Well, it is that time of year where we all get our pen and paper out and begin the "to do" list. Summer often breeds creativity and the urge to renew or rearrange. Most of us book time off to get the "to do" list of "summer projects" completed and start September of fresh.

This year, my husband and I have our work cut out for us. Our summer projects include:
  • Planting our first container garden. My mother, mother in law, and grandmother have kindly supplied the containers; we have generated soil from our compost bin, and my seeds were less than $2 a package. In the end we will be harvesting fresh produce for almost no cost to us. 
  • Lay grass seed. Last year we purchased eco-lawn grass seed at the price of two for one. The two bags should do our lawn. Now, this week, just need to purchase a bit of soil which shouldn't cost us more than $50. We are also doing the work ourselves instead of paying someone. 
  • Edging our flower beds with bricks. This will happen once we can find a really good deal on stones. It might happen in the fall when garden centres are clearing out their stock. 
  • Laying additional landscaping rock. This will also happen once we can find a good deal. We might split a load with my parents which will also save money. 
  • Finishing our fence. The fence in our house has not been build properly. In fact it is crooked and has a lot of gaps. We are considering taking it down and using the same boards to build it properly. 
  • Installing gutter guards. We got these last fall as part of the governments home renovation tax credit. They were also on sale at one of our local hardware stores. All we need to do is borrow my father's ladder and we will be able to install them. 
  • Painting our front stairs. This is something we are considering doing to improve the look of our current stairs. We don't have the money to fix them yet (they are currently sunken), but this is an option we are considering on doing to tie us over. We already have some paint left over from another house project so it shouldn't cost much at all to do.
  • Having a garage sale. When we got married in the fall, my husband and I ended up with duplicates of numerous household items. They are currently taking up a lot of our storage space. If we can have a garage sale next month, we will be able to make a little bit of money as well as clear out some space in our house. 
When it comes to all of these projects, we have come up with a priority list of what to do first as well as saved in our budget for these expenses. This weekend, we are getting our containers ready for our seedlings and laying the grass seed. Posts in the next week will include planting tips as well as tricks we have found in laying seed. 
We are hoping to get all of the projects done by October and we will try to do most of the work ourselves wherever possible. We are taking on one at a time so that we don't get too overwhelmed.  If we don't finish them all, then we will be able to feel success in what we have accomplished. 
We have found that our key success is taking the time to write out a plan and a budget and approach each one as a team. It is also important to realize you can't do everything all at once. It may take a couple summers before you get your projects finished.  There is no harm in trying though!

So what are your summer projects? How will you spend your time off? Any tips on saving money while getting them done? Let us know. 


**Don't forget to check out our Contests/Polls for your chance to win.**

Summer Projects Anyone? Miss T has written 579 articles on this blog.

No related posts.