Greetings my loyal followers! It's been a wet, chilly spring here, which has caused its share of issues and frustration compared to how spring used to be here. The weather has been just plain crazy for a few years... but I won't get into the climate change debate here. ;) Today's exciting news is that my two little ash trees we planted last fall survived the winter and have brand new leaves on them today! Yesterday the little buds were still sealed up so tight I wasn't sure they'd ever leaf out. Those poor trees lived in their gallon buckets for too long, and we didn't get them planted until very late in the summer, plus it was a nasty winter, so because they had taken so long to show any sign of life I was wondering if they made it.
Now it's finally getting nice enough outside to see some progress outside as well as inside the house. I've been doing some of these things in stages over the last month or so, but here's a full list of what I've done so far that would be considered "spring cleaning." Some of it may be a stretch to fit that definition...hehe!
1. Winter clothes are washed and stored in plastic tubs and spring/summer clothes are now out of storage. I keep a few hoodies and a sweater cardigan around to toss on when it's chilly, but the heavy work sweaters are all put away now. There are a few reasons I do this twice a year. It gives me a reason to go through everything and purge items that don't fit, never fit quite right, didn't get worn much, or are just plain wrong and get them ready to donate to the Salvation Army. (They got a new building last year and the store is HUGE! We always donate there because we know it will immediately be shopped for locally and it's easy enough to drop stuff off when we go up there). It's been a struggle to let go of the "wishful thinking" jeans that I wore a few years ago and other similar pieces; they don't provide any true motivation to actually lose, all they do is take up space and give me a pang of guilt every time I see them. The other main reason, other than just to keep my dresser and closet minimal, is that often I'll get a blouse or something on clearance at the end of the season, wear it a couple of times, then put it away. When I get it back out for the next season, it's fun to take out because I often forgot I even had it!
2. Mattress is vacuumed and turned. I flipped it in January or so, but it's wearing out so I decided to turn it 180 degrees so it wears a little more evenly. In a few months I'll flip it again. Why vacuum? Dust mites. Gross, huh? Yeah. Just a little vac is probably not doing me a whole lot of good there, but at least I try, right? I have lots to get done elsewhere so that's probably about as far as I'll get on this particular project for now. My allergies haven't been near as bad lately as they used to be so I'm doing alright. :)
3. My computer and cello have both been taken in for service. This one's probably a stretch... but it certainly can't hurt to have the computer cleaned out or the cello soundpost adjusted and bridge replaced. Probably needs new strings too but we'll see how it is when I get it back. Both were behaving badly for the last several months so it was time to at least get them looked at, if not fixed. The computer's just plain dying, which is sad and nervewracking, but I'm saving up for a new one. The cello just probably needs a couple adjustments and it'll be alright.
4. I've wiped out and disinfected the bottom cabinets in my kitchen, and everything in them. I've had lots of mice recently and they can get into the wall and therefore the bottom cabinets, so that was a necessity. It should be done every couple of months anyway. I'm not sure whether the mice are coming in on their own or if the cats are bringing them in to play with... it's really hard to tell... but now I have a couple mousetraps working 24/7 to get it under control if the cats aren't helping lol.
5. Another stretch... I've joined Weight Watchers. It's working slowly, and it's tricky to plan my meals right, but I'm working on it steadily. I have a vow renewal to go to (and look good for!) in July and I was sick of the plateau I was stuck on since January. Overhauling my eating habits is like a spring cleaning project, right? hehe!
6. I'm in the process of cleaning and ironing the curtains. They haven't been up for very long but I still had to paint a few of my window frames so I figured while I had them down I could get them ironed nicely before they go back up. Some of them can't be machine-washed, mostly the nice new thermal/dark ones (not sure they're complete blackouts, but they do a darn good job), and that's okay. I'll vac the fluff off of them and iron them too when I get done painting those windows. I'll get the office ones back up today, though I need to adjust the rod first. It got put up rather crooked... oops!
I have lots left to do. This is by no means the end of my spring cleaning projects, just what I've done so far. We'll be installing baseboards in the next few weeks so my next project today is to vacuum really well down in all the edges and corners so I'm not permanently sealing Q-tips into the floor! My younger cat loves to steal my used Q-tips out of the bathroom garbage and play with them. Of course, because I have no baseboards yet, they easily roll into the gap between the wood floor and the wall and promptly get stuck. Why does she do this? I have no idea! She's a strange little kitty lol. She likes my used cotton balls too, even with astringent on them. Beats me.
When I need to be done cleaning for the day, I have a necklace, anklet, and earrings to work on (each from separate custom orders), then to get started on my first crocheted baby blanket! I practiced my stitches last night so I'm just about ready to get going on it. Happy Spring!
No comments:
Post a Comment