I don't know what it is about Spring but at this time every year I start doing the big spring clean. I love it - purging all that useless stuff that's been cluttering up the house and trying to get organized - it's great. It might not last very long but I'll be happy if it stays that way for a couple months.

We've had to do a bit of room re-organizing this year and move my sons bedroom into a previous junk room and have to sort his old bedroom out for it's new use. The junk room had boxes and boxes of, well, JUNK in it, some from a moving, some that is so old we don't even remember why we kept it all and I'm a shocker for keeping boxes from electrical appliances. Why the heck I think I need them I will never know. There was even a box in there for a TV which has long given up the ghost.

TWO whole trailer loads went to the tip out of that room alone. Ahhh it's like cleansing the soul as well!

Do you do house calls?

yes - but you couldn't afford me.

I will provide the beer...

Oh. Right. In that case ....

Good on you for cleaning up the house!

Considering i only have to worry about my bedroom, you'd think it would be an easy job! Wrong!

You see, i'm a sucker for hanging onto 'memories', and will stash it away until i can be bothered cleaning it out!
About once a month, i go through my drawers, my wardrobe and my school papers, and throw out everything i don't need. It's actually quite funny as to some of the stuff i've found in there.

I agree with you about cleansing the soul! Your life feels de-cluttered almost instantly!

My partner found a stuffed toy rabbit ear today, took one look at it and went to throw it in the bin. "*gasp*, you can't throw that out!!" Then I had to go on to tell the tale of the stuffed toy rabbit that lived with me and a few other girls on a working holiday yonks ago. This toy had everything done to it you could think off, out windows, stuck to ceilings, hung from bannisters and so on and so on. Our own personal crash test dummy if you will. But he had fun times as well, went on weekends away with most of us a few times and there are photos of him galavanting around Scotland. When we all went our different ways we split him up so we all had a piece of him for 'memories'. Ahhh fun times ... poor rabbit ... but fun times.

I dunno about spring cleaning but this tip needs something, it is really awful and I am not just saying that.

Oh Sue you cant Spring Clean on your birthday!

I would like to know how you get into the mood. Have been thinking of my Spring Cleaning for about 6 months now and still have not begun!

I think you need an insentive. Got a lot of painting done in August because my brother and his family were coming to stay for a few days. Wondering who we can get to come and visit so we can get the rest of the painting finished....

I'm thinking as I'm reading your posts, "It's fall, almost winter for me. I'm out of this, tee hee hee" Then I remembered.... I do a major (gasp) "spring cleaning" before I decorate for Christmas.

I'll be throwing paper towels in my shopping cart along with Christnas gifts. Drat!

Resisting the pleasure to do some cleaning isn't difficult, I resist all the time. It is possible that I might be inspected at Christmas by one of our number here at FT, if she does come no doubt the old bat will don her white gloves and run her fingers along the surfaces looking for dust I might have missed. I will suggest that she swaps the white gloves for a yellow duster and save me the effort prior to her visit.

I like your thinking Sue, perhaps we should all run around with gloves, made out of dusters, on all the time and save us some work.

My problem is not the resisting, its that I spend too much time here so get nothing else done. Whos fault is that???

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I do a major (gasp) "spring cleaning" before I decorate for Christmas.

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Oh yes me too! We do a Christmas clean around here that is probably more thorough than our Spring clean.
I grew up with a mother who insisted that 'you do not decorate a dirty house'. I'm afraid that the feeling stuck with me and the tradition is being passed along to my kids!
Nice to meet a kindred spirit. Most of my friends look at me like I'm daft when I talk about my Christmas clean, which I have already started by getting my carpets cleaned!

Eeek, yes, Her Majesty IS coming over for Christmas and New Year so I guess I ought to start dusting already.

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I grew up with a mother who insisted that 'you do not decorate a dirty house'. I'm afraid that the feeling stuck with me and the tradition is being passed along to my kids!

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I think we have the same mom!

I just don't decorate!

Well that certainly is one solution Sue!

"no doubt the old bat will don her white gloves and run her fingers along the surfaces looking for dust"


My mother-in-law was never big on cleaning. She always said "I don't mind if you run your finger through my dust, and I don't care if you write your name in my dust - just don't write the date".

HA!!! Oh man, I'm going to use that! (with full credit to MG's MIL )

Well, I've moved so often that it involves a lot of cleaning up...and the house we've got for sale is, I"m proud to say, spotless. I was cleaning up this 'new' one all day in the back yard area...bagging leaves and scrubbing the pavement as it had stuff from the remodeling, putting flowers in, trying to rid the spaces of junk the other guy left, and I thought, 'you know, our other house has no hidden stuff like this...it's just spotless.'
The entire garage is painted white inside, there's a brand new roof that I"ll never enjoy...and I redid the finish on all the woodwork, by myself.
When I go back, I marvel at how great it looks!

I read quite a lot of American novels so I think I can translate that ok Heather - you were tidying the garden, scrubbing the patio as there was residue from when the house was painted/altered, and you painted or varnished the woodwork yourself. Did I get it right?

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I don't decorate..

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WHAT??? Not even a tree??
and by the way.... I don't do windows...