spring cleaning
Yes, I know it's autumn, not regular spring cleaning season, but I spent the entire morning and half the afternoon spring cleaning my bedroom.
Why?
Take a seat, I'll tell you.
Two nights ago I was in bed doing a code cracker puzzle or three, when Angel jumped up onto the bed for a scratch behind the ears. I tossed the book and pen aside and the pen rolled off the bedside chest, falling down behind it.
When Angel had had enough of the patting and jumped off the bed, I could have walked into the lounge room for another pen, but instead I pulled the bedside chest away from the wall to retrieve the fallen one.
Oh boy! I had no idea there would be so much dirt down there!
I vacuum the room on a regular basis. You can stop laughing now, I do too vacuum.
At least once a month.
If I remember.
And if I'm in the mood.
Anyway, this morning I decided I should do something about the amount of 'ugh' down behind those drawers. Probably a similar amount of 'ugh' down behind every other set of drawers in the room too, and under the bed. Behind the bookshelf too.
So, the spring cleaning.
I took a couple of drawers out of each set and stacked them in the lounge room, so the cabinets wouldn't be too heavy to shift away from the walls, then I pulled each of them into the lounge room except the biggest one.
Then I swept the skirting boards, under the bed and the spaces where all the drawers had been.
Holy Dust Bunnies!
There was so much actual dust, larger grit, one very dead spider and long rolling streams of accumulated cat fluff, I filled the dustpan twice. Then I vacuumed, just to be sure I'd got it all.
I remade the bed, damp dusted all the drawers and their cabinets, then began the long process of putting all the drawers back. Why a long process? Well, I like things tidy, organised, so after the cabinets went back and before the drawers went back in, I took the time to sort and tidy each one. Colour coded the rows of socks even.
I found a few things I thought I had lost forever. My favourite pink pen. An envelope of black plastic cut-outs of bats, cats and witches that I'd strung up for Halloween in my previous home and when I couldn't find them after moving here, I thought I must have tossed them in a Vinnie's bin. A brand new nail file and a book of stamps that somehow had got caught in between the pages of last year's budget exercise book. I like to keep track of my incomings and outgoings and exercise books are cheap, so I have a whole stack of them, for budgeting, shopping lists, blog notes and so on.
With everything finally back in place, the bedroom is lovely. It seems more restful too, somehow.
But now the lounge room looks grubby (*~*)
Why?
Take a seat, I'll tell you.
Two nights ago I was in bed doing a code cracker puzzle or three, when Angel jumped up onto the bed for a scratch behind the ears. I tossed the book and pen aside and the pen rolled off the bedside chest, falling down behind it.
When Angel had had enough of the patting and jumped off the bed, I could have walked into the lounge room for another pen, but instead I pulled the bedside chest away from the wall to retrieve the fallen one.
Oh boy! I had no idea there would be so much dirt down there!
I vacuum the room on a regular basis. You can stop laughing now, I do too vacuum.
At least once a month.
If I remember.
And if I'm in the mood.
Anyway, this morning I decided I should do something about the amount of 'ugh' down behind those drawers. Probably a similar amount of 'ugh' down behind every other set of drawers in the room too, and under the bed. Behind the bookshelf too.
So, the spring cleaning.
I took a couple of drawers out of each set and stacked them in the lounge room, so the cabinets wouldn't be too heavy to shift away from the walls, then I pulled each of them into the lounge room except the biggest one.
Then I swept the skirting boards, under the bed and the spaces where all the drawers had been.
Holy Dust Bunnies!
There was so much actual dust, larger grit, one very dead spider and long rolling streams of accumulated cat fluff, I filled the dustpan twice. Then I vacuumed, just to be sure I'd got it all.
I remade the bed, damp dusted all the drawers and their cabinets, then began the long process of putting all the drawers back. Why a long process? Well, I like things tidy, organised, so after the cabinets went back and before the drawers went back in, I took the time to sort and tidy each one. Colour coded the rows of socks even.
I found a few things I thought I had lost forever. My favourite pink pen. An envelope of black plastic cut-outs of bats, cats and witches that I'd strung up for Halloween in my previous home and when I couldn't find them after moving here, I thought I must have tossed them in a Vinnie's bin. A brand new nail file and a book of stamps that somehow had got caught in between the pages of last year's budget exercise book. I like to keep track of my incomings and outgoings and exercise books are cheap, so I have a whole stack of them, for budgeting, shopping lists, blog notes and so on.
With everything finally back in place, the bedroom is lovely. It seems more restful too, somehow.
But now the lounge room looks grubby (*~*)
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I should do similar, but being President of the Procrastinators' Club, I'll do it tomorrow...or next week, or the week after...sometime or other....
ReplyDeleteYou fill me with shame. I shudder to think what is behind bookcases for example. And, good intentions aside, a full clean is not going to be a happening thing. At least until the weather cools down and stays down.
ReplyDeleteI gave a friend who also collected duck paraphernalia a picture of a white duck (outlined in black) with a white background. She hung it in her living room & then thought it made her off white walls look dirty. Her husband painted the living room walls a pure white. The rest of the house was the same off white so...
ReplyDeleteLee; you're the President? I thought my daughter was. Maybe she is head of the local chapter :D
ReplyDeleteElephant's Child; we've had two beautifully cool days, so I feel the energy returning and the nights have been rather chilly. I had to put a blanket on the bed. To be fair, my bookshelf is just a little thing and I only have two major rooms to clean.The kitchen and bathroom get done almost daily.
fishducky; I hope the house wasn't huge. That's a lot of painting! I'd love to paint this place, it's all housing commission cream :( but there are so many layers of paint slapped on over god knows what, it would take more money and time than the place is worth to strip it all back and start over.
Darls, it is autumn. The spring cleaning could have waited until spring, but hey, you won't have to do it in spring. How old are the stamps? Full priced or the newer pensioner stamps like we use? You would not believe was under our dishwasher when a tradesman pulled it out the other day. We are dirty housewives.
ReplyDeleteIt is Spring on my side of the globe. Lots of work, but I bet you sleep better now.
ReplyDeleteHi River,
ReplyDeleteToday is the first day of Spring up north as Joeh says. The buds are out, the weather's warmer and we are looking forward to summer.
Happy days.
:o)
Cheers
PM
After all your hard work I bet you slept REALLY good last night :-)
ReplyDeleteAndrew; once I'd seen the dirt, there was no way I could leave it until spring! The stamps were the pensioner ones, the first book I bought and then lost right away. I believe what was under your dishwasher; it's not a piece of furniture regularly moved for cleaning, so all sorts of crud collect under them. Like fridges and washing machines.
ReplyDeletejoeh; I usually sleep pretty well anyway, but maybe there'll be less hayfever now the dust has gone.
Plasman; I'm looking forward to being cooler, I'm so fed up with sweating and feeling sapped of all energy.
Kathy G; I did, 5 solid hours before Angel miaowed in my ear.
That's the thing about cleaning - you do one room, and it makes the rest of the house look bad! I have been trying to get caught up on some real-life tasks as well, so haven't spent much time blogging this month. I'm taking advantage of a few spare moments this morning, to get caught up here today.
ReplyDelete