Thursday, July 28, 2011

Ten-Minute Tidy Up

I haven't had much time to do anything around the house lately (and therefore have had little to write about).  Every time I have pulled into the driveway for weeks now, I have been eyeing the rock wall in front of our house, vowing to find time to do some sprucing up.  After all the ubiquitous orange daylilies are gone, we're always left with a bunch of sticks that take away from the view of the remaining daylilies.



I spent, literally, ten minutes snipping stems, and some of them were dry enough to just pull out of the ground. 
And now everything looks much better.

I planted six coneflower plants this spring, to extend the blooming season around the rock wall.  Four out of six started out okay, but now something is eating them. 
I'm hoping with a little care they'll be established and thriving by next year.  Those I planted in a side garden last summer are looking very healthy. 
The white one in the back there is called "Milkshake," and they are my favorites, if I have to choose.

Do you prolong doing little chores that would take only 10 minutes to cross off your list, like folding the laundry when it comes out of the dryer, or going through the mail?  What's the one you never find time for, but gives you the biggest sense of accomplishment once it's done?

1 comment:

Tortla Dot said...

My odd sized porch chair cushions are not easy to replace. Inspired by my sister's ability to clean hers and by your implied challenge in the above post, I bit the bullet. It was clearly not a 10 minute job. Years of oak pollen plus stains of mustard and ketchup were mixed with Oxy-clean and released down the tub drain.

Lessons learned:
The project was do-able and had been postponed unreasonably because of my cowardice.
Wet cushions are very heavy and resist being washed behind their ears.
My porch door is a long way from my bathtub.
"Sense of accomplishment" was not forthcoming, but a sense of relief is evident. Now I can stop searching for replacement cushions. And it only took 5 hours!