The Joys of Spring Cleaning

Yes, there is joy in spring cleaning. I am presently taking a wee break from the joy, to record this fleeting insight.

Usually in "before" and "after" pictures of all sorts, I opt for the "before". In spring cleaning, I have an opportunity of fully appreciating the "after". Keep in mind, that for many, my "after" would be a nightmare of "before". Wood heat, big dog with big paws, muddy driveway, outside footwear inside lead, to put it bluntly, inside dirt.

It is not that I don't give the floors a quick brush or mop every so often, but thorough, frequent scrubbing does not seem to have secured a place on my life path. I strive to make the housekeeping category "almost ok".

I sometimes joke, in the muddiest times of the year, that I am considering going into Shurgain, to buy some seeds to plant on my kitchen floor. They say humour has roots in reality.

It is not just the the floors whose deeper cleanliness is hidden beneath a substantial patina of living. I really try to quickly dust when I begin to be tempted to leave messages in the furniture dust.

The frig is done. The kitchen chairs are washed.

Just this morning, I tried a cleaning tip, I saw this week on the computer- how to effectively clean your chandelier. Yes, I have a chandelier. It is not in the dining room, as I chose not to have a dining room, because I wanted to eat and entertain in my big friendly kitchen.

My chandelier is a wonder, I picked up at a garage sale, on my way to visit a daughter at university, years and years ago. Blue and pink and purple and crystal clusters of grapes with their delicate green glass leaves, hang from the piece. Candlelike  low wattage bulbs glow in place. What a wonderful delight for my bedroom ceiling, as it accents the nature inspired life on the wallpaper.

The reality is to clean such an item is a big deal.

But not this time. This time I took my recently purchased hairdryer, with an extension cord, with me as stepped with aplomb up onto the bed. With the thing on high, I blasted the delicate cobwebs and the accompanying dust clots throughout the room. The results were miraculous. As I write the sunshine coming in the bedroom is having a whee of a time dancing light up onto the ceiling.

The plants that fill my bedroom window demanded immediate attention. Their delicate selves did not appreciate the leavings from the chandelier. Knowing the needs of living things have priority, they were soon whisked and spritzed. I went on to tackle the rest of the room, with rare abandon with the exception of the slatted clothes and of course the less than perfect floor. They await another burst to spurt  from a happy homemaker.

I must go now as I promised myself I would finish scrubbing the living room floor before, I go out into the sunshine. A neighbour just called to tell me to come to visit, as her  little next door neighbours' cat had just had five wee kittens on her soft kitchen chair.

I think I'll take a little fish as a gift to the new mum. The floor can wait.