4 Things to Do in February to Avoid a Yucky Spring!

February 28, 2018

By: Gabriela Barkho

A mud-remediation plan. That’s No. 1 on this short list.

That dark time when winter is like that friend who can’t take a hint to leave.

Give a push with these four easy tasks that’ll help usher in spring.

#1 Make an Anti-Mud Plan:

Mud may be the least of your frozen worries now, but it’s a-coming.

Be prepared with a remediation plan. With your yard in its frozen-tundra state, you can easily see the troublesome spots.

Research potential ground cover, like gravel, a rain garden, decorative rocks, or the right grass that’ll soak it up. Then you’ll be ready to execute your anti-mud plan the moment it’s warm enough — and do it in time to keep the mud at bay.

#2 Organize Your Cleaning Closets and Laundry Room:

Before the madness of spring cleaning begins, organize (or even renovate!) your laundry room and clean closets or cupboards.

This will not only breathe a new life into these oft-ignored areas, but perfectly pampered cleaning stations can seriously rev up your spring cleaning motivation.

#3 Deep-Clean Your Entryway:

Snow. Salt. Boots. Shovels. Your entryway floors, baseboards, rugs, and more have had a rough few months. Give that smallest of rooms some deep cleaning love now, before the salt crust becomes a permanent part of your entryway decor in spring.

#4 Hail a Handyperson:

Spring and summer are peak handyperson seasons. Skip the surge pricing and the agony of waiting for callbacks by hiring someone now. At least for the indoor chores.

Plus, you may be surprised at what outdoor chores can be done.

You’ll be spring-ready before the first flower buds.

6 DIY Fire Pits That’ll Make You Feel Oh-So-Warm!

February 23, 2018

By: Leanne Potts

Not to mention, get you a nice ROI on your home’s value.

Don’t spend the whole summer planning your dream fire pit or there could be frost on the ground before it’s ready to roar. Start your DIY now and you won’t miss a single day of prime bonfire season.

Plus, there’s this: A pro-built fire pit costs about $4,500 with a return of about $3,500, according to the “Remodeling Impact Report” from the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®.

Now think of your return if you DIY it instead. (Here’s how to do it the money-saving way.)

Some ideas to motivate you:

#1 Old-Timey Rock Fire Pit:

If you live near rocky terrain, you can forage for rocks and stack them into a pit that looks like it came from the 19th century, instead of from a big-box store kit.

#2 Koi Pond Turned Fire Pit:

If you’ve decided the koi are more trouble than they’re worth, re-home them and turn the fish pond into a fire pit. Drain it, fill it with sand, and top with a layer of lava rock (or azure fire glass if you want to keep the look of water).

Use the money you save on fish food, algae killer, and chlorine remover to buy firewood and marshmallows.

#3 Easy-Peasy Tree Ring Pit:

Want to DIY a fire pit, but would rather read software user agreements than spend a weekend stacking and mortaring?

Pick up some concrete tree rings, and you can make a fire pit in about an hour.

Stack the rings into an inner and outer wall. Use rings with a scalloped top so you can turn the top rings upside down and lock them with the bottom ones, Lego-style. Put landscaping rocks between them to make the fire pit sturdier.

And the genius hack: Use a small, round charcoal grill as a liner. Let the bonfire begin.

#4 A Great Big Seat By the Fire:

If you’ve got a gaggle of friends, build modular wooden seating so there’s room for everybody around the fire. You’ll need to be handy with math and power tools to build this bench, but the fire pit’s a cinch: It’s made of dry-stack retaining wall blocks. That’s it.

If building benches with angled edges is above your pay grade, just buy some regular benches and arrange in a circle. You made the fire pit. That’s plenty.

#5 A Room with a View:

Why stop at a fire pit? Go for a full-on outdoor room in a cozy corner of the yard, with a gravel patio, flagstone path, comfy chairs, and side tables.

This fire pit is super simple: a hole lined with sand and ringed with dry stack pavers.

#6 New Fire Pit, Old Materials:

Why buy new stuff when you may be able to scavenge perfectly good ones from your yard?

Got a paved path you don’t want? A patio that’s too big or in the wrong place? Pick up the stones and use them to make the fire pit you’re craving.

Nearly all of the materials in this fire pit and patio came from other hardscape features in the yard. Those benches? Salvaged wood beams from a razed building.

Scour Craigslist and other marketplaces for used pavers, flagstone, or salvaged wood you can use for a fire pit. Other people’s old stuff works, too.