shocking I know!  Ha!

If your plants are overcrowded….spread them out.  Give them a little space.  This is often the case when your yard is planted as a new construction with tiny little plants.  We don’t give the plants room to grow.  Or maybe your flowers need to be thinned….I did this last year with my iris.  They grow better when they aren’t crowded.  Is there something in your yard you dislike?  Get rid of it.  Who said you had to keep it?  Mother Nature? Prune a shrub that’s overgrown and wiry.  Trim up a tree so it has a better shape and grows better in the long run.  I seriously drive all over town resisting the urge to prune people’s plants for them.  I know…I know.

Spend a little money on some pinestraw.  I swear it makes me go from hating my yard to loving it.  Who knew?  Pinestraw! You an use mulch too but it’s usually pricier.  BE INTENTIONAL with the space in your yard.  Are you using them the way you actually want or by some kind of default?

I have a nice long patio and every year after the fall leaves come down it’s pretty grimy.  I invested in a small electric pressure washer and now I can clean the patio and all the patio furniture whenever I want.  I warn you…once you start cleaning things it’s kind of addictive.  I pressure washed my canvas hammock yesterday.  I now no longer feel like I need to replace it though.  It just needed a serious cleaning.

I urge you to take some time and think about your backyard space.  It really might be a diamond in the rough waiting for someone to polish it a bit.  It might not even take much money to get there.  I feel so proud of my space when I know I have worked hard to make it great.  You could too!

You might even decide to relocate your home office like I did! I challenge you!