prepare for summer?

jcr16

what a good thread. i need to be organised for summer this yr. my 4th baby is due on 21st aug , so through the 6 weeks holiday i want to keep my 3 children busy and occupied but hopefully a) not costing too much money and b) i won't be too worn out to do much. i'm planning on lots of beach pinics and park trips, bbq's , and woodland exploring.

i very much doubt any of my summer clothes will fit but i will see what i have that may. i want to have kids school uniforms all sorted by start of aug and everything ready for school in the sep.

i'm gonna try and get all my house de-cluttered and sorted through long before the summer.

as for garden not gonna do too much in way of veg growing this yr. will make sure our strawberries are well looked after and raspberries and i think thats all i will do.

will have a think a bit more about summer.

LJM

i am still in planning stages for garden atm as it is too cold still to get out and plant so hoping for some warmer weather. will do the usual later get my girls to make lists of where they want to go,arrange our holiday already have summer hols money pot up and running. also will a bit later start packing up winter clothing and getting out summer where to wash and put away ready for when it eventually warms up. my main summer planning normally begins after 24th march my lo's birthday

Kitchenbunny

Lots of things I can plan for summer now:

1. Making a bag of ice cubes so I've got some ready for hot days instead of having to wait for it to freeze (there's me being hopeful!)
2. Making batches of camping meals. The majority of our holidays involve camping/rallies, so if I make batches of warming and filling food that reheats quickly and stores neatly I can have them in the freezer if all we want to do is load up the bike and head off for a weekend.
3. Got to buy some sachets of net curtain whitener to make the most of the sunny days.
4. Make a section in my Word documents for good barbecue marinades and picnic recipes.
5. Eat a bit healthier so I don't feel so bad about my legs in shorts!
6. Make a few fruity puddings that I can freeze so I have them instantly available - i.e., lollies made out of RTC fruit all smoothied up.
7. Check if the Sun Protection Creams I bought last year are still OK - if not, find a decent offer on it and also on some aftersun lotion.

There are more, but those are just continuations of things I do normally anyway:

1. Mealplanning so I am organised and can be ready if plans suddenly change (i.e., for invites out anywhere)
2. Keeping on top of housework - again so I don't feel bad if we go out all of a sudden and I don't have to come back to a pile of pots!
3. Keeping the garden tidy - the grass will need cutting more in the summer, but if the borders and weeding is taken care of throughout spring then there won't be as much to do and I can hopefully enjoy the occasional sunny day.
4. Keep on top of any ant problems.

I love the idea of a looking forward to summer thread - thank you!

KB xx

dizzyblnd

Hello everyone,

Its freezing cold today and as I have religiously followed the preparing for winter thread I thought now would be a perfect time to ask, is there anything I should be doing now to prepare for summer?

THIRZAH

I posted my seed order this morning but apart from that have done nothing to prepare for summer. In another month or so might start spring cleaning as I like to get it done early.

Linda32

Next Thursday (I think it is) Aldi are getting their seeds in, if your into 'grow you own' or want to be, that might be something to look into. Wilkinsons are pretty good prices as well.

If you think you might get through more than one bottle of suncream throughout the year, then maybe look for a two-for-one offer or BOGOF.

Pink.

Hi dizzyblnd,

Too early for me yet, apart from planting garlic and chillies to think about summer. I suppose when I do begin to think about it some of my priorities will be:

Clean the barbeque
Check if the garden furniture needs any maintenance
Clear some space in the garage as we use it much more in summer
Clean the glass and sterilise the greenhouse and plant pots
Make a planting plan for food we want to grow this year
Sort out winter clothes and put them away or give to charity if kids have grown
Get out summer clothes
Keep an eye out for summer bargains (suncream etc in the shops)
Think about holidays
Think about summer menu planning.

These existing threads may give you more ideas:

prepare for summer?

Preparing for Spring!!!

anybody started their spring clean yet?....

I'll add your thread to the first link later to keep the suggestions together.

Pink

[Deleted User]

I don`t think we have any more to do re preparing for summer. Summer to me means lots of heat, sun and drought as we live in a sun trap. I learnt from my mistakes last year, when I sowed far too many seeds and then the drought hit, it was so tiring to be watering three times a day and we don`t have an outside tap. We put more water butts in place, so now we have 7 and an available collapsible one and they are full and ready. Shallow wooden hm planters have been amalgamated and made into larger planters to hold drought resistant perenials, so no more annual plants. We will be selective about which veggies will be going into planters and most will now go onto the small allotment, this will be its second year and I have learnt that clay soil has its uses in that it holds moisture well

The sun blazes in at the back and we are full of windows plus a shade giving verandah (eco house) and solar shading blinds are all up and ready. We had more insect mesh screens put up on the north side, the south side was done last year, so we can open all windows and get through draughts. We are surrounded by orchards and arable fields so there are lots of wasps and so on

All seeds are in a seed tin, sorted and dated ready to sow. I just hope we get a normal progression into summer, last year was oh so hard

valk_scot

I did the gardening orders at the tail end of last year, and I was up the allotment today working out what jobs need done before spring arrives. But that's under "Gardening" in my mind, not "Home".

Apart from that all I've done is buy some sun cream at 75% off, last November, and sorted out the camping gear when the kids went back to school after the summer break. Camping gear doesn't like being stored dirty or wet as it goes fusty and rots. I bought any spares or new things we needed in the end of year sales and January would be the perfect time to buy a new tent as last year's models get discontinued around now. I don't need a new tent though.

The calendar is already full though for summer, with Scout Camps 1/2/3/4 written across most of it!

westcoastscot

Kittie it sounds lovely, although I understand a pain for watering, in the west coast its wet and cold in winter, wet and slightly warmer in summer. We had a couple of weeks last summer early in May that were dry- so lovely! then it rained the rest of the year. It's not so bad growing-wise if you can get things big enough before you plant them in the open, but we have a lot of problems with mould-type diseases and beasties. Last year was a wash out as it stayed windy also - plants just gave up.

WCS