Thursday, April 3, 2014

Do you Spring Clean?


Happy Thursday,  It is snowing again.  I am not kidding.  It is so ridiculous that it has gone beyond painful into the "you have to laugh" category. 

Since I am so far away from yard work, I am turning my attention into the home.  While I don't have a lot of time in any given day to pick away at my spring cleaning, given how busy I am doing other things, I have a schedule and I am sticking to it:


Having only one thing to do on a given day makes it very manageable!

My inspiration? Miss Martha Stewart.


Clean Windows
God! I wish she would do my windows...

 Oh, say what you want, but she keeps a nice house (her and her staff of a thousand!)


Martha Stewart Living Magazine - print


As you can see, the cover of this month's magazine boasts a stress-free guide to spring cleaning and I have decided that is the perfect way to approach the task - bit by bit, room by room, day by day - until at the end of April I will be left with a sparkling home!

You don't have to buy the magazine however, Martha has a cleaning guide online here.


I did the little sitting room on the main level the other day.  I started there because when I cleaned out my office I decided to get rid of the big old reading chair which I never use.

I decided to see if we could fit it in elsewhere (Barry said we could not and he proved to be right though I don't like to say that; It is now in the storage space in the basement waiting to be taken by a child when they move out) which created a lot of chaos.

We started moving furniture and that led to vaccuming and dusting everywhere and taking down the curtains to launder them, etc,.

King_and_i_yul_brynner
etc, etc, etc, keep the story going, Wendy

The sitting room, cleaned and de-cluttered.  Can you see me in the mirror above the settee?




I do love a picture of a person taking a picture!  Nice closeup of the mirror.  The paintings were done by my great-grandmother:




We moved the big herringbone couch into the far end of the dining room.  This was a good thing, as the space there is larger and it gives a cozy spot.


Oh we all want to paint these walls, don't we?  Don't we?  I do!


We have so many extra dining room chairs and have people over for dinner so often that it makes no sense to store them away.  This one is now doing double duty:



And my mother has gotten the liquor accoutrements back.  All is well with her (after) life.



I love this little Virginia Wool tray:




And I am a sucker for every kind of wine stopper...



And funny thing - for the first time in two years, my Christmas cactus is blooming!  Could this be a sign of better things to come?  I think yes!




So today I am off to Target for some additional cleaning supplies and to stock up on some things that are almost empty so I can restock my cleaning bucket.

This is Martha's cleaning bucket.  It reminds me of Dani's.  I will never be that organized as I just don't have it in me, but you never know; just looking at the baking soda in the glass sugar container is making me all giddy!


 Clean Without Chemicals


Do people still engage in spring cleaning like they used to?  I have the sense that the answer is no, but would love to hear from you all if you take a methodical approach to it all once or twice a year?

So how about you?  Anyone else in the throes of spring cleaning?  Do you do it in one fell swoop or are you like me, and plan to pick away at it over the coming weeks?


Today is a light spring cleaning day because I have my writing critique group afternoon and I am so excited!  Love those women!

 


Have a great day out there!  Stay Safe!

xoxo Wendy











52 comments:

  1. I clean all the time, so I don't have much need for it, you actually could eat your dinner off my floors, of course you'd need to cook it first.
    I am without doubt one of those prissy house proud types.

    More snow? Wow but you'll be warm long before us.

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    1. I would be so bitter if I cleaned like that, given that there are 3 other people making messes! We clean the kitchen every night and pick up and give a good cleaning at least once a week, but I would be lying if I said, I washed walls, or laundered curtains or things more than once or twice a year! Not sure about warmth - the highest temp I see is +9 between now and the end of April! You may be mixing me up with Dani in southern Ontario!

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    2. I've never met anyone who washed their walls!

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    3. I can attest to the gratifying result of wall washing. Sometimes when I have been scrubbing away at all the horizontal surfaces my sponge goes vertical-trim,doorknobs, bathroom and kitchen walls,you dont notice how dirty they get til you clean them.

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  2. Thanks for the mention I do love a cleaning bucket and I usually have one on the go on nearly every level of the house. I do spring clean but I feel like once I finish I usually start again, I hate filth and I love to organize so it's my lifestyle. I have to say my puppy is a cleaning challenge just now, two baths a day for her and I'm constantly scrubbing the kitchen floor and side entry, thank goodness those floors are tile! Anyway I shouldn't complain, it's because we have mud not snow.
    Heaven help you out there I can't believe it is snowing again.
    Your sitting room is really charming!

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    1. Poor puppy - we are so many feet of snow away from much that it is not a worry here right now! Lord - now am thinking you might find my house filthy as we only wash floors every Friday and there is the odd (or more!) spot on the kitchen floor that waits for it!

