Organize the perfect summer barbecue!

Serve up a backyard barbecue with your family this summer and enjoy the warmer summer weather! By planning and preparing ahead, you can spend time with your loved ones and experience a stressed-free meal.

What to Make

The best summer barbecue recipes are ones that use common ingredients found in your kitchen and can be made in advance so you can spend more time with your loved ones.

When it comes to making a refreshing beverage, try this Make-Ahead Summer Punch from Brit + Co for an easy to put together pitcher of drinks. No need to individually assemble! For a summer-inspired non-alcoholic option, try The Busy Baker’s recipe for Sparkling Mojito Lemonade made with healthy ingredients. The ingredients for this recipe can be made ahead of time for a quick mix together when the meal is about to begin.

Having a simple but delicious appetizer is a must to keep you and your family satisfied while you’re all waiting for the grill to heat up. This Tuscan White Bean Bruschetta from Whatcha Cooking Good Looking can easily be made a day or two before your barbecue and stored in the refrigerator. Pair it with fresh bed from a local bakery – to stay safe and make sure you don’t run out the day of, place an order online or over the phone ahead of time so it can quickly be picked up before supper.

 A side dish is a must – whether you go with simple grilled vegetables or a salad, make sure you find a recipe that doesn’t take up too much time and can also be made the day before or earlier that morning to cut down time spent in the kitchen before and during the meal. Recipes like this Mediterranean Pasta Salad from Becky’s Best Bites can be prepped and put together well in advance so all you need to do is place it on the table before eating!

Whatever you’re cooking on the barbecue will be the main event of the evening – so make sure you choose something that is not only tasty but doesn’t take you hours to put together! Consider grilling up a recipe like these Prize-Winning Baby Back Ribs from Allrecipes. With an easy-to-put together rub that doesn’t need to marinade or sit for hours ahead of time, this can easily be mixed together the morning of so it’s ready to rub on the ribs with some barbecue sauce right before grilling.

For the grand finale, serve up a dessert that is perfect for a warm summer evening! This Rasperry Summer Sensation Dessert from Food needs time to freeze and put together, but you’ll be happy it is done and ready to eat when you need it!

What to Prepare

Besides the meal itself, there are still a few other items you’ll want to make sure you have ready to use before the barbecue. Don’t forget to take some time before the meal to wipe down outdoor furniture and make sure other drinks are stored in a cooler or the fridge. With mosquitos flying around, it’s important to make sure you have plenty of bug spray and other equipment like Off Lanterns or candles to keep them from disrupting your meal. Umbrellas to block out intense sun rays are also helpful and consider bringing out a lawn game or frisbee to play together after the meal is over.

Spring is here: Get your shed organized!

With the warm weather approaching, many people are anxious to get to work on their yards – but before any work can be done, it’s important to make sure all of your tools and supplies are organized!

First of all, it’s necessary to clean out your shed and take stock of all the items you already have. Decluttering is important to every organization process, and for garden or backyard sheds, it is even more important as people tend to store more items than they have room for. Make sure you have no duplicates of items, and remove old tools that are worn or no longer. This is also a good time to remove any items that you shouldn’t store in a shed, like paint, which can be affected by the heat, and paper and food products, which can attract bugs and wildlife. Items that are in good working order should be separated in a pile from items that no longer work or you do not need. You can further sort through your items by determining what tools and objects make sense to store in that location. Typically, sheds are kept near gardens or in backyards, so only keep the items that you would use in that space. Other items may make more sense to store in a garage or a basement, depending on how you use them.

Once you’ve sorted through your items, it’s time to figure out how much space you actually have to work with. Sheds are usually small, cramped, and lack proper lighting, so it’s important to plan out your storage in a way that makes best use of your available space. Organize your shed in order of priority, by placing the more often used items near the front and at eye level, and less often used items or bulkier pieces towards the back of your shed or on higher and lower shelves.

Peg boards make great use of wall space, and allow you to change or adapt your storage as necessary if you get new items or tools, or have to make changes to your space. With a peg board, you can add hooks for small tools or larger items like brooms and shovels. You can also attach shelves for larger items like pails, bins, and pots, and hanging baskets can be used to store smaller items like seeds, garden gloves, and small tools.

Magnetic strips can be attached to the wall and used to store small metal tools like hand rakes, screwdrivers, and trowels. Storing your items this way makes them easier to access and take out of the shed when you need them. Make sure that the magnet is strong and long enough to hold your items.

The shed door can provide a lot of extra storage space, especially for smaller and lightweight options. Small hanging baskets, or small hangers and hooks, can store regularly used items like gloves, hats, seeds, and twine. When adding door storage, make sure that it is not too bulky and won’t knock over items on the door or in the shed when the door is opened.

Overhead shelves can also provide a lot of storage, but because they are so high up, they should only be used to store larger items, or items that you don’t need to access very often. Open shelves or small cupboards are the best methods of storing items in this space.

When adding in cupboards and shelves, use open access or clear plastic storage units so it is easy to see and access the items that are stored there. Lighting is not always good in these places, so providing an easier way of looking into cupboards and shelves will save you time looking for the items you need.

Finally, when storing fertilizers and chemicals, make sure you store them safely, out of direct sunlight, and in an area that is not easily accessible. Fertilizers and chemicals should be kept in one area, or stored together on a shelf or cupboard, in an area where they are not easy to get to, and not likely to be knocked over.