This shop is part of a social shopper marketing insight campaign with Weave Made Media® and Rubbermaid. All opinions are that of James Zahn aka THE ROCK FATHER. #weavemade #FallFixUp http://my-disclosur.es/RgFrEH
Having not lived anywhere but the Midwest on any year-round kind of basis, I can’t be certain but tend to think that Fall fix-up and Spring clean-up are two things that have a parallel relationship only for those who live in regions that go through a proper four-season cycle. In the Fall you get the place all cleaned-up before winter, and then after the snow melts, you’ve got a whole load of surprises to clean-up in the Spring. But I love it. It’s a chance to refresh things, and I’m ahead in the game this season.
To get things rolling here at Rock Father HQ, we really need to do some slashing, trashing and packing. We also need to get some Fall planting done, and I’m all about the Fall mums. By now, I’m surprised the staff at Home Depot doesn’t know me by name (Fact: I’ve been there three times in the past week alone). The girls and I rolled-in to snag some Rubbermaid Roughneck 32 Gallon Garbage Cans (I have three of ’em now) to aid in trashing the slashings (plant debris) so that the compost truck can pick ’em up with ease. The best part? On-sale for $9.97 right now! And for the packing (stuff that needs to be stashed), Rubbermaid 18 Gallon Roughneck Storage Totes were on-sale for just $7.97! We stocked-up and got mums and ornamental Kale from the Garden Center (along with a couple of seasonal doormats) and we were ready to rock.
Slashing & Trashing:
That “mystery bush” on the left side of the deck – the one that grows back every year? Slashed! Trimmed-up and the branches stashed neatly in a can and wheeled to the curb. The worst part of clean-up/fix-up is always the hostas. They look fantastic from about May-July each year, but after flowers pop, it’s all downhill from there. And, if I don’t get them while they’re still “crisp” (think salad) and the first freeze comes, they end up a bunch of limp mush that’s hard to deal with – especially if they get left under the snow for the year. For 2014, they’ve already been slashed and trashed, and I’ve even got a fresh batch of mulch down, too.
Packing:
With cooler temps on the way and school having started, there’s a bunch of outdoor stuff that’s ready to be retired until 2015. I also have that ongoing garage mess problem that I’ve mentioned here on the site before. You can never have enough Rubbermaid Totes, and these have come in handy – particularly since I knocked down the shed earlier this summer and lost a ton of storage space. Now it’s the garage or nowhere.
Refreshing:
Even though it always feels like such a condensed season, Fall is my favorite, so we get one last overhaul on the ornamental gardening note. Those mums and kale made their way into the front bed near our porch – fine companions to the scarecrow and owls. I still need to get some straw bales, pumpkins and gourds, but you could say that the bulk of our #FallFixUp is complete.
But that garage… it taunts me. It mocks me. I’m gonna end up back at Home Depot for more Rubbermaid Storage Totes by the end of the week… I guarantee it.
