By L. Dawn Barnes
Senior Extension Agent, Family and Consumer Sciences
After cold winters, we are always happy to see spring and all the things it brings. More daylight, warmer days, beginning of new growth, more outdoor activity just to name a few. Many of us use the change of the seasons as a reminder to complete some tasks.
For some it is getting the vegetable or flower garden ready for planting, but don’t get too anxious as frosts have been seen in May. It may be a time for picking up limbs and pieces of trees that have broken off during a storm or the time we pruned shrubbery. If these tasks are on your list check, you can get more information from our Virginia Cooperative Extension website, https://ext.vt.edu/, or by calling your local Agriculture Extension Agent.
Some tasks will help keep our families safe and healthy. When we change our clocks, we may also check our smoke and carbon monoxide detectors. Are they working properly, do batteries need to be replaced or the entire unit replaced? Does your heating and cooling system have filters that should be changed. Check your system’s manual for suggested rotation and correct filters.
Once we are convinced warmer weather is here to stay, it is time pack away cold weather clothes and bedding. Double check that everything is cleaned before it goes into storage. The Cleaning Institute, https://www.cleaninginstitute.org/, has a stain removal guide that has proven to be helpful when faced with a challenge. Keep in mind that the best storage areas do not have extreme temperatures or humidity and wrapping in plastic is not recommended.
Spring is tax season and a perfect time to update our financial files. Have you filed away 2020 records and begun to gather 2021 documents? Is your information organized so that someone else can take over the day to day actions? Has there been a change that necessitates a change to your will or other legal documents? Do you have an Emergency Financial File that you can grab and go should you need to leave your house for flooding or another emergency? Have you purchased new items or sold others that requires your household inventory to be updated? Check out https://ext.vt.edu/family/financial-management.html for information about your financial world.
