spring cleaning

I work full-time (and not as a homemaker) but this topic definitely belongs under WORK!

We just started spring cleaning, including the stuff that gets done once a year whether it needs it or not haha: vacuuming the ceilings, cleaning out the kitchen cabinets, etc. Out of everything I hate (and I hate all of it) my Least Favorite Award goes to the 2.5 hours I spent yesterday going over the shower grout with a toothbrush and trying to remove hard water buildup in toilets and showers. For my money, it doesn't get any more boring than this.

What's your least favorite spring cleaning chore?

What's spring cleaning? I did sweep out and dust the barn the other day. Am I sick or what? I found that some mice have been storing cat food in one of my saddles. My barn cat is definately not doing her job.

The thing I dread doing the most in the spring is pulling out my boxed up spring/summer clothes and putting away my fall/winter stuff. I have to wash and unwrinkle everything and spend an inordinate amount of time debating what stuff I should get rid of, always keeping more than I should.

Anyone else have the magazine glut problem? That's on my next hit list. They all have these great articles that I so want to read, going all the way back to 1998. It's so important as a writer to keep current on topics and know what the market is looking for. How can I possible throw the stuff out? Certainly no one can part with back issues of National Geographic or American Cowboy. Can they?

catalogs first, magazines second. at least magazines have useful information. catalogs have stuff they have already sold by the time I get around to reading them!

chores...I'm the clutter queen. we still have boxes piled up in the hallway from where we haven't unpacked from moving in. in all fairness, all of those boxes were in storage until a couple of months ago . now they are in storage in the hall.

some of those boxes have Dave's first wife's financial records and she died in 1988! I suppose that makes us the King & Queen of Clutter, eh? I think he also has the first Playboy magazines he ever bought and that was when Playboy was brand new. Could any of those magazines be worth $$$? E-bay here I come!

My ex brother-in-law saved Playboys like forever and sold his entire collection for $3100.00 to a collector. He had each on encased in plastic and they were like new. Go figure....

My least favorite spring cleaning is spring cleaning, all of it, yikes, ugh and baloney to it all. I call Merry Maids, they do the hard stuff and I just keep after it the rest of the time. I hate clutter.

The hard part about spring cleaning is finding the time. The chore I like the least is taking down the curtains and re-hanging them. For some reason my curtain pockets are too tight and it takes forever to get the curtains back ont he rod. I must admit them all once a year. I sorta look for dust and when I see it I take them down and fluff them in the dryer.

My husband saved 20-year-old phone bills from 3 houses ago and I finally got him to throw them out (mostly by intentionally tripping on his paper pile a few times .) Now he only backlogs for 7 years.

I put a 5-year moratorium on magazines here. By then, they're all outdated anyhow. I donate them to the library's used book sales.

Aha! After reading this thread, now I can see why Dotsie suggested I come post. I had just written this little poem off the cuff last night and sent it to some friends. Fits right in here!

Packrat

I have too much space

To spread stuff about

And need to give away

A lot of it, no doubt.

My closet holds clothes

In four different sizes

When you open a drawer,

It’s full of surprises.

I need to organize,

And learn to give away

Just keep what I’ll use

Or what I’ll display

God’s blessed me so much

And I must confess

I’m sure I’ll never wear

That size six mini-dress!



By Donna J. Shepherd

Donna, how about that? Love the poem. The rocking chair in our bedroom is piled sky high with winter clothes to be taken to the attic. That's on my list for tonight.

I envy the people who have huge closets and can leave their clothes in the same place year-round.

Great poem Donna! This week I bought 2 more shelving units and put them in my closets. I'm lucky to have lots of large closets. It was one of the features that sold me on this house!

Wait a second, wait a second.....back up a little....Agate, you've got old American Cowboy magazines? I LOVE those......you wanna trade for some Sunset, Martha Stewart, County Living, Country Home, Southern Living, Elle Decor, Coastal Living... (what else do I have?) Well I probably don't have but a few Coastal Livings.....anyway.....

Don't ask. It's too scary.

Kate

okay, let me get this straight. Cleaning your house comes in seasons? Are you telling me that I only have to clean my house once a year? And that takes place in the Spring?

Man! Is that good news or what?

I almost cleaned up some last month and brother am I glad I got over it...

Ummm, yeah..........what she said....I like that.