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  3. You have the best knick-knacks! I love that chair used as an end table, it looks great! Not really into spring cleaning here. It's been on my mind but the motivation doesn't match the thoughts.

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    1. Cate - I hear you! Barry has volunteered to do all of the windows this month - that is big, big, big!

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  4. I love my house; it's like another person to me. I know it's not as clean as Tabitha's day to day so I do try to do a real spring cleaning over a week or so. A couple of years ago I had too much going on so I hired 2 women for 6 hours to help, a gratifying instant result ( I made them use my environmentally friendly cleaners). We nordic types like to "air things out"; whenever it's a nice dry day, my porch is lined with quilts and blankets taking the fresh sea air.

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    1. Lane - I am same - if I ever can get to my clothesline again (!) I love to hang all the pillows and blankets out!

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  5. Hello Wendy,

    We have to confess to having a housekeeper and so cleaning is part of her daily routine. We, on the other hand, are lazy tarts although when the mood takes we polish up everything within an inch of its life!

    We also have to confess to having a dislike for the Martha Stewarts of the world or, closer to home for us, the Delia Smiths. There is such a smugness about them and they always look as if they have just stepped out of the hairdressers. That cleaning bucket looks very dodgy to us.........or could it be that we are jealous?!!

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    1. Jane and Lance - I think you may be on to something!

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  6. Spring cleaning happens around here when spring actually gets here and if by some chance we go right from winter to summer ( as may be the case this year) will there is no space on the calendar for spring cleaning this year!! Am I the old lady on the end with the glasses? Hope so.

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    1. Not sure why I have "will" in this. fingers flying faster than brain

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    2. I think you are Mary! I once went two years without a really deep cleaning and nothing fell apart and no one got sick! I am easing my way into this week!

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  7. WMM, I love the way every nook and cranny in your home is just brimming with personality. Thank you for the glimpse. I really need to hang more pictures....

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    1. Iève got a few for you! Do you ever hang your sweaters as works of art

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    2. whoops - typed too quickly and see I was getting French characters! I have so many pictures, but I love the look of a wall with tons of pictures - so interesting to me! I am actually thinking of framing a little cape my grandmother made for me - do you ever hang your gorgeous sweaters as works of art?

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    3. Never sweaters, but I have some lovely, extraordinarily fine pieces of needlework I did years ago, I have thought of hanging. (Embroidery was my first love, but having boys turned my interests back to knitting. No smocked dresses here !) But, I think when I work on something for too long, I never want to see it again! I think I have commitment issues. It is so hard for me to find something I can live with, although by now I could have lived with new thing many times over!

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    4. Yikes, didn't mean to use so many exclamation points.

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    5. As a person who, sadly, never met an exclamation point they didn't like, I didn't even notice your exclamation marks!

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  8. The house is always clean, though probably not to Martha's standards - it is the clutter that gets us. This month the family is committing to a weekend of closet/spring/"get rid of the crap" cleaning. We all have too much stuff that can be donated to others for their enjoyment. We also saved things for my step son's first place, but he bought his own stuff, so I have everything from boxes of dishes to old toys, clothes, arggh - the list goes on. I'm hoping the team approach to the chore helps everyone avoid the slippery slope that got us here.

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    1. That's the same with us - clean, but with a chance of clutter that we fight against constantly! Good luck with the team cleaning!

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  9. I confess that I have a cleaning lady who comes for a few hours each week but our bungalow is old and the wood is all dark and with two cats that shed a forced air furnace we can never stay on top of the dust. I would love to emulate Martha's cleaning regime but I get so easily distracted....the internet, blogging, books and now that the days are warmer my walks are longer....I am not keeping the house in the manner that I used to and I am not ashamed....perhaps your post will get me inspired. Love the bucket and all those tools!

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    1. Hostess, I think as I age I am letting a lot go! I used to worry more, but if you looked in the cupboard under my sink you would be horrified!

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  10. I clean every day and we are doing major construction here so I dont really find myself doing a Spring clean. I do more prep work in the fall for the winter hibernation. In the Spring I change the decor a bit and wash all the winter blankets, clothes, coats, winterwear etc.

    But I am worried about this drain business that Dani brought up. Is that what your baking soda is for? Ive only ever used it to clean the inside of white coffee cups. I need some guidance here....

    I do like an organized approach to projects-it makes them manageable. And although Martha can go overboard I have always enjoyed her homemaking guides. She taught me how to fold a fitted sheet! Very tidy.

