Sunday, March 31, 2013

Spring cleaning



Mom subjected us to spring cleaning every year.  Grandma came down to help. Dad disappeared to his workshop. Everything was washed.  I especially remember the walls and the ceiling.  The walls were washed from the bottom up.  From the top down would leave dribble marks in the dust on the walls that could never be eradicated.  That’s what the grown up’s said.




We washed the outside of everything.



It could involve standing on ladders.



We washed windows.



We had no fireplace.



Is this little girl out of her mind?



Empty all the cupboards and wash everything that is in them.



Wash the inside of the cupboards.



Stay out of the way.



More windows.



What was I thinking.

Then the regular cleaning.  You know.  Floors, dusting, bathrooms.  Laura said the best thing about spring cleaning is it must be spring.

Some things never change.

24 comments:

  1. They all look like good little workers. I'd be happy to have them come over and do some Spring cleaning ;-)

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  2. Don't suppose they'd like to come to my house and repeat the process?

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  3. It's like having a cleaning crew come in - except they don't have to "come in", they "live in"! Looks like they were a huge help; good for them.

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  4. Spring! It brings out the nest fluffing in all of us. Nice work, everyone.

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    1. That's what dad called it; a woman's nesting instinct.

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  5. Good to see you had help. That's lots of work. The workshop sounds like much more fun.

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  6. That is an immense amount of work. And even though it isn't Spring here I could do with a major clean. Not certain it is going to happen any time soon though. Perhaps after the skinny one has his next surgery. Or better, while he is in hospital.

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  7. ok I'm not taking everything out of the cabinets and washing it, too much work. Ha. good for you all.

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    Replies
    1. The first time in 25 years it all happened in one day. It used to stretch out over say a year or two.

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  8. As a child I hated it, swore I would never do it... yet every Spring I feel the siren call to clean, and don't feel happy until it is done. Back in the days when I had helpers they would magically melt away. I should have checked the shed.

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  9. I remember taking the "good" dishes down from the cupboard to wash.. they were only used on holidays. And then there was ALL my Mom's salt and pepper shaker collection! At least they were empty... but what a pain to wash! Looks like your crew worked pretty hard... I'd be proud of them!

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  10. I'm glad I'm on the other side of the world and it is not spring cleaning time.
    Merle......

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  11. That is a major spring clean ! Our Spanish neighbours when we lived in Spain would do similar including whitewashing the walls !

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  12. What great helpers you have. I was told the dribble marks in the dirt story as well. I used to tackle spring and fall cleaning...now....I just try to do a bit every so often all year long.

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  13. Wow, when you do spring cleaning, you do it up BIG!

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  14. YES! We washed walls from the floor up and we painted walls from the ceiling down. Remember mom used to paint the walls every 2 years? Beige. Always the same beige.

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  15. Not something my mother engaged in but it is something I need to do. The dust is getting pretty thick.

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  16. Love your little army of helpers - can i borrow them?

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  17. Still have memories of spring cleaning. My mother was ruthless, and I was her only slave. Now I wish I could help her with it one more time.

    Yes, send those helpers to California.

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  18. Can I borrow your team? My Shelley only creates messes.

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  19. I wonder why people call it "spring" cleaning... I live with my grandmother but she dislikes having her things touched. She gathers boxes and plastic containers, always thinking that she might need them in the future but I see it more as a trash, lol.

    Enjoy the rest of the week, Ms Joanne :)

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  20. no offense, but i wished i hadn't visited today---you have made me very jealous and guilty ;)

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  21. Now I feel like I should be cleaning. I always spread it out throughout the year too, but we just did a deep cleaning before the new year. So I'm not going to feel too guilty. :)
    Laura @ The Sweet Simple Things

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  22. Same thing when on a my home as a child.We had some spcial rubber tile in an upstairs hallway that needed Johnson's paste wax..My brother and i had the job, hours later of "ice skating" with wool socks to polish the floor. Somehow, despite the cheap labor, my Mother put some fun into the work. Thanks for the memories.Don't do that now..

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