Shoot you girls have the right idea, I can save a fortune only have thi place cleaned once a year. So glad I haven't started yet. She old dogs(like me) can learn new tricks. Wuff, wuff...

......like seriously, about the magazines....really.......

I loathe cleaning, but I love a clean house. I will do the picking up the papers, trying to keep uncluttered but I have a woman that cleans for me every other week. What a blessing, I can go into the weekend and not have to think about the floors, the bathrooms and well, dust is a country accent!

My office is cluttered, Ican't seem to keep up with it, and she is told not to mess with it at all. I think I know where everything is! LOL

I am also fortunate that my husband does all the laundry. So I can be guilt free when I sit down at the computer and take care of business!

Sherri

Sorry Kate. I can't part with my American Cowboy. I swear I really am going to read them.

Plus a trade sounds like it would just put me back to where I started.

I traded some magazines with a girlfriend 6 months ago, and neither of us has read the "new" magazines yet. But it was a good idea.

Remember Spring Cleaning when the winter rugs were changed to sisal rugs? My grandmothers did this every year and my mother changed drapes from winter to spring.

Now that is a lot to keep up with!

Lynn

PS I hate washing curtains too.

My mother changed the curtains and bedspreads in my sister's and my room twice a year. Pink for 6 months, then green for 6 months.

Not only that, but she sewed everything in our room AND painted the walls to match. I always thought she was a fanatic but I seem to have inherited some of it

I loved the poem!! That was really cute, have you submitted it anywhere?

As for cleaning, I guess I am the oddball here. I do like to clean. I don't love it, but I put music on, LOUD and sing and make up stories as I go along. I usually clean my whole house about twice a month thoroughly. And then once a month, I try to get into drawers and closets to see what we've piled up and either put them into their places or toss them out.

I think I developed this habit because I grew up in a three-bedroom home with six kids. Even when we cleaned the house, it still seemed cluttered. Now, I hate clutter. I detest clutter. ha ha. Sometimes I can't sleep and have to get up to go straighten out a mess I saw earlier but was too busy to take care of. Another thing I attribute this habit to is from our time in the military. We moved every three years, so we tried not to store too much. If we didn't use it, we got rid of it.

Now, my writing stuff is another totally different situation. I have boxes of it and file cabinets of stuff. I have office supplies in little plastic storage dressers. My desk has files, and I have two bookcases full of magazines and books. I just can't seem to get rid of any of it, cause WHO KNOWS? right??

Thanks, Betty-boop! If you think of a place to submit, I suppose I could!

When my house needs a good thorough cleaning, I call my Mom - who sounds a lot like yours. She likes to clean, a trait I missed. I like a clean house, but there's just always so many more things I'd rather do *g* like write poems about clutter!

Donna

Donna,

Just noticed you are from OHIO. Anywhere near Warren/Youngstown? I grew up there from the age of 8 - 19.

Just wondering....

Hello. I'm from the Cincinnati area.

Donna (a buckeye - is that a nut? )

Donna,

I've been through Cincinnati several times. Love how green it is by the OHIO RIVER.

Is a Buckeye an nut? Well, Ohio folklore has it that the buckeye nut is considered a good luck charm, relieves pain of arthritis and rheumatism, resembles the eye of the buck deer. I have three that I have taken all over the world with me and they still sit in my jewelry box. I suppose if you are superstitious, you could say they do bring good luck...as I've had lots of fun and adventures in my life.

Do you remember the Buckeye man? They used to take buckeyes, paint faces on them and have little springy legs and arms on them. They would sell them at baazars and in gift shops as Ohio sourvenirs. I haven't seen those in ages. lolol

Hey Betty=B,

Where abouts are you in Utah? It is one of my favorite states and come by as often as I can to see friends.

Frankly, we are hoping for a trip in May. Small reunion of very close friends for over 25 - 30 years.

Lynn

Oh! This time we will be outside Springville, most of the time we are in Glenwood, south of Richfield, Mohab or Zion area.

Lynn,

I live outside of SALT LAKE CITY in Sandy, Utah. I am from the EAST coast and really miss it. I married a Utahn and we moved here after he got out of the military. Someday, I dream of going east to live. Don't know if it will ever happen as my kids and grandkids all live here and I like being close to help out and see them grow up.

My husband is a truck driver and he is actually coming home in May. We are planning to go to Park City, Utah for a week to 'get away' from it all. I can't wait.

You be-a watchin out fer them thar bears, ya here.???