Fall Project List – Outdoor To-Dos

You guys, I feel like it’s never going to cool down in Phoenix. Early last week the forecast was showing mid to low 80s for this week, but now the forecast is back up to the mid-90s. I’m ready for some actual fall weather! Anyway, looking ahead a couple weeks to when it’ll no longer feel like living on the sun (hopefully), it’s time to start planning some outdoor projects. I’m seriously so excited to finally have a chance to work on our yard. I’ve been looking at pictures of everyone’s outdoor projects and beautiful yards for the past few months while mine was wilting away in the heat. That’s the funny thing about living in the desert – it feels like our seasons are totally opposite. The fall to-do lists I’ve been seeing on other blogs are all indoor projects, so it feels weird to be sharing projects like starting a garden, but such is life in Phoenix.

By now you know that I don’t accomplish anything without a to-do list or having someone hold me accountable, so hence the reason for today’s post. I’ve put together a list of eight outdoor projects I want to get done before Christmas and I think it’s totally doable. I know Adam will be on board with this list, so together we should have no problem finishing before the holidays. Oh, and I should warn you that these pictures aren’t pretty. I’m not kidding when I say our yard has gotten out of control over the summer. Adam and I (mostly Adam) wacked all of the weeds a couple times, but it’s just too damn hot to be out there doing yard work after like 7 a.m.

Ok, let’s get into it. The first project on my list is priming/painting the new patio cover. We had the entire thing replaced a couple months ago, but we’ve been waiting for it to cool down before painting it. It’s still just raw wood, so we really need to get this done ASAP. The paint on the rest of the house is old and faded, so I’m not really sure what we are going to do about the paint, but we can definitely prime it in the meantime.

A couple years ago I bought a bunch of bags of mulch for around our trees, but I never actually did it, so that’s the next project on my list. Right now we have the landscaping rocks around all of the trees, but I think replacing the rocks with mulch will really help with how much we have to water. I think it’ll look better too.

We started a vegetable garden in the spring and had a couple successful tomato harvests, but then it got too hot and everything started dying. And then the weeds took over. So, we need to clear everything out and replant for the fall.

Speaking of gardening, I also want to start an herb garden. I bought this raised planter (it’s only $28!) at the end of May and it’s still in the box. So my goal is to put it together and start growing some herbs, especially basil.

The next project on my list is cleaning the barbeque. We use it quite a bit all year long and it could definitely use a good cleaning. I want to take apart the big pieces and scrape off the burnt stuff and just give it a really good cleaning.

The last project in the backyard is probably going to be the biggest and worst. The weeds have completely taken over the pool area and we need to get that under control. When we had the backyard landscaped a couple years ago they didn’t do a very good job with the weed plastic in that area, so the weeds came back pretty quickly. We’re planning on pulling out the rocks and redoing the plastic. I’m not looking forward to this one at all.

I also want to do a little front porch refresh while the weather is nice. The plants on the front porch died months ago, so it’s been looking shabby for a while. At least the wreath I made during our first ever craft night still looks cute!

The last project on my list is technically indoors, but the garage doesn’t have A/C, so it’s basically like being outdoors (maybe even worse because there’s no air moving). We started our garage makeover during the spring One Room Challenge, but didn’t finish in time because of shipping errors. We did manage to epoxy the floors before the worst part of summer (but it was still ridiculously hot in there), but that’s as far as we got. We moved some stuff back in over the past few months, but there’s still a shelf full of stuff on the patio and my craft room is so full it’s unusable. So my goal is to get everything organized and moved back into the garage. Oh, and we still have to hang one more light.

So that’s my fall to-do list. I’ve been thinking about these projects for months and I’m excited to finally have a chance to get started on them. I’ll post updates as we cross items off the list.

Do you have any projects on your fall to-do list?

22 comments

Ashley BlomOctober 17, 2017 at 9:08 AM
Girl I hear you. Austin FINALLY has some fall weather! I love it now, but I'll be happy to sit by the pool once the heat comes back :) After living 25 years in Massachusetts, I am grateful the cold doesn't get too bad here.
Miss Crumbs A LotOctober 17, 2017 at 11:51 AM
Cleaning the grill has to be on y list too. I'm embarrassed to say that our grill has seen better days!
UnknownOctober 17, 2017 at 3:33 PM
Girl, I would love to have an 80-90 degree weather year round 😃 Unfortunately for me I’m in Ohio where we have all seasons- Winter is depressing lol. You have lots of projects to do, but a to-do list really does help so much! ~Xoxo
Theresa Bailey - Inspire More TravelOctober 17, 2017 at 5:38 PM
We just got a fence for our backyard. It's nice for letting the dog out on his own.
tara dOctober 18, 2017 at 6:34 AM
It looks like you have your work cut out for you! But it will feel so great to check those things off of your list! Thanks for sharing.

www.idreamofsimple.com
MonicaLeeBlogOctober 18, 2017 at 8:00 AM
Girl, It feels like it’s going to be Summer in Houston foreverrrrr UGH! This post totally has me jotting down an “around the house to do list”! Also, I’ve been DYING to start a garden, think it’s time to make it happen.
UnknownOctober 18, 2017 at 8:22 AM
Good luck with your projects! And thanks for some motivation to get started on mine :)
UnknownOctober 18, 2017 at 9:38 AM
Sitting down and putting this list together in the first place is such a great motivating idea! We can get so busy with life and kids that those things are easily forgotten to the place of "good intentions" but I believe writing the goal out brings you so much closer to actual success. Now, I'm thinking of my own Fall Project List! :)
AnonymousOctober 18, 2017 at 12:16 PM
It's going to be a busy fall for you! Hopefully the weather finally cools down so you can start on them :)

A- simplylovely90.com
Nicole The Professional Mom ProjectOctober 18, 2017 at 12:59 PM
Good luck with your to do list! I find that one you become a home owner it's never ending lol!
UnknownOctober 18, 2017 at 6:16 PM
You've lots of fun projects to do!! We just finished our summer projects and I am not ready for fall projects to begin already!!