My Favorite Fall Hobby

My favorite hobby for the Fall, well, I wish it were more exciting, but it's cleaning the back porch. And I usually do it twice during the Fall season. After a the Spring and Summer, kids stomping through it to get to the backyard, birthday parties and backyard barbecues, that area is usually a mess. I am consistant in my hobby each year as it is cathartic to me as well as a great way to keep the house updated.

1) De-clutter

I remove everything from the porch which can be painstaking, however, I need a clean area to work with. This process, however, also helps with the clean up. I will find things that need to be thrown away, toys that have not been put back and summer items that need to be put away until the next season.

2) Clean the Concrete

Until we decice to redo the porch, which is in great need of remodeling, (we have so many other things we want to fix first!), concrete is the flooring of choice for this space. And it gets dusty and buggy. I usually sweep it first, hose it down next, wait for it to dry, and then give it another good sweep.

3) Put Things Back and/or Away

Once the space is clean, it's time to put everything back. However, now I am taking outdoor tables and chairs, stacking them up inside the porch and covering them. All toys go back into storage boxes, that are still easily accessible for kids to get to, and any Summer items that won't be used until the next season either get put into indoor or outdoor available storage.

4) Do it Again

What? Do it again? Yes. Why? Because we have a lot of trees. The kids still use the porch to get to the backyard to play in the Fall and Winter, so leaves and debris still fly into the porch area. I usually do the intial cleaning of the porch a in the middle of September when school has been in session for a few weeks. The second cleaning I do in November to remove those leaves. The date depends on the weather and if we are having Thanksgiving at our house or not.

Hobbies do not necessarily have to be collecting things, like stamps or butterflies, or something you do everyday or every week. A hobby can be something you do yearly, religiously, that you enjoy. And that's what cleaning the screened porch means to me.

Happy hobbying!