The Timeline

Friday after Work: Make a plan. Determine the scope of the project. The good thing about a weekend makeover is that the change can be as simple as positioning furniture and redistributing accessories. Truly updating the space can cost a little more, says interior designer Stephen Saint-Onge in his book No Place Like Home (Wiley; $20). “This is something you could do alone, as a fun family project or with a group of friends,” Saint-Onge writes. “Instead of a book club, how about forming a makeover club?”

Take digital photos. Landscape architect Joann Schwarberg documents projects by taking photographs from different angles. The “before” photos help pinpoint problems.

Make a list of tasks and supplies. Schwarberg creates spreadsheets of tasks to be performed. She includes the fun, like new pillows and plants, as well as the mundane, including cleanup.

Early Saturday: Clean like mad. Empty pots and clear out furnishings. “They need to be out of the way so you can clean the area and visualize something new,” Schwarberg says.

Christine Stephan, who assists Schwarberg, hoses off the rings of dirt outside of pots and washes the interiors with water and a drop of disinfectant. “You don’t want this year’s plants catching last year’s diseases,” Stephan says.

Spruce up. Prune nearby trees and shrubs. Clear the gutters. Add mulch to existing nearby landscaping. Power wash or hose down the area of the house getting the makeover, including the walls and pavement. If necessary, apply touch-up paint on the house. Make sure all the lighting works.

Saturday afternoon: Shop around. Assess your furniture. “If the old stuff has to make it another year or two but looks pretty run down, consider painting it with one of the special spray paints made for metal or plastic furniture,” Schwarberg says. “This will shine it up and maybe add a new fun color. Remember to clean it thoroughly first, or the paint will flake and chip.”

Another option if you have a patio set worth keeping—or if you find a great set at a flea market or estate sale—is to take it to an auto body paint shop and ask them to give it a new life, she says.

Consider new cushions and pillows. For cushions, Schwarberg advocates a solid neutral color.

“That neutral could be a blue, lime green or whatever,” she says. “You want the cushions to be fine for any type of party, whether it’s a luau or fiesta. So the accent pillows can be the fun patterns, but you don’t want to get sick of the cushions.”

Or perhaps all that’s needed is a new umbrella.

Buy pots, plants and rugs. You might already have an outdoor-grade rug in your house that you can use on the patio.

Sunday after Breakfast: Race to the end. Plant pots. Schwarberg’s system: Place about an inch or two of gravel in the bottom of large pot. Smooth it out so a plastic liner sits level on top of it. Make sure pot and liner have holes in the bottom to drain the soil of excess moisture. Insert the plastic liner pot (about an inch smaller than the ceramic or clay pot) and layer the inside with an inch of gravel, filter cloth, organic potting soil and your main plant, tree or shrub; add annuals and herbs around edges. Use Styrofoam packing peanuts to fill in the gap between pot and liner — this prevents shrinking and swelling of soil that cracks pots. Add a finishing touch of sheet moss at the top to retain moisture.

Arrange furniture. Schwarberg likes to place club chairs on a diagonal to create outdoor conversation areas. If you also have lounge chairs, set them in the lawn facing the patio, she says. “This gives an additional view of the yard and extends your entertaining space beyond the paving.”

Eat, drink and have fun. Sit back, relax and toast your hard work. Your weekend makeover will pay off all season.

RISMEDIA, April 26, 2011—Given the pressing environmental challenges facing the world, one day just doesn’t seem like enough to celebrate the earth and make long-term environmental changes. Why not use this month as inspiration and make a commitment to do environmentally friendly activities throughout the year?

Here are just 10 ideas, along with some online resources, that you could try.

Green your office–Establish a green team with colleagues to address ways to reduce your office’s impact. A recycling program is obvious. Other strategies could entail ridding the kitchen of disposable goods, replacing equipment that hogs energy, improving lighting and HVAC systems, installing a bike rack, and replacing grass around the office with a vegetable garden or native plants. For more information, visit www.greenyour.com/office.

Shop locally–Swear off buying stuff from faraway places, even if it saves some pennies. Just consider the impact that packaging and shipping your goods has on the environment. Instead, shop locally. Walking to shops saves energy and you also help neighborhood businesses thrive.

Make mini moves–Build new habits that will have an ongoing impact. Those could include the basics, such as switching to CFL bulbs, fixing water leaks (www.epa.gov/WaterSense), or cutting the phantom power at home.

Do an energy audit–Invest in an energy audit to figure out exactly how your house wastes energy. Even if you’re on a tight budget, commit yourself to making some of the changes the auditor suggests, and start setting aside money for costlier upgrades. Find an auditor at RESNET, www.resnet.us/trade/find-raters-auditors.

Go car-free–Reorganize your schedule so you can take public transit or walk to work and errands at least a day a week.

Become a locavore–Rely on local providers for your weekly produce by shopping at a farmers’ market or joining a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) program. And when it’s time for gift giving, consider buying CSA memberships for friends and clients. www.localharvest.org

Share your knowledge–Offer to make a presentation to colleagues at a weekly sales meeting about green changes they can make. Or pass the torch to the next generation by organizing an environmental event at a school or with a Girl Scout troop.

Raise your profile–Whether it’s a community garden, a rails-to-trails group, or a transit improvement committee, get involved in your community. Your participation raises your profile and connects you with new prospective clients, and your efforts have a direct impact on improving your community.

Learn something new–Still fuzzy on the details of programs like LEED or Energy Star? Wondering about new rebates and incentives? Spend two hours each week getting up to speed on industry programs and trends. One resource for such education is the Green REsource Council’s Webinars, one of the many great benefits available to NAR Green Designees. All the Webinars are archived at http://greenresourcecouncil.org/webinars.cfm for deisngees, and they include sessions on Energy Star, EPA’s WaterSense, USGBC’s REGREEN , LEED for Homes, and NAHB’s Green Building Program.