Best Tips For Prepping Outdoor Living Areas For Entertaining ~ Prize Pack Give Away

The pool is finally open!  Let the summer season entertaining begin!

Not quite.
After a series of unexpected false starts, we're nearly ready to entertain guest around the pool this summer.  No small amount of new gray hair growth and under breath muttering could be heard the last few weeks in my should-be backyard oasis. A new in ground pool filter, rebuilt pool pump motor and no shortage of finger crossing later and we're almost ready!

According to a recent Procter & Gamble survey, only 25 percent of consumers clean their grills and only 20 percent of consumers clean their outdoor furniture.

Although the waters are blue and inviting, during the chaos of pool opening, we have neglected to prepare the rest of our outdoor entertaining components to accommodate our guest.  I was surprised to learn we are not alone in our negligence.

Admittedly, we usually do clean our outdoor furniture and grill at the start and end of each season.  The job, however, hasn't been terribly easy.  With a fleet of lounge chairs, deck boxes, wicker and tables, not to mention the pool paraphenalia, this Mom is welcomes help!  With mind to treating my summer guests to a clean outdoor oasis, as well as maximizing the life of my outdoor pieces, I was pleased to have an opportunity to put some specialty Proctor & Gamble products to the test!

Highly motivated to get the rest of our outdoor living area ready for guests, putting the power of Mr. Clean Outdoor Pro to work on our chaise lounge chairs made quick work of the seasonal clean up job!  Strong and packed full of Mr. Clean cleaning power, the Magic Eraser cleared away the grime and old season dirt with ease.  I love that I can use, rinse and reuse these sturdy cleaning wonders!

The Hubs went to work right away with the Mr. Clean Outdoor Pro cleaner and found the job of sprucing up our grill much easier than usual!  More effective cleaning tools and less elbow grease is always high on his priority list!  Strong Bounty One Sheet Paper Towels made cleaning up after the clean a breeze, rather than another chore.   While some bargain towels might save a few pennies initially, we'd rather do the job right with less waste!

Outdoor Living Seasonal Spruce Up Tips

• Maintain Your Outdoor Furniture – Keep it looking good all summer

• Inspect your Deck – Give it good once over -  check for loose nails, bricks, cracked concrete

• Remove the Clutter – Clean up, power wash, remove unnecessary items/debris.

• Accessorize – Add in the little touches (i.e., plants, outdoor lighting, lanterns, centerpiece)  

• Clean your Grill – Give your grill a clean start this season.

• Clean Pre and Post Season ~ Post season cleaning makes pre season cleaning quick & easy!

• Handle Repair Post Season ~ Complete repairs and refurbishing post season to maximize your time to enjoy summer entertaining.

• Cover & Store with Care - Choose a storage area that will keep your stored outdoor furniture out of the rain and snow.  Protect finishes and fabrics with covers and tarps.

• Buy New Pieces Mid or End Season ~ maximize your outdoor living buying power by picking up new and replacement pieces during or after season for best prices.

***GIVEAWAY***

Proctor & Gamble is generously offering That's What She Said readers a chance to win their own Summer Spruce Up Cleaning Prize Pack as shown above.  This Prize Pack contains: 1 - Mr. Clean Outdoor Pro Magic Eraser Multi Pack, 1 - Mr. Clean Outdoor Pro Spray, 1 - roll Bounty One Sheet Paper Towel and 1 - Home Depot Logo Leather Craft Multi Pocket Natural Canvas Apron.

This giveaway is open to resident of US, 18+ and will end on Sunday, July 22, 2012 at 11:59pm EST.  Winner will be selected randomly from all eligible entries via Random.org.   Winner will be notified by email and will have 48 hours to respond before I must move on to a Runner Up.  This Summer Spruce Up Cleaning Prize Pack is provided by Proctor & Gamble.

***MANDATORY ENTRY ***

* Via a comment to this blog post, share with me your best summer spruce up tip or an outdoor living project you'd like to tackle this year. ~ 1 entry.

* Via a comment to this blog post, tell me if you have used any of the Prize Pack products.  What did you think of them?   ~ 1 entry.

*  "Like" Mr. Clean Magic Eraser on Facebook, leave Facebook name in comment below ~ 1 entry. 

* "Like" That's What She Said on Facebook, leave Facebook name in comment below ~ 1 entry.

* Follow That's What She Said (@tsue1136) on Twitter, leave Twitter name in comment below ~ 1 entry.

* Give That's What She Said G+!  Click button on top left side bar and leave your G+ name in a comment below ~ 1 entry.

* Enter another That's What She Said Giveaway, leave comment telling me which you entered ~ 2 entries.

* Comment on any non-giveaway post, leave comment below telling me which  ~ 2 entries.

* Follow Just Like June (@momsmutterings) on Twitter, leave Twitter name in comment ~ 1 entry.

* Follow 3 Princes & A Princess 2 (@crystalnjoe1105) on Twitter, leave Twitter name in comment ~ 1 entry.

* Follow Closer To Lucy on Twitter, leave Twitter name in comment ~ 1 entry.

* Follow HaveSippy on Twitter, leave Twitter name in comment ~ 1 entry.

NOTE:  if you email address if available through your comment name link, you do not need to leave your email address in your comment.  If you email address is not available via your comment name, please leave your email address in anti-spam format in your comment.

Congratulations to Alison, 

comment #126, courtesy of Random.org!

I received a Summer Spruce Up Cleaning Kit courtesy of Proctor & Gamble for the purposes of exploring to create this feature.  The opinions above are both honest and my own.  Some images and information sourced from various Proctor & Gamble or Home Depot sites.  Facebook, Pinterest and Google+ are not involved in nor responsible for this giveaway in any fashion.  Sponsor is responsible for supplying prize.  Pool Image.