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Home & Garden Seasonal Calendar

Spring, summer, fall or winter, there’s always something to do around the house, indoors and out. We have created a handy list of seasonal “chores” and suggestions for important activities to accomplish season by season. Within each season, there are also some fun things to do to get you through the next month and help keep your house feeling like home. No matter the season, HomeAndGardenLiving.com is here to help with all your home and garden needs!

Even though the blanket of snow tends to keep us indoors, there are still many activities, indoors and out, that can keep us busy in the winter months. There are plenty of indoor projects to work on, and many reasons to get some fresh air outside as well. Here you will find a list of several important activities to get involved with in the winter.

Fall

Time to get out the sweaters and fall jackets! Colorful trees, earlier nights, apple cidar, cozy campfires, and pumpkin patches! Fall is a great time for family activities on the weekends once school starts. It also means time for raking and getting your lawn and garden ready for winter. We have all the activities that need to be done before winter conveniently listed in the fall category!

Basic Fall Maintenance

  • Get your house in tip top shape with help from a professional cleaner – Fall is a great time to do some “spring cleaning” and get rid of all the allergens, dust and dirt that have accumulated over the summer months. Call a professional cleaner for all your household cleaning needs, and give your floors a deep clean with the help of a professional carpet cleaner.

October Tasks

  • Mason-Lake Conservation District Annual Fall Tree Sale – Plant some conifer tree seedlings or transplants from the Conservation District October 10th. Read our story on the Annual Fall Tree Sale.

Winter

  • Removing Snow and Ice from Your Roof – What causes ice dams, how to prevent them from forming on your roof, and how to eliminate them.
  • Maintaining Your Furnace – Tips from the pros to keep your furnace in top condition.
  • Bird Feeding in the Winter Weather – To keep the birds attracted all year long, be sure to fill your bird feeders once they run low. Suet is great for woodpeckers, and typically lasts longer than seed.
  • Make the Mailman Happy by Keeping Your Mailbox Clear of Snow
  • Care for Your Bushes and Evergreens in the Winter – It is important to help your plants out when they are buried in the snow. Gently brush off the snow when it starts to get heavy on top of the bushes to avoid broken stems and branches.
  • Monitor the Humidity of Your Home – Why the proper humidity level in our home is so important, and how humidifiers help it stay there.
  • Keeping Your House Plants Happy in the Winter – Select a fairly bright area in your home, since there is less light available in the winter. Plants do not need to be watered as often in the winter, unless the humidity in your house is very low, and they shouldn’t need to be fertilized until spring.
  • Avoid Injury While You Shovel with Simple Guidelines – Use a shovel with an S-shaped handle to minimize chances of back pain. Warm up by stretching muscles before shoveling, and cool down after by stretching again. Drink fluids (not caffeinated) before and while you shovel to avoid loss of hydration in the cold, and dress in layers. Go slow and ease into the work to avoid stress on your heart. Lift with your legs and keep your back straight, and immediately stop if you feel any pain. And lastly, consider hiring a snow removal service, especially if you have a lot to clear.

December Tasks

January Tasks

  • Recycle Your Christmas Tree – Recycle your real tree, instead of throwing it away.
  • Miss Your Fresh Vegetables? – Regrow your kitchen scraps such as romaine lettuce and celery hearts by putting the cut-off bottom in a container of water, and watch new growth pop up in a south facing window.
  • Grow Potted Herbs in Your Kitchen – When you can’t pick them out of the garden, you can still have fresh herbs available in your kitchen window. Some grocery stores sell small potted herbs in the produce section of the store, so you don’t even need to grow them from seed.
  • Time to Order Garden and Seed Catalogs – Get your wishlist ready early for which seeds and gardening supplies you want to order.
  • The Bones of the Garden are Showing – Winter is a great time to start planning garden projects for the upcoming seasons.

February Tasks

  • Cleaning the Foliage on Your Houseplants – Our indoor plants need to breathe and need to be able to soak in the light, so be sure to gently dust off the foliage when needed. Clean, old paintbrushes work great for small leaves, or you can use a damp cloth to get the dust off.
  • Time to Start Seeding Perennials – Perennials take about 12 weeks from seed to be ready for transplanting.
  • Finish ordering seeds.

