The weather is getting warmer and you may be feeling more energized since daylight saving time. You’re thinking it’s time to get outside or start a new project, but where to begin?
Here are 10 HC recommendations on how to channel that new springtime spirit:
1. Start A Garden
Try out your “green thumb” and get growing! If it’s your first time at planting a garden, ask someone at a local garden center for something hardy (less likely to kill within a week). If you’re limited on space, maybe pot a few flowers, or endeavor to grow your own herb garden in your apartment.
2. Clean Up Around Town
Earth Day is Friday, April 22. When the snow melts, a lot of discarded debris and garbage appears around town. Join an organization or get a group of friends together to help clean up and beautify your city.
3. Go Through Your Closet
Clean out the old and freshen up your look! Never wear that sweater? Ditch it! Does this still fit? Try it out and donate it if it doesn’t! Rotate your winter wear to the back of your closet to bring your spring and summer apparel forward. Put those winter boots into boxes for easier, stackable storage and free those sandals from the dusty corners of your wardrobe.
4. Go On A Weekend Trip
Hit the road and visit some intriguing, regional attractions. Take a day, or two, to visit a state park, art museum or a quirky “tourist trap.” Get lost in a little town somewhere going through shops and eating at family-owned diners.
5. Head Outdoors
Emerging from that wintery cocoon into the sunlight can be a challenge. Start small and get moving by going for a walk around your neighborhood. Get your bike out of storage and into gear on some riding trails. Peruse a local park or go on a nature walk.
6. Attend A Local Event
Spring and summertime brings with it an array of seasonal events. There are music festivals, farmers markets, movies outdoors, excursions, sporting events and fairs. Looking to learn something new? Take a community education class to brush up on CPR training, play an intramural sport or discover a new hobby. Stop by a visitors’ bureau to find listings of how you can participate.
7. Write Letters To Friends Or Family
Yes, I mean snail mail. Pull out the stamps and envelopes, find some paper, grab that pen and get writing “old-school” style! How fun is it to receive a hand-written card or note in the mailbox? Show someone you care and are thinking of them by sending a letter.
8. Set Goals
New Years may be long gone, but it is not too late to set some new goals. Clean up around your home by getting rid of unnecessary, or unwanted, items. Sign up for a 5k and begin training. Learn a new skill. Hit the gym! It’s not too late to get a start on that summer bod. Whatever you do, follow through.
9. Play Like A Kid
Take a break from your hectic life and just have fun! Spring is a fresh, youthful season and sometimes people forget how to relax and enjoy it. Take a step back into your childhood and color with chalk on a sidewalk, climb a tree, lay down outside and watch the clouds go by, play in the rain or pick some wildflowers.
10. Plan A Picnic
When the weather is just right, grab a cooler, pack sandwiches and head out with your friends or significant other to find the perfect picnicking spot. Bring a deck of cards or a Frisbee to pass more time out-of-doors!