Spring Cleaning part 4

So it has been unexpectedly warm and sunny lately, certainly not the norm in this part of the country for April. Heck, still have my studded snow tires on my van.
Need to get those off before the fifteenth.

My spring cleaning has come to a screaming halt, as other tasks have taken priority as well as the Easter holiday.
I do intend to proceed with the cleaning out of the house as soon as the weather cools off or I decide to turn on the air conditioner should the weather stay warm.
Warm weather and I are no longer friends. After years of baking in the sun, my old body has opted for the fifty degree days and thirty degree nights as the optimum temperature range.
Go figure.
Laundry and making the dreaded shopping list are on today's agenda, both thankless jobs.
Maybe I'll attack a kitchen cupboard or two later on, but I have to finish a program I am doing for a non profit club first.
Bathing the two pups are also on my to do list for the day. Yep I still make lists, for everything. I don't always follow them, but for some reason they give me a bit of comfort. I guess knowing that I am at least thinking in an organized manner makes me feel better.
Lets see now...wrote a least one blog today...that's a check off my list. These lists do seem to work, well on with the day.

Spring Housecleaning part 3

So my plan to hire a cleaning service was derailed or postponed for a bit, due to lack of funds and the arrival of one of my sisters with her daughter.
Since I did have a few days notice, I did get to vacuum my floors, and put a little elbow grease into cleaning part of my bathroom.
A bit of dusting and several loads of laundry and I was as ready as I was going to be for this visit.

As I went about my chores, ugh, I noted that some type of cleaning and decluttering was absolutely going to have to be on my priority list in the very near future.
It was a sobering moment I must say.

It was always my intent to not let my home fall into such a state.
However I am nothing if not brutally honest, and it does take a visit or gathering for me to become motivated enough to do a thorough house cleaning...because I really don't like to clean. It is a flaw in my character I know and one I will absolutely admit to, but that is how it is.

So for now, I am going to approach my spring housecleaning by doing a room at a time, but not putting a time limit on it. I will be decluttering and removing all things that have not been used for a while, on the theory that if I haven't used it for a while, do I really need it.
I am going to reestablish my rule of no more stuff comes in until something goes out.

So on to deciding which room should receive my attention.
That should take at least a day or two...and maybe the weather will be more spring like to motivate me. Or not.

Spring Cleaning Part 2 - the list

The dreaded Spring cleaning is still on my mind as I look around at the piles of magazines, old coupon books that need to be sorted and tossed, and clothes that should be carried up to their appointed rooms, but I need a plan, and a list.
I'm also going to have to employ the help of some family members.
After all they all shared in creating the need, so they should all help in some part of this venture. This may require another list.

So, as I was having the aforementioned cup of coffee, light and sweet by the way, I put pen to pad and started the list. Notice the word, started. I am a list maker and none of my lists ever actually reach completion as I am constantly adding or editing as I proceed with the task at hand. Then there are the interuptions, letting the dogs in and out and in and out, laundry and errands.
Phones ringing, and general daily chores that keep the house running, all serve to keep me from finishing the list, I mean, someone has to order the pizza and pick it up.

The list of supplies are on my list, but I need a plan. Without the PLAN, well I will just bounce around without direction. Events will distract me, the occasional movie left on the television, that book I never finished, those phone chats with old friends, and the daily and weekly stuff.
With the amount of work that will be involved, I will have to be efficient and cut-throat in my clearing and pitching. I will have to be a virtual cleaning machine.

Okay, so now that I have quit laughing, virtual cleaning machine? Who am I trying to fool, myself?
For I am the woman who when surprised by unexpected visitors in the driveway, will pull boxes out, scatter them around, proclaiming to be in the midst of sorting for a yard sale. I am the woman who will have time to plug a vacuum in, and spray lemon smelling cleaner around, and state without a pause, that I am indeed in the middle of cleaning and "please excuse the mess".

Now where did I put that number for the cleaning service I used last year...
I know I put it on a list last year.

What is spring housecleaning ? part 1

Year after year, on covers of magazines by the checkout aisle, those dreaded printed words scream out at me. It is time for the ritual of spring housecleaning.
What is spring housecleaning?
I am sure my mother did spring housecleaning, and my grandmother wrote her chores down on her calendar.
There may be a reason I have blocked out these specific memories.
Okay, I'll say it. I hate cleaning. I hate spring cleaning, holiday cleaning and the "shit" I am having company cleaning.
It's not that I like dust and dirt...I appreciate a nice clean house as much as anyone. It just is not high on my priority list.
In past years, I've actually hired someone to do my cleaning for me. Those were the good old days.

When I was a single woman, no husband, no kids, no pets, I was actually very tidy. Easy to pick up after yourself. Dirty clothes hit the hamper, clean clothes were placed neatly in drawers or hung up, and dishes were done every night. Dusting and vacuuming once a week along with the mandatory bathroom cleaning, and boom. I was done. I also didn't have as much STUFF.

Now, I have way too much stuff. A husband who covers every flat surface with his stuff, and two kids who I make keep their doors closed. Oh, and we have pets. Currently three cats, two which are still basically kittens, and three dogs, two which are puppies and all their assorted stuff.

Two of my aunts were certified clean-a-holics. Their spring cleaning lasted all year long. I have friends who actually paint their interiors once a year.
They give me their tips and I dutifully write them down, but something happens to the follow through.

Maybe because cleaning is such a thankless job. We clean, and then a week later, we have to clean again.
So for right now, I'm going to go get a fresh cup of coffee, and make my cleaning list. Every one needs a list before they start such a project.
Stayed tuned tomorrow for part two of the Spring cleaning saga...