Spring

Spring is a wonderful time of the year, a time that we anxiously wait for during the last few months of winter. Spring is a great time to get ahead with cleaning, organizing, and getting rid of things we don’t need. Following the seasonal calendar, you will find many chronological activities appropriate for each month, with tips on how to participate and go about doing them.

Basic Spring Maintenance

  • Get your house in tip top shape with help from a professional cleaner – It’s time for spring cleaning! Get rid of all the allergens, dust and dirt that have accumulated over the long winter months. Call a professional cleaner for all your household cleaning needs, and give your floors a deep clean with the help of a professional carpet cleaner.
  • Ready For Spring? Try forcing branches! – A how-to for brightening your home with branches from your yard during the winter months.
  • Join the Mason County Garden Club this Spring! – Club activities, membership benefits, brief history, and how to join the Mason County Garden Club.
  • Fix Your Muddy Driveway Fast! – How to keep your driveway from being a muddy, mucky mess with just a few simple solutions.

April Tasks

  • Time to Seed Annual Flowers and Vegetables – Annuals and Vegetables need about 6-8 weeks to grow large enough for transplanting.
  • Learn to Compost to Save Room in Your Garbage, and Feed Your Plants! – How to get a simple compost pile going, what to put in it, and the benefits of composting. Read our story about Composting.
  • Clean Your Yard – After the snow melts, clean all debris from your yard such as abandoned toys, garbage, and doggie poop to let your grass thrive as soon as it can.
  • Promote Tree and Shrub Health with Pruning – Revive your trees and shrubs from the long winter with pruning, so they can grow to their full potential in the summer.
  • Don’t let the bugs in, fix any damaged window screens before spring! – Try it yourself, fixing screens can be easy, quick and more affordable than taking it in to get it repaired by a pro! Use our step-by-step guide to help you through the process.
  • Take advantage of great prices on trees and grasses at the Mason County Conservation District’s Sale in April.

May Tasks

  • Get Rid of Things You No Longer Use – Have your own yard sale, make some extra money, and get rid of items you don’t use or need!
  • If you have an extensive amount of valuable items to sell such as antiques, jewelry, furniture, etc., consider hiring a professional to handle selling your belongings. 
  • Plan an estate sale.

Summer

Warm weather is finally upon us! Summer is a wonderful season for fun family adventures, as well as getting things done in your yard and garden. It’s that time of year to bust out the lawnmower, weed whacker, and dust off those gardening tools. There are so many fun projects to start, or finish, to make your lawn or garden an extension of your home!

Basic Summer Maintenance

  • Keep Your Lawn and Garden Tools in Top Shape! Grease up those power tools and hand tools, and check your lawnmowers and other large equipment to see if they should be professionally serviced.
  • Get Rid of Things You No Longer Use – Summer is also an ideal time to host a yard sale, garage sale, or estate sale.

June Tasks

  • Struggling with bugs and spiders taking over the outside of your house? – Have the siding of your house power washed by a pro to get rid of the bugs, then have your house sprayed for spiders to avoid them for the rest of the summer.
  • Don’t Miss the Annual Parade of Homes – Tour beautiful West Michigan homes and meet several professional home builders to answer your questions.
  • Get Your Garden Looking Beautiful with Plants and Flowers from Local Garden Centers – Visit local greenhouses and garden centers for the best quality plants for your home and garden.
  • Find a variety of plants for purchase at AFFEW’s Native Plant Sale at Rotary Park each June.

July Tasks

  • Is the Hot Weather Keeping You from Sleeping? – Consider investing in an air conditioning unit this summer. Many units are very affordable. There are units for the whole house, or basic window units that will keep your bedroom comfortable when you need to sleep. Trust in one of these Heating and Cooling Pros to install an A/C unit in your home.

August Tasks

  • Have Some Old Tires Sitting Around in the Backyard? – Recycle up to 10 old tires with a free voucher in Hamlin Township in August.
  • Is Your Garage Collecting Old Paint Cans and Other Hazardous Junk? – Get Rid of Hazardous Household Waste and Old Pharmaceutical Materials at the Collection Day in Manistee, Mason, and Oceana Counties in August.

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