Spring Cleaning




It’s coming—the weekend before spring’s official arrival. When I was a child that meant one thing: deep cleaning the whole house. The first step was being sent to my bedroom armed with a cardboard box and directions to fill it with old toys. This would be followed by a mandatory fashion show of every pair of pants, all my shirts, skirts, dresses, and blouses—anything that no long fit was put in paper sacks.

Then the hard part—all closets, shelves, cupboards, and drawers were emptied, scrubbed, dusted, vacuumed, and windows were washed inside and out and left open so the house aired out. I was able to escape to the nearby woods to play while the wood floors were painstakingly waxed.


As an adult, I never made spring cleaning an annual routine. But I will admit, that the singular weekend war on dust, dirt, and bagging up old clothes left an imprint. For me, instead of an intense weekend of scrubbing, it’s something that I do routinely. Oddly enough, I like it.


Even if cleaning isn’t your thing, we probably all love the idea of spring and having more time outdoors. At least outside you don’t have to clean out the cupboards—or see the dust on the shelves. 


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