Spring cleaning (or not)

I've been looking at a few areas in my house and the overarching thought is "Man, that needs work."

And by "Man" I do NOT mean my husband. He works hard, he helps out, and he even once offered to hire a professional organizer to help me with my "stuff." He offered to find me a professional counselor once, too, but that's only vaguely related to cleaning.

So what did I do? Well, I didn't start cleaning. Instead, I read a blog post from a woman that offered a ray of hope by admitting she doesn't spring clean.

I love people that admit when their daily realities might not match up with the expectations of others. It comforts me. And she offered much wisdom, of course. Actually, she was saying the same things my mother tried to teach me 30-some years ago but it apparently was one of those lessons that didn't stick as thoroughly as some of her other advice. 

And as is often the case when I'm avoiding doing actual work, I followed this author's links to some handy-dandy check lists to help with a regular  routine that would prevent the need for a genuine, toss-the-house, spring cleaning.

And I realized I might be in trouble.

For example, on this list (a great one), I came to Day 27 - decorative pillows. And I realized I don't have a clue what they mean by that.  Do they mean buy some? (I could do that!) Do they mean throw them in the washing machine? (Which might lead to buying some.) Vacuum them? Put them out in the sunshine to "air"?

Can you tell I don't have a lot of decorative pillows? The one I can think of has never even made it onto our bed. 

Then on this list, the way it lists the "deep clean" list has me a little baffled (and a little relieved, to be honest). Deep cleaning, to my way of thinking, involved anything that takes more than 5 minutes to accomplish. Vacuuming - that's deep cleaning. Changing the furnace filters? Not so much. Two days of laundry? That's a definite commitment. And an invitation to pick a good movie to go with it. Laundering the bath mats? Well, the washing machine does most of that, right?


For the record, I've printed both lists and will probably put them in a visible spot that might catch my eye as I race off to drive the kiddos to yet another place on the planet. Or provide me a very smug grin if I can walk past and realize that, yes, I did push the dishwasher button on the way by (deep clean - check).

Or here's a thought: Maybe they'd make great pick-your-punishment options for when said kiddos need a reminder after one of their occasional lapses in perfection.

Okay, I think I'm going to find a way to enjoy these lists. And maybe my house will be a little cleaner because of them, too.