Summer Yard Clean Up Tips & Getting a Little Creative
I’m going to be sharing just a few tips and tricks about outdoor decorating on a budget! If you know me, then you KNOW I love decorating, but when it comes to the outside I get a little hesitant. Not because I don’t LOVE the way the outside of a beautifully manicured home looks, but because I live in a place (Utah) where we go through all 4 season and Winter seems to be the loooongest!
This makes it hard for me to justify weekend after weekend of time spent on flower beds and lots of money put into expensive decor. Believe ME, those things are still on my wishlist, but until then… here are a few sure-fire, budget friendly ways to “spruce up” the exterior of your home, by bringing inspiration from the indoors, out!
First things first:
Get Cleaning.
You honestly don’t realize HOW dusty and dirty your lighting fixtures, shutters, and doors are, until you start cleaning them. Once you have everything wiped down you can even go back with a fresh coat of spray paint if needed, to really freshen things up for just a few dollars.
I’ll be honest, we only do this about twice a year, but it definitely gives ANY house (new or old) a quick face lift.
Because nobody wants caked on dust and cracked, half-peeled-off-by-a-kid vinyl, greeting their guests.
🙁
Next:
Gussy up the yard.
A quick, simple, and inexpensive way to really liven up ANY yard is to add some contrasting color, and greenery. For us, this meant some cheap black bark, on sale flower boxes and decorative shrubs. We picked ours up at our local Walmart, and about $150 bucks later, we had a beautifully rich looking flower bed and some cute full planter boxes to boot!
NOTE: before putting down ANY kind of bark, rock, or other flower bed covering, make sure that you line your planter bed with some sort of weed barrier. You will thank me later
🙂
My last tip is probably my most favorite:
Make your porch inviting for
visitors, using decor!
We don’t have a very large porch on our home, so I knew I couldn’t go crazy, but I still wanted to bring the elements of a “comfy” welcoming atmosphere into my small space. So we purchased a discounted floor model IKEA bench, some pillows from Home Goods, a second hand Target wreath from Salvation Army, and a $14.00 rug from Walmart into our porch area, to make for a more “homey” feel for our guests!
All of the decor was about $75.00.
So the grand total on our “Outdoor Spruce-Up” was about… $225.00 smack-a-roos!
Not bad!
If you’re looking to doll-up the outside of YOUR home but not break the bank while doing it, then start with these few tips and you’ll definitely be on your way to a more beautifully inviting home exterior, too!
🙂
Happy Summer!
Also I wanted to share some fun I had today while being a guest on the new mycraftchannel.com show, Get a Little Creative, that will air this fall!
It was… well, I’ll let this picture do the talkin’
Madness… “SHEAR” madness, people!
tee hee hee
Okay, it really wasn’t THAT maddening 🙂 It was incredibly fun (maybe too fun) and now I’m getting SO excited to start taping me and Cason’s show! eek! (still nervous)
Here are a few more pictures from today!
Thanks a bunch you talented ladies, for letting me show you some of what makes ME feel creative!
Budget Beautiful Bungalow says
Oh, yes! Of course, there's always more projects in the works too! Love your flower boxes! Happy Summer!
Erica says
What a fun time! Very inspiring pics!
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Katie says
Everything looks wonderful! I love sprucing up the yard. I'm really excited about your show and the "Get a Little Creative" show! I can't wait!!!
Carol-Anne says
What a difference! I remember posts showing your yard from years ago and you can certainly see that all your hard work has paid off!
(BTW, why do you keep saying "End of Summer"? Where I live it's not even quite at the half way point! Don't rush it away! Hahah!)
Jenny says
Oh, to have a weed-free yard… Ours is a MESS, and I just can't keep up with it. I've been thinking about putting in some of that weed barrier stuff as well. I think it's my only chance against the Army of Weeds I'm battling! Coming back from vacation, I could see that the weeds had staked out new ground! 😉
Anonymous says
I am so jealous of your beautiful yard!! Ours is such a mess, we hope to have things put together come fall, or at least next spring. It's so dry, I don't know how to deal with Texas soil!
Anonymous says
Yay, I don't think I've ever seen a picture of the outside of your house… adorable!
Comeca Jones says
Looks like such fun!Oh I love the bed in front of the houses.
Bud & Kim says
The house looks great!!
Lil' Luna says
The house looks great. And it looks like all you fun ladies are having a blast! Can't wait to see yours and Cason's show. XO
Jennifer Interiors says
House looks wonderful! Can't wait to see your new show!!
Forsythe says
Looks fantastic! I love how the black bark makes it look so clean. Your grass is so green! Great job.
Jodi says
It looks great! I've been considering "window baskets/boxes" (good lord, I am having a major brain fart right now on what they're actually called!!) for a while too. Love the look.
What did you use for the edging around the beds?
Christina says
Oh it looks fantastic!
Good Job! I've stayed in A/C because well I hate the heat. And yes our exterior looks terrible.
I'm excited for you guys can't wait to see the taping! eeek!
Bunny says
How awesome! Its amazing what a little color to a house can do! Great job!
Brenda says
Your dad is adorable 😉 Oh, and the yard and house ain't so bad either!
Jen @ Love, the Arthurs says
love those new flower planters under the windows! Soo cute and add more personality! I love little touches like that! Seems like the projects nver end, doesn't it? and the money always goes before the projects run out…!
Unknown says
It looks beautiful! I can't wait to see the new program!
Unknown says
What a great family! It is so much fun to see all the behind the scenes stuff – thrilled for you! Your craftiness is a beautiful gift – when will the book come out?? xoxo michele
Blog says
The front yard looks wonderful!
Heather - Dollarstorecrafts.com says
You made the shooting look so fun with your photo collage! (Not that it wasn't fun…) Thank you for coming – you are an awesome lady. So glad I got to meet you and hang out a bit! xoxo
Charlene Austin says
Um, is it just me or is your dad a good lookin' guy?! (is that weird of me to say?) Well he is! Heehee Love the window box!
Kate in Austin says
I haven't tried this product but my parents tell me there is something called AMAZE that really reduces weeks. If the weed hasn't poked through the dirt yet and the AMAZE pellets are put on it, apparently they do not come back. They live in Houston. I plan to try it this spring.
Samantha from Colonial Curve Cottage says
You glow. You absolutely glow.