10 Things to Do This Spring

Even though we are heading towards summer, the weather has been pretty crummy so I am considering the first week of May to be spring. Here's my spring "to do" list:

1. Plant some vegies. Whether you plant a multi-acre garden or a window box full of greens, growing your own food is a great skill to have and it will save you money as well.
2. Do some home maintenance. The roof needs cleaned, the gutters need cleaned, the yard needs a complete makeover...my home maintenance list is fairly lengthy.
3. Get outside and exercise. Every day. Being cooped up at home on the treadmill or at the gym gets old, especially after a number of months so now is an excellent time to get some fresh air and some exercise.
4. Dump out, analyze, restock, and repack the BOB. I do this about every six months as a habit.
5. Double my emergency fund. Actually since I don't have much in the way of travel or purchases planned until the fall, I figured that this would be a worthy (and possibly quite necessary) goal.
6. Attempt to stay home for an entire week. This simply never happens but the idea of a massive isolation and quarantine effort because of the pandemic flu got me to thinking. What would happen if we stayed home for an entire week? Would we have enough food to keep us amused and away from Starbucks/restaurants/carry out? Could we stand each other for a 24/7 stint with no other social contact? Would we save lots of money that we would otherwise spend on gas, impulse purchases, and my weekly run to the sporting good store? Would I be super productive work-wise? Should be an interesting experiment...
7. Go camping or backpacking. I haven't been out at all this winter and need a bit of nature.
8. Learn a new skill. I'm not sure which one but there are always a range of interesting courses available and I am always in a continual learning mode...you never know what skill will come in handy during a disaster.
9. Beef up my home medical kit. A simple flu has practically overwhelmed our local hospitals, not by those with the actual swine flu, but with people who have a sniffle and are panicked that they caught the real thing. Now during an actual, full blown medical emergency, hospitals will be truly overwhelmed. The more medical supplies I have available, the better.
10. Improve my health. Good health is one of the most important things that you can have during a disaster (or on a daily basis for that matter). I've been slacking a bit lately and need to get back on track.