Spring Cleaning

[fidgiegirl]

We are back from a relaxing four days in San Diego and noticed the house is faintly stale and doggy smelling. Not overpowering, but the kind of smell one doesn't notice when here daily.

So! Soon we'll be able to open up and air out. We can hang rugs outside and all that jazz. What else do you like to do for your spring cleaning?

[Float On]

High 70's here....actually hot. All windows open and airing. I'll find the screens sometime, glad its not buggy yet. Thats about all I do outside the normal stuff for spring. I might wash windows....I'm usually lazy about that and wait till my mom comes and she offers to do it.

[Rosemary]

I can't believe how dusty our house is right now. I usually don't bother about dusting, but after 6 months of being closed up with the heat running, it's time. Today I deep-cleaned our bedroom, removing everything from surfaces and wiping them with a damp cloth, as well as wiping the walls with a damp dustmop. It's time for me to do a quick spin through cabinets and closets again... they get unorganized too quickly.

In spring I like to hose down all our window screens before putting them into the windows for the warm season. I remove all the plastic from the windows and air out the house. Other than that, it's mostly business as usual inside -- it's outside where most of the action is in spring, in the garden!

...and on that subject I've ordered another apple tree, some blackberries that are supposed to be winter-hardy here (we'll see), a new variety of strawberry, 2 new varieties of raspberries. Come mid-April when they arrive, I will be very busy! -- so all indoor stuff, as well as putting a hefty layer of compost on the garden, needs to be completed before then.

[Mrs-M]

To welcome Spring, I like to scrub all window sills and door jambs, move whatever furniture I can manage (vacuum under, etc), and sweep/hose-down outside steps/walks to wash away winter grime and dirt.

[Mrs-M]

To add... when it comes to Spring, it's not so much about cleaning, so much as it is about being able to (once again) open things up to allow in fresh air and life. Hearing the sounds of all the birds calling and signing is so special to me.

One thing that definitely never fails to lift my spirits... wiping down my clothesline to ready it for use! Always a sign of good things!

[rosarugosa]

I do housework on a regular basis, but in spring I will be washing all the windows.

[decemberlov]

Can't wait to open those windows up!! Like Rosemary I'll be cleaning all the screens...I hate that nasty smell of dirty screens.

Normally I would clean all the carpets but the new house has non (lovely!!)

The hammock will be coming out soon so I can relax and sip coffee in it while watching the children play :)

[larknm]

Open windows is the best. Plus for us it will be opening up the living room, which is half our house, for use again once we don't need heating anymore. Yesterday I lightened up by giving to a friend clothes I don't wear that she's told me in the past years she likes. Also a bunch of other stuff to Big Brothers and Big Sisters--the house feels lighter. Yesterday DH and I started thinking if we could save up for a short trip to Utah after we've paid off 2nd mortgage. It's nearby and the red rocks amazing in photos and apparently lots of space for doggies to play.

[chrissieq]

Decided that my spring break week will be spring cleaning week - along with reading, watching movies, going to a museum or two, lunch with friends.

Today I emptied my closet and put the first coat of paint on it - tomorrow coat #2 - Monday I'll paint the trim with Tuesday trim coat #2. Then I will do the same to DHs. The house is 60 years old and I think this may be the first time it has been re-painted.

Also a great time to clear out the unneeded items.

[fidgiegirl]

Nice, chrissieq. If I recall correctly, you are also a Twin Citian - the weather of the last few days sure does inspire some spring cleaning! I am going to wait for just a fuzzzzzzzz warmer weather to wash the dogs' beds. DH has been painting trim upstairs and it is looking good. Sure does freshen things up. We also got some hooks hung in the closet for his clothes that he has worn once but are not dirty enough to launder. He was just laying them all over these storage boxes and it was bugging me. He also removed all the clips from the broken wire shelf that never was there in all the time we've lived here, and spackled up the holes. I am much happier with this. :) I will make some fresh, cute signs on the computer for the storage bins (our seasonal clothes, tucked into a weird little corner).

[Rosemary]

50 degrees by Wednesday! Oh, lovely spring. I am looking forward to removing the indoor/outdoor black mats in our entryway that catch all the winter scum from our boots. Since we still have a LOT of snow in our yard (and mud now, too), they'll probably be there at least through next weekend, when I will take them outside and hose them off. That is, if we can wade through the mud to get to the shed where the hoses are stored.

I had several wool sweaters that were waiting for several weeks to be hand-washed. Did that last week and dried them outside on a rack. And put them away for the season, yaay!

[fidgiegirl]

I am chomping, simply chomping, to get into the gardens, but there isn't a whole lot to do while it's this wet and cold. A few things, yes, but just not a whole lot - plus most of the garden work needs to be done over at our rental so it's a little harder to do that in the evenings - better to knock it all out on the weekend. So since this week is busy anyway, I think spring cleaning will be the focus.

I have a lot of irons in the fire both at work and at home, and need to start "finishing" some things. I use the quotes because of course cleaning is never finished, but I'd feel better about life if it were under control. A bit of focused effort and that should get finished pretty easily. Then I can focus on gardens.

Tonight starts off with clutter control in living room, dining room and kitchen.

[rgwhitaker]

Spring cleaning here in Northern California simply includes opening all the windows when it warms up enough to air out the house.

Then comes the menial tasks:

1. dusting
2. thorough mopping
3. thorough vaccumming
4. once the rains stop, wash the windows inside and out
5. gather up things that can go and either sell them or donate to Goodwill

What are some other things you do for Spring cleaning?

[frugalone]

It's not spring, but I just took several boxes of STUFF to the Salvation Army. It took me months to get it out of the house but it's GONE!