Spring Cleaning

iVillage Member
Registered: 09-22-1999
Spring Cleaning
5
Sat, 03-19-2005 - 6:05am

Does anyone do that traditional, old-fashioned spring cleaning anymore? What do you do for your spring cleaning if you do? If you do not do a spring cleaning, why do you not?

General cleaning questions:
What kinds of cleaning supplies do you buy and how often do you buy them? Do you wait for sales and stock up or buy as you need them?

Do you employ a maid service? How much time do you spend cleaning each week?

Do you feel more in control of yourself/ your finances/ your life if you are more organized? Do you feel you are a good housekeeper?

How much money have you spent on storage items to help you get more organized? Have they worked for you, or were they a waste of money?

Thank you for sharing! Littlesbigs

iVillage Member
Registered: 05-10-2004
Sat, 03-19-2005 - 11:43am

Hey Littlesbigs!

 

iVillage Member
Registered: 01-17-2005
Sun, 03-20-2005 - 11:06am

When spring cleaning comes around my house it is a frenzy. We go through toys, clothes,garage,you name it. I dont like having unused things around my house.Most of them get donated to goodwill, or some other organization. This includes furniture also.
I dont buy into the cleaning huppla either. The product I use the most is a homemade cleaner, it costs about $.63 a gallon, and most people have what they need in their cupboards.
Its:
1/2 cup ammonia
1/3 cup vinegar
1/4 cup baking soda
mix in a bucket with one gallon hot water
I also put some in a spray bottle for quick cleanups. Wear gloves however, it can be tough on the hands.
I mostly make all of my cleaning products. I cant stand to pay 3.50 for a bottle of cleaner, when I can make a cheaper, and safer product at home.
Avatar for cl_phocid
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Mon, 03-21-2005 - 8:19am

We don't have an official time of year when we do stuff, but I would say 2 times/year I actually roll up the area rugs and give the floors a good scrubbing.

All my best,
Danni

iVillage Member
Registered: 12-05-2004
Mon, 03-21-2005 - 8:22am

I just finished mine last week, and wow, it feels wonderful to have everyting organized. I am also taking a free course through Barnes & Noble University ( http://university.barnesandnoble.com/index.asp?nhid=bn&userid=8W2SJ64Bp9 )
in my free time called "Simplify your life" to learn some ways to slow things down a bit and enjoy life more.

I didn't buy extra cleaning products for my Spring cleaning. I just used what I had in my cleaning closet. Windex for windows, Pine-Sol and Mop-n-Glo for kitchen and bathroom floors, hardwood cleaner for our foyer; used my steam cleaner for the carpets, etc. But the biggest thing I did was go through all of our rooms, closets, drawers, and even our storage area under our stairs (there's a little room under our stairs where we can store boxes and things), and I now have a pile of donation items that will soon be picked up by my favorite charity. They come right to the house to get them, so it's very easy to donate to them. Items that weren't worth saving went in the trash, and I loaded them into the trunk and took 9 bags of junk to the dump. I didn't want to wait until trash day to put them by the curb. I wanted them out of my house as soon as possible.

I took all items off my kitchen counters that I don't use all the time (like our foodsaver vacuum sealer, our deep fryer, etc), and put them away. I moved furniture items that didn't belong in a certain room back to where they 'should' go. Things like my son's student desk in the dining room, and his homeschool books and art supplies were all on shelves in our dining room, so I moved them to a newly cleaned out closet in our spare bedroom, and now we just take out the supplies we will need for the day, and return them to the closet when we are done, and it's so nice. Our dining room actually looks like a dining room again...not a schoolroom. I missed having that. :-)

It took me a whole week to get it done, working in any free moment I could get during the day (between school and karate lessons), and all night, sometimes until 2am in the morning. Once I got started, I was determined to get it done.

My Dh was on a trip when I did the cleaning, and when he came home, he was so surprised. I find that I sleep better and just function better throughout the day when I have an organized house.

Pat

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-27-2003
Mon, 03-21-2005 - 8:46am

Hm. I feel like kind of a freak, but I'm curious whether anyone else has the same issue I do regarding Spring cleaning:

I just don't have the physical energy for that kind of sustained effort. Maybe I'm just horribly out of shape, but I think I'm about average on that score, and I know I'm in excellent health. But I can't sustain serious housecleaning activities for more than about five hours straight, and then I'm pooped for days. Just physically drained. And it's not just because I hate housework--I feel the same way with gardening, and I love to garden. But I just can't do it for more than a few hours straight.

It might be because I am chronically sleep-deprived--two young children, and neither of them sleeps more than eight hours straight, and I'm a 10-hours-a-day type (have been since I was a child), and I don't ever, ever get enough sleep. I can't WAIT until they are old enough to get up and turn on the cartoons without waking anybody else. Bliss. LOL

I really have to spread it all out, and that means that I can't ever get the entire house clean all at once.

Anyone else feel this way? Or should I have a doctor test my blood for anemia or something? :)

Heather