Patio Set Covers

Those who have been following this blog know I'm in the market for patio set covers. Although, my search is relatively new (as in less than 8 weeks) I have likely devoted at least an hour of thinking time per day to the endeavor. I'm beginning to think that patio set covers are a thing of a bygone era.

I have also come to the realization that I want these covers to save myself some work. As I recommended a few posts ago, it is important to really analyze why you want something in order that you end up with the thing that really suits your needs. I have put a great deal of thought into why I want patio set covers and I realized it is to save me from unnecessary labor.

Once the birds start chirping and the first crocuses poke their heads from the ground, my kids want to have every meal in the backyard (actually in a tent if they could have their way). And why not? We have been stuck inside for the past 5 or 6 months and the warmer air and sunshine is nothing short of lovely. Our whole family is eager to spend every available minute outside. Even the most mundane meal feels like and adventure or a picnic if eaten outside, particularly in the beginning months of the summer. Admittedly, some foods are just better eaten outside, like watermelon with seeds and corn on the cob dripping with butter. I generally agree to serve a few suppers per week outside on weekdays and most lunches and suppers outside on weekends. When the kids are out of school they can eat their breakfasts outside as well.

We live in an area that, although downtown, has lots of wildlife. Many birds, squirrels, chipmunks, cats and raccoons pass through our backyard and generally take some time to walk on our patio table. Aside from the muddy footprints, who knows what they might track in. Accordingly, I am in the backyard washing the top of our patio table six to eight times per week and sadly sometimes twice per day.

Covers for my patio set would save me almost 60 minutes per week. What wouldn't I do for an extra hour of personal time per week? That time savings amounts to almost 12 hours over the course of the summer. That is a minimum in time savings, as I recently realized that there is another area of work that would be eliminated (will save this insight for another post) by the purchase of patio set covers.