Friday, February 27, 2009

Spring Cleaning

By Lizabeth

Since Spring is (hopefully) upon us, so is the dreaded or longed for task of Spring Cleaning. What tricks do you have to getting things organized and prepared for summer? Any great ideas for storing away winter items or getting your house ready for the warm weather? When does it really feel like spring to you- is it the first daffodils peeking through the ground, the melting of snow, or maybe just the calendar marking that this new season is finally here?

13 comments:

Nina Bell said...

As most of you know, I have already done some spring cleaning.

Lizzy said...

Aww, Nina-- had some cobwebs and nasty corners in cyberspace that had to be vacuumed out? :)

Confession- I love to clean. Sometimes. There are times where I could go a week without organizing anything then I will spend an entire day on my desk. I enjoy getting my closets and house ready for spring, especially since it means the winter coats can be packed away and the strappy sandals and pastels can come out.

I think the best tool I have for really getting into spring cleaning is music. Making an iTunes playlist to play as I go through everything helps me keep from getting bored as well as just get me motivated. Some songs that I know I'll be listening to when I clean today are "Bicycle Ride" by Queen, "Hey Stephen" by Taylor Swift, and "If I Had a Million Dollars" by Barenaked Ladies. I guess in a way the music keeps me focused on the task at hand.

It rained last night, and on my way into class it was freezing cold (I really hate having to sit in a 4 hour finance course with the hem of my jeans freezing cold and wet!). As I left class, though, the weather had gotten warmer so it was a much more enjoyable trek to my car. Thats when I really felt like spring was on the way-- you can sense that winter is fading and the long days will soon be here!

Eileen said...

I don't do a traditional spring cleaning. I'm always re-arranging my furniture every few months anyway because I get tired of things so fast, so while I have furniture pulled away from walls and windows I do a big cleaning then. And I change drapes and curtains periodically throughout the year. But I do a big cleaning on my back room in the spring which is just a three-season room and used as a storage room for the winter. And I re-do my closets, which I don't enjoy at all, while I love getting out the spring/summer clothes and shoes, it's a big chore (and my closets never seem organized). But I do love once the weather is warm enough to start cleaning outside and pulling out the lawn furniture and my husband gets the pool set up, then I know summer is not far behind!
Even though we've had a few mild days, it's still cold, and windy, and nasty here, and I'm so tired of this weather and so looking forward to spring!

Samantha@IW said...

I really cant wait for spring! I love packing the winter things away and switching out the coats and sweaters for spring/summer clothes. I change out my drapes, linens, and bedding- What was warm and cozy in December seems dark and heavy in February and I cant wait to make these changes!

Guinevere said...

Since I live in a very temperate climate, I have no need to switch out winter/summer clothes or take down storm windows or anything like that. I also really enjoy cleaning. Well, sometimes I enjoy it, sometimes I just enjoy the results! But I'm dorky enough to get excited by new cleaning products on the market.

I clean every week and somehow the house still never seems that clean. I try to do a more thorough job every once in a while, especially on the kitchen which gets really dirty.

It feels like spring to me when, 1) baseball starts and 2) daylight savings time kicks in. I'm looking forward to coming home from work and being able to get some gardening in before it gets dark, while listening to the Giants on the radio (winning, hopefully!). It's bliss.

BEE said...

Spring cleaning?!!? I haven't even begun to do my "winter" projects around the house...better get a jump on things!

Anya@IW said...

This post put me in a good mood just reading it! I agree with what most of you have said. Yes, Liza Beth, music really does make cleaning much more fun, doesn't it?

One of the things I try and do at least once during the spring months is have 1-800-Junk come out (love them) and haul away things I no longer need. They promise to recycle what they can and it gets it out of my hair. I hate clutter and the less "stuff" I have the easier it is to clean.

Yep, those longer days are probably the best part of saying goodbye to winter.

The Travel Mom said...

When you have little ones its very hard to get into the mood of spring cleaning. Only when my mom comes over and complains my house is a mess, that's when I run around like a loon. It's a daunting task of going through the basement bins and getting excited about bringing the new stuff out. Heck, I had the Christmas stuff on the dining room table till the end of January. Crazy I know.

But when you open the bins and see all the pretty Easter stuff, you long for it not to be snowing like it is now! My favorite thing to to is look at all the organizing books and "pretend" like I will do it like they did!

Eileen said...

Oh, Anya, I never heard of 1-800-Junk, it sounds perfect! My husband and I are going to be cleaning out both our basement and our attic over the next few months and we were not looking forward to the daunting task of sorting things out and then hauling everything to various charities or to the dump! This will make the job so much easier. I'm going to call him right now and deliver the good news. Thanks for that!
There's a BIG snowstorm here today, schools are closed, and spring seems too far away now as I'm about to pull on the boots to go out and shovel. Ugh!

Anonymous said...

Laugh at me if you must.

I switch household cleaners, etc. each season based on scent. This winter I used lemon scented Lysol, because Mr Clean no longer has their apple cinnamon scent for their all purpose cleaner *sniff*. I also use apple cinnamon air fresheners, etc. for winter.

My spring fragrance will be Febreze lavender & vanilla. I bought the Mr. Clean all purpose cleaner, the Febreze air effects, the Swiffer dusters, everything that comes in that scent I bought.

I haven't decided what to use for summer & fall yet. Last summer I used orange, and in the fall I used a rain scent.

Yeah, I'm weird. But to me, that's what makes cleaning fun. An added bonus is to use my P&G coupons. I ♥ P&G products.

Lizzy said...

Bella Donna, that is a great idea! I got a couple of Yankee Candles in more spring scents a month or so ago and am now making an effort to keep fresh flowers around as well. It always amazes me how different scents can really alter your mood-- fresh oranges wake me up, the smell of apple cider makes me want to curl up by a fire, and all I want to do when I smell fresh cut grass is go climb trees or just be outside! I totally agree that cleaning is more fun when you can smell a difference :).

Guinevere said...

I absolutely use certain candle scents in certain seasons. Fall is pumpkin, cinnamon, apple cider anything with a baked-good scent. Winter is pine and cranberry-orange. Spring and summer I tend to use more fruit-scented candles: lemon, orange, fresh apple. Illuminations used to have tomato candle, which sounds weird, but it smelled sooo good! It really had a genuine fresh-tomato smell and was perfect for summer. I love candles.

Anonymous said...

I love spring cleaning.