4 Exercises to Boost Your Setting Description Skills

Settings are a difficult thing for me: I am not a naturally observant person, and descriptions of locations in books often bore me.
I don't wish to bring the same form of boredom to the reader, but I also don't want to leave them feeling like the events are all taking place in some strange void. Especially since quite a number of my stories do take place in foreign, ancient, or fantastical locations, I need a way to brush up my game.
I invented the following exercises for my usage, as much as anything:

1. Pick a favourite movie set, and, without going back to said movie, try to remember as much detail about that location as possible. Can you describe it in such a way that someone can see it as though they are there? Were there props used? Where were they kept when not in use? What time of year do you think it took place in?

2. Pick a location that you are personally familiar with. Pretend you have to describe it to someone from a different country. If you're from a cold area, pretend that they come from a desert. What will they not expect to hear about where you're from?

3. Invent a location and draw a map. Your choice whether it's a house, a city, a country, or whatever. If you like action stories, pick the best locations for ambushes or major fights. Romance? What's the most romantic spot? Mystery? Where would the treasure/evidence be hidden?

4. Finally, pick a setting from your current WIP and brainstorm everything that you can possibly think of that might be there. If it's outdoors, what types of trees and shrubbery is there going to be? If it's indoors, how is it furnished? Is there woodwork? Lots of metal? Stone? Are they in a spaceship? How many buttons are visible at any given time? Do they blink? Are there only a few, small windows, or lots of big ones? What's the lighting like?

Remember with all exercises to incorporate a minimum of two senses. What does the place smell like, what does it sound like, how is the temperature? And always remember that what is commonplace for you will be different and interesting to others. 
I’m from western Canada—snow being present for 5+ months of the year is not uncommon. For me, that’s normal. For those from more southern locations, that is anything but normal. I see lots of fir and coniferous trees on a regular basis, as well as things like ash trees and other deciduous trees. I don’t see palm trees and cactus on a regular basis.