It doesn’t feel like Spring here.  Cold rain and wind, freezing nights.  But the daffodils are blooming and this week the willows leafed out and the plums blossomed.  They apparently don’t pay attention to the rain and cold, they just do what they should do, no matter what.

So even though I don’t feel like it, I should be at least planning, if I can’t actually do the tasks of Spring.  Is it feeling like Spring where you live?  Should you do any of these tasks?

Spring closet cleaning- wash and store heavy weight clothing.  Donate cold weather clothing that no longer serves you well.  If the quality is good and you’re just tired of wearing an item, store it and give it a rest, you may feel differently about it in a year or two.  Gradually get out your warmer weather clothing.  Maybe save your hot weather clothes for summer or use some of your summer tops under a sweater. Don’t waste closet space with anything but your favorites.  If an item makes you feel uncomfortable, doesn’t fit, doesn’t flatter, or doesn’t fit your style now, try to figure out why.  It will help you avoid buying other bad clothing choices.  Lay out your favorite three tops that you wear the most often.  What could you do to give them new life?  A pretty scarf in a complementary color?  A necklace or earrings to set it off?  What sweater or jacket could you pair with those tops for cool Spring days?  Do you have a purse and shoes to complement those outfits?  Which jeans, pants, skirts could you pair with the tops and jacket?  Are these outfits appropriate to the activities you most often do?  Or are these outfits for your dream lifestyle, but not suitable to your real lifestyle?

Plan to make Easter special for those you love- If you have children or grandchildren, Easter should be a happy time of celebrating the happiest occasion- the resurrection of our Lord.  When our kids were young we did an Easter egg hunt with eggs decorated with symbols of our Lord’s passion week.  On a piece of paper, I would draw (crudely) items associated with Jesus’ last week.  Then our kids would draw those symbols on real colored eggs, or draw on small pieces of paper and put one in each plastic egg.  They usually drew better than their mom!  After all the eggs had been found, we’d lay out the eggs in chronological order as the events occurred and talk about what happened.  Our kids enjoyed this tradition every year.  Some of the symbols they helped think of and drew were:  a palm branch, a donkey, coats, a glass of wine, a piece of cracker, coins, a noose, a rooster, a fire, a whip, rope, nails, a thorn crown, a spear, a torn coat, a torn curtain, spice jars, an angel, an open tomb.  There are others.  Can you think of some more?

Our kids loved making a miniature garden with dirt in a container, sometimes my 9×13 cake pan!  They put small branches or plants in one end and then humped up some dirt on the other end on which was placed a cross made of sticks.  They hollowed out a hole and placed a stone in front of the hole.  On Easter morning they’d move the stone away from the opening.

Often we’d have a simple Passover meal on Good Friday.  We couldn’t afford lamb, so we’d form a meatloaf into the shape of a lamb.  I know, kinda silly, but our kids enjoyed it when they were young.  One year we stood up for the whole meal with our shoes and backpacks on like the people did that first Passover night just before they left Egypt.  What traditions could you start or continue this Easter?

Gardening- an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.  Weed now while the ground is moist and weeds come out by their roots and before they’re completely established.  Apply whatever fertilizer or conditioner is appropriate for your area in early Spring.  Consider taking gardening classes offered by local garden centers, Master Gardeners, or just ask a friend who has a lovely yard for advice.  Prune bushes and trees at appropriate times for your climate.  You can get instruction online for your area.  Get heavy jobs done now before it gets hot.  Clean the cobwebs off your porch.  Wash outdoor lights.  Clean up lawn furniture.  Hose off your sidewalk.  Rake up wet, rotten leaves if the danger of frost is past and add to your compost pile.  If freezing nights are a possibility, leave the protective leaves or replace with bark dust so your plants aren’t left naked.  Are there any holes in your garden?  Look for deals while the selections at local nurseries are at their peak.  Check bloom time on the labels so you have something blooming during each month.  Perennials come back year after year, but some have short bloom times.  Annuals often bloom longer, but only last one season.  Make sure to buy only plants that like what your garden can offer in terms of sunlight, water, and soil conditions.