Spring Cleaning (and Preening).

It’s that time of year to clear out the cobwebs, destroy the dust bunnies and revitalize your abode, now that Winter is hopefully in the rear-view mirror.

Please don’t forget your brain needs a little airing out too … at least mine did this weekend. I confess to running out the door two mornings in a row, not giving a second glance to any dust that may have settled down (ol’ pesky dust) or worrying about a single thing that smacked of housework. And, for sure I wasn’t going to do any housework today because it is “National No Housework Day” – oh yes it is! You can check it out here.

My intent was to clear out the cobwebs in my brain first and foremost and that could not be done with a feather duster. Nope, I needed a dose of fresh air and a couple of parks under my belt to get the job done properly.

So off I went, shutting my eyes to that dust.

You read about my trip to Elizabeth Park yesterday, and this morning I headed to Council Point Park to visit with Parker and his pals. There will be more on that trek later.

The back story ‘bout housework.

My mom, God rest her soul, was a fastidious housekeeper and she tried mightily to instill that trait in her only child. But, just like cooking and baking, the housekeeping gene clearly skipped a generation. As a dutiful daughter, I helped keep the house clean, and, when my mom was unable to handle the everyday housekeeping tasks, it became my job full-time. Oh yes, I tried to ignore the criticism, spoken or unspoken. I knew my housekeeping efforts would never pass the white glove test. But, we were two different personalities, and, even people who love one another disagree sometimes as you all know.

So, I fought mightily to forgo the big, all-house cleaning that we used to do both Spring and Fall. I made the point that Spring cleaning butted up against mowing the lawn twice a week, endless weeding, pruning and planting, plus a full-time job. Working in a law firm all these years served me well, as I presented my case, made a valid argument and Mom finally relented - we settled on one big house scouring every Fall. Buoyed by that victory, even then I protested taking never-used dishes and glasses out of the cupboards to wash them plus washing down the insides of the cupboard. I reasoned that we never used these items and who was looking in the cupboards anyway? I won that argument too (yay me), albeit by a narrow margin, as my mother’s rebuttal was “dust will collect in there – have you no shame?” I hate being shamed but it made no sense to me.

Today’s cleaning regimen is an abridged version.

Fast forward several years … I have adopted a new-and-improved routine for cleaning the house. You might want to try it. (You can thank me later.) No more scrubbing and washing every nook and cranny in the house (grrr), and it’s not like I plunged headfirst into that chore anyway.

With MY housekeeping regimen, no water is involved, so no muss – no fuss!

Now, my feather duster is my friend.

A few tips are in order when you use a feather duster.

#1 - Make sure it is of good quality, as you don’t want feathers flying all over the house.

#2 - Make sure all the feathers are clean before you start working.

#3 - Angle that feather duster properly so you can tackle the dust.

#4 - Then, with a mere flick of the wrist, feather duster in hand, just a fluff over the stuff is all you need to do.

The way I see it, housecleaning has no gray areas, even though my method is certainly different than what you’re used to.

But in the end, everything still looks pretty and presentable.

So, you can still hold your head high because you gave it your all.

And, next weekend you can hit the ground running because you finished your housework in just a few minutes.

I don’t know if Martha Stewart, or Mom, would approve, but I hope I haven’t shocked you by these revelations?

Will I ever return to the tedious business of washing down ceilings and walls, moving every piece of furniture and polishing that furniture, while knickknacks repose all over the house awaiting the polish to dry?

The answer is “NO, I believe that ship has sailed.”

Note: The Mallards, Mallard Hybrids, Pekin ducks and Canada geese were seen on my walks yesterday at Elizabeth Park and Dingell Park. I must admit I grew a little impatient with the ducks who were busy with their preening and it was difficult to get them to get their beak out of their feathers. (I was lucky a few times.) That, coupled with “National No Housework Day” prompted this post.

The freighter was the first one I’ve seen in the new shipping season; it was on the Detroit River and I viewed it from Dingell Park.

You can catch up on my blog posts before I started blogging at Patch in August 2013 by going here: http://lindaschaubblog.net/