What a beautiful time of year! Flowers are coming into bloom, the weather is starting to warm up (for us in Oz anyway!) and we are preparing for Christmas.

Here’s my list of 5 things to do now that Spring has sprung!

1. Get into fitness.

I love this time of year when it is getting warmer so that we can get changed into our workout clothes without freezing but it’s not too hot outside to do any form of exercise in the great outdoors. This is the time to start exercising if you want to lose those winter kilos. Don’t wait until a week before you need to get into that swimsuit!

2. Prepare for Christmas.

Sounds early, I know.  This may not surprise you but I start preparing for Christmas in the January of that year.  I have a list of relatives I have to buy for and when I see something that I think would be great for a particular person, I buy it then and there. If I didn’t do it that way I would buy gifts at the last minute and they probably would not be well thought of. I hate the thought of giving a gift to someone and they won’t have any use for it.  Once I buy a gift for a relative I mark their name off the list and write the gift I bought next to it. It really comes in handy to write down what gift you got that person as I always forget at the end of the year and you will wonder whether you bought those towels for Aunty Margaret or Grandma!

I have small children so it helps to buy things on sale when I see them and put them away. I have a special spot where I have one bag for each child and just pack them away in each bag so at Christmas time I know exactly what I have and I’m ready to wrap!  I also have a separate box for gifts for relatives.

3.  Spring cleaning!

This is a great way to get those terrible jobs done that we all avoid through winter like cleaning skirting boards, getting marks off walls, cleaning fans etc. You’ll feel great once it’s done and won’t hesitate to have people around again. It’s probably a good time to start listing things online to sell to get rid of some of the clutter too.

4. Catch up with friends you haven’t see in a while.

This is a great time to have a coffee or night out with friends you haven’t caught up with in a while. Before you know it the lead up to Christmas will be here and November/December seems to get so busy that no-one has any time to spare.  Organise it now and you won’t need to feel so stressed about it and can catch up again early New Year.

5. Gardening.

You might not have a green thumb but you can, at the very least, pull a few weeds out of the garden or add some more mulch so that the weeds don’t come at all. Everything seems to get neglected in the garden throughout winter and this is a great time to get out and start tidying up before it gets too hot!

While you’re at it give the garden furniture a clean too!