What does "spring cleaning" mean to you? What comes to mind when someone says that phrase? And regardless of what "spring cleaning" means, do you participate?
My understanding* is that spring cleaning was a thing because people heated their homes by burning coal, and over the winter coal dust would settle on everything. And now that most of us (in the US) don't heat our homes by burning coal, spring cleaning isn't strictly necessary, especially since we're keeping our homes tidy and clean through regular cleaning and maintenance†.
There's something about spring, though, that makes me want to do things like pull out my fridge to clean behind it, get down on the floor with a scrub brush and toothbrush to get into the cracks and corners that my mop doesn't reach, and wash the baseboards**.
I'm pretty sure the thing about spring that makes me want to do things like that is the fact that there are approximately 485 bazillion spring cleaning challenges and lists out in cyberspace at this time of year. This year, I am following Taylor at Stain Removal 101's spring cleaning challenge.
I'm also not really following, but seeing Jordan Page's Productivity Bootcamp spring cleaning challenge on Instagram. This week in JPPB, challenge taker-on-ers are supposed to be cleaning bathrooms, and the tip she gave was to take the toilet seat off to make it easier to clean those hard to reach spots. Dude. I take the toilet seats off once a month (except the one whose bolts are rusted into place) and even that isn't enough to keep 'em clean. I cannot imagine what a year of build-up would look like.
Anyway, today in SR101, we're supposed to be cleaning our kitchen cabinets. So I took all of the small appliances out of their cabinet and vacuumed†† it, decided not to do the switcheroo I have been contemplating (moving the small appliances to a hallway closet and moving the bulk/overflow food storage††† to the lazy susan in the kitchen), and then mopped my kitchen, dining, and entry areas, before plopping myself down on the couch to write a blog post*** about it. And, after all, the floor is wet in there, so I can't be expected to clean cupboards now, can I?
I timed myself mopping the floor. And by timed, I mean I forgot I wanted to time myself, but I was listening to The Greatest Showman Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, and I started sometime during A Million Dreams, and ended right near the end of Rewrite the Stars, which I love and can play on the ukulele****.
I wanted to time myself because it always seems like such a laborious and time-sucking process, mopping, but I have learned through timing myself doing other things, that usually things I think will take a Really Long Time, don't. Unloading the dishwasher, for instance--that takes less than 5 minutes. Seriously. I didn't believe it either, but there it was.
I do think I'll clean at least some of the kitchen cabinets today, especially since this blog post is coming to an end, but I'm not sure if I can muster up the endurance to get through them all.
OK. Floor's dry. Here I go.
* * * * *
*Based on what, I am not quite sure. Something I read or heard, no doubt, but I'm fuzzy on the specifics, including the validity of the source.
† Ha! As if.
**Which I didn't realize was an actual thing that people do until recently-ish. I thought washing baseboards was strictly a made-up job used to punish children.
†† Because the toaster is stored there.
††† Oh, how I wish I had an actual pantry. We had one in our first house, and I didn't appreciate it the way I should have, the way I would, now.
***Still my favorite chore avoidance technique.
****Also a favorite chore avoidance technique.
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