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    1. I do my drains every couple of months - shovel in some baking soda, then add vinegar and boiling water. We live on a septic field and sometimes things need help moving, plus daughter has scads and scads of long hair! as do I...

      Martha taught me to fold a fitted sheet too!

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  11. I must admit that I'm neither clean nor tidy. Mr. Hex is a right slob and then we have three kitties. (Now that our baby is able to go up and down the stairs we've moved all the cat boxes to the basement, hooray!)

    We have a housekeeping service, thank goodness, to keep up on the light stuff, but I am due for my big clean in a week or so when the weather turns enough to swap the earth- and forest-toned velvet slipcovers and draperies for lemon and celery twill. The house always feels so much crisper and airier after the seasonal switch.

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  12. I love the table under your Christmas cactus, where ever did you find it? It looks like something that could be perfect in the garden too. Laziness lives here. We have weekly housekeeping and quarterly "deep cleaning" to stay on top of everything. I don't mind yard work but housework is to be avoided at all costs. I do manage the swap out of draperies, cushions, rugs and linens for spring and fall and that feels like more than enough.

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    1. xoxo - you of all people have a good reason to not have enough energy! I miss my cleaning ladies, but since I am home, I feel like I need to save the money and take this on! I bought lots of supplies today and will be a busy beaver this weekend!

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  13. Oh, no, not more snow!
    Sounding like the Ingalls family in the blizzard that went on forever.
    You are made of stern stuff, WMM!

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    1. Fred - you said a mouthful! I remember in the books when they tied Almonzo to the house so he wouldn't be lost getting to the store. Crazy stuff! The sun eventually came out, but, WTF Mother Nature...

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  14. I must admit I am not good at keeping up with housework, and anytime I look at Martha Stewart, I feel like a complete underachiever. The most I can manage is laundry, washing dishes and some basic tidying. Anything more than that, I start feeling really overwhelmed.

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    1. That's why I do only a very little bit every day when I decide to do it! And you know what - your kids are more important than cleaning anyway!

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  15. Hello Wendy, I try to get spring cleaning in every year....I have and often hire when I can't get to it myself. I make my own all purpose cleaner; 1/2 cup vinegar, 1/2 cup rubbing alcohol, 1 tbsp tea tree oil, fill a spray bottle with water and then add 1tbsp of Dawn dish detergent. I also use Murphy,s oil mixed with water in a spray bottle for my wood, floors and furniture.

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    1. I do some mixing too! I think home made works better IMO!

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  16. I am impressed with your plan however....

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  17. I love the idea of "picking away at it" day by day. I doubt if I will do it, but it sounds more manageable than one fell swoop. Does anybody wash their walls? I have a friend who does that in her spring cleaning because her grandmother used to do that. Wouldn't it be easier just to paint them?

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    1. I like to paint over myself! However, I always wash the walls in the bathroom and kitchen and around switch plates!

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  18. Hi Wendy, I'm doing some spring cleaning now, especially since we will soon be putting our house on the market.

    I'm giving myself a pat on the back - I also have baking soda in a dispenser, mine is for flour or icing sugar. I sprinkle it on the sink, or if I have a greasy pan that needs soaking.

    I must say, I love your vignette with the lamp and books and chair!

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    1. Patricia - are you moving elsewhere, changing neighbourhoods? I forgot to look for a sugar dispenser when I bought my supplies yesterday, though I am a klutz and would likely spill as much as I used!

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    2. Hi Wendy - new posting, we are moving to the Ottawa area.

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    3. oh yay! We may get to meet this fall! I am trying to attend a children's writing conference in Ottawa in mid-October!

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    4. Wendy, that would be super, keep me posted!!

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  19. I got stalled by the news of your snow!! Get in a plane and come visit me. I do adore your sitting room. I could happily spend the entire day there with a cup of tea and a stack of books. I agree your vignette on the chair with lamp and books is wonderful. I admire your spring cleaning...things always feel so fresh afterwards. Time to do my own. I promise I'll do it before you arrive. xo

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    1. Hi Jennifer! That's what I spent all last evening doing! On the positive side, it is starting to warm up - got to +2 late yesterday (how pathetic have I become that +2 is a grand thing?) and I think we will be able to walk to the roads again very soon without slip-sliding away!

      Lord I wish I could do San Fran this year - I would be there in a heartbeat!

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  20. Luckily my space is tiny, so no need for massive cleaning!

    You did great!

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    1. Thanks Rose! It has just begun but I will get there!

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  21. So organised! I think I'll just wash the windows... We keep our house pretty empty because we love the feeling of space, so the whole spring clean is about the windows, really. :)
    x

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  22. Natalia - pop over here when you're done! But wait a couple of weeks - it's snowing again!

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