Friday, March 06, 2009

Spring Cleaning

There are several things that I avoid. Lately, its my manuscript, but usually, it involves various forms of housework. I hate to clean. Hate it. Especially when everyone conspires to make it worse but no one will help. I remember, at one time, when it was just me and the cats, the house was always clean and quiet. I could clean up as I went. Then a boy and some dogs moved in and I've been chasing dirt ever since. Heaven forbid I add kids to the mix. The house will be condemned.

But there is one time of year that I want to clean. The spring. I get all antsy. I don't know if its being cooped up all winter, but the minute it gets remotely warm, I want to open all the windows, air out the house and scrub every inch. I clean out closets. Wash all the towels. Wash curtains. Clean miniblinds. Baseboards. Really neurotic stuff that I can ignore the rest of the year.

We're experiencing a warm snap here in Alabama. It's a fluke I'm sure. Happens every year around this time. Sends everyone scurrying to Lowe's to buy plants for their yard and without fail, we get a cold front, it drops below freezing, and all their plants die. I don't know how long it will last, but the Weather Channel says it will be in the 70s this weekend.

It's not spring yet, but the time has come! I am cleaning this blasted house all weekend. All weekend. And I'm going to make DB help me. (insert wicked laugh) Maybe, just maybe, after I make my way through the house, I'll be able to post pictures of my office or do some of the little things I've put off since moving in, like painting the bathroom. Or not.

Do you get fired up to spring clean? Is there anything you do that you don't normally bother with the rest of the year? Are you as itching for spring as I am? I can't stand it anymore. I want to run out and buy tulips!

SP

12 comments:

Playground Monitor said...

Uhm... if you wanted tulips popping up in your yard, you had to plant them last fall.

Yeah, I'm more than ready for spring. I still haven't pulled out the dead plants from last year -- the stalks from my canna lillies and day lillies, the stems from the blue salvia and the stuff in my herb garden. Most of my plants are perennials but I do put in a few annuals each year. I'm just wondering if it will be PM versus the rabbits again this year. At least I still have my fenced area for my sweet basil (after I dig up the dead one from last year -- it's my only annual herb).

I want to transplant my lavender and create a big lavender bed. It's so pretty with the spiky flowers. And if the rabbits go after it, I'm going to learn how to use that pellet gun and hunt me some wascally wabbits.

Spring cleaning? Eh... without kids and animals, the house doesn't get that dirty. It's mostly dust but as long as you don't write in it, it's just extra protection for the wood. Yeah, that's it. ;-)

mslizalou said...

I hate to clean the house, but since I live alone, it's all on me. I do feel the need to do a really big clean when it starts to feel like spring. We are going to be in the 70's in TN this weekend too and I can't wait to get home on Sunday so I can clean my house from top to bottom. Which of course means I have to dust, which will only make my allergies go crazy. Seems if the dust just sits on the furniture, it doesn't bother my allergies, but try and remove it and I'll be sick for a few days. Maybe I should hire a maid to do my big spring clean...

Linda Winstead Jones said...

I've been watching the tulips grow, checking them out every morning. And yes, I do have this unnatural urge to clean and organize. I always like to hit the closets in the spring. My office needs a good cleaning. I've been working on organizing the garage (the job that never ends) for a while, now. It's a never ending job. I want to put in a bigger garden this year, more vegetables, maybe some strawberries. We don't have a rabbit problem, but the squirrels run rampant. I have a nectarine tree I've never gotten a single piece of fruit from, thanks to the squirrels. DH has been known to chase them with his BB gun. Last time our 4 yr old granddaughter was here, and she yelled at him (much more indignant than upset) that SQUIRRELS ARE GOD'S ANIMALS. :-)

I love spring. Not spring cleaning so much, but yeah, it comes with the territory.

LJ

Christine said...

I usually clean the house in general once a week. I pick an area that needs work and hit it. I try to clean deep after I finish a major project/ms. Right now I am in organize mode, but I keep getting sidetracked by illness and appointments. So while the desire is there, the time is not.

I seriously need to get into my office and organize the latest paperwork. I've got tons of new class assignments I printed and want to file, a bunch of new information about being a PRO (is that ever daunting), and a desire to make a plan for querying and tracking the queries when I return from vacation.

But, my duaghter is ill. I am tired. And the frustration abounds.

Problem Child said...

I'm never "fired up" to clean. It's usually "oh-dear-dog-I-can't-LIVE-like-this-anymore."

And then I do it.

This is the reason Rhonda is rarely at my house and is not allowed upstairs when she is here.

Sherry Werth said...

The warm snap/spring fever is why I've been missing from blogging this week. I work for a landscaping and lawn care company. I'm not complaining..being busy is good. :D
I've caught the planting bug too. I bought a cute windowsill herb garden and a few blooming houseplants. As far as the house cleaning goes..ahh, no. Let's just say there is no smooth Chi flowing through blessing us with its universal energy. It came to the door, looked in and ran away screaming. But I'm going to start tackling it this weekend. My BIL and his girlfriend are coming down for a visit in a few weeks so I don't have a choice.

And this nice weather has got Hubby thinking about his next remodeling project. HELP!

PM: "Extra protection for the wood"...love it!

Kira Sinclair - AKA Instigator said...

No, I never get the urge to clean. I'm being forced to weed through closets this weekend though...and if I wasn't I'd be content to ignore them for years to come - or until my next book drives me up the wall and I need a distraction.

Instigator

housemouse88 said...

Spring cleaning is a must in this house with 3 cats and a dog. I tend to do a semi Spring cleaning every 3 months. My hubby says I have OCD and I do. I just like everything in its proper place. Plus if you put it back where it belongs in the first place, you don't have to spend your cleaning time on picking up after everybody.

We can't wait to get started on the garden. It's still to wet here to start though. My flowers aren't coming up yet but I'm sure with this great weather were having they will be soon.

Have a great day.

Anonymous said...

Please sister, the only reason my home looks as clean as it is now, is because I have it up for sale. I am not a "spring cleaning" kind of person. Smarty Pants....would you please come to my house? I am a person that when it gets this warm, I'm ready to cut weeds, etc., and get my yard up to par.
robertsonreads

Problem Child said...

I'm sorry, robertsonreads, but if SP is looking for cleaning to do, I'm next in line! :-)

But I hate to work in the yard as well, so if anyone has a green thumb they'd like to exercise, let me know!

Playground Monitor said...

I'm not so sure I have a green thumb. I just try to buy the plants that are hardest to kill.

Inside the house, silk works marvelously. The only live plant I have inside is aloe and it withstands being totally ignored.

Katherine Bone said...

I've been having the same urges but have resisted with all my might.

My flower garden needs to be tended. As a matter of fact, I saw flowers at WalMart today and had the urge to plant again. Knowing that it isn't safe planting annuals until after April 15th, I sighed and kept walking.

I vacuumed and dusted yesterday. Ran out of time and didn't get the floors mopped though. (Sigh) There is so much to do with 3 kids at home, 5 cats and 1 dog. Arrrrr!!!

Makes a wench want to jump ship. ;)