The Twelve Week Plan: Clean and Purge

The summer heat is so hard for me to bear here in Florida that I concentrate on indoor activities for these twelve weeks. It is time for my yearly, really serious, clean and purge.

My favorite tool during my C & P is my little vacuum cleaner with the long hose and many attachments. It makes cleaning the cabinet shelves, baseboards, window sills and behind furniture relatively easy compared to having to bend and dust.

Next is a bucket of water filled with Murphy's Oil Soap and water, plus a micro fiber cloth. I just go through the house wiping down surfaces after I have vacuumed up the dust and dirt.

Just a quick memory: I used to have a home economist friend that always said that dirt is just dust that got wet. Better to deal with it while it is dry. Remember home economics? I wonder what replaced it? Probably takeout and debt.

Throw any washable fabrics into the machine, dry and iron. I have really been moving toward machine washable curtains, slipcovers and pillows in my advanced middle aged years. No more worrying about spills or every day wear and tear for me. I feel the same way about clothing fabrics these days.

Books will be replaced on the shelves in an orderly, or at least sane, fashion. All food storage items will be scrutinized for expiration dates and thrown away if they don't pass muster. Newer dated items to the back of the shelves. Get in the habit of placing newly purchased items to the back when you bring them home from the store. Boric acid tablets are put along the back of the shelves to keep insects at bay.

Purging should have been mentioned first. Before all of the cleaning starts, I walk through the house with two garbage bags; one for trash and one for donations. Be realistic when purging, if you didn't use it in the last six months do you really need it?

I make this process sound easy, but you can do it without much strain if you break the work up. Do one area each day for a half hour. Work your way around the house gradually. I, of course, will have my reluctant, almost eleven year old helping me. Isn't it funny how when they want to help they are too small to do much and when they are big enough to be a real help they don't want to?

Oh, one more thing, start high and work your way down. No reason to make more work for yourself.

God bless,
Pam