Spring Cleaning Team Work

Spring is slow to arrive this year in our area. Many people are chomping at the bit for warm days and sunshine. Others are chomping at the bit, too, because this weather is the perfect for the work that they need to do.

Logging is a great example. Woodlots need to be managed and maintained, just like everything else. Old and/or diseased trees need to be removed to make room for new growth.  In early Spring there is a perfect window of time for this job. It needs to get done before the trees  leaf out and vegetation becomes thick, but mostly before Spring rains make the ground too muddy for horses or tractors to pull the logs out.

A few days ago my friend called to tell me that her brother had hired an Amish team to log the woods near her home. I always think that it is neat to witness farm work as it was done when Ohio first became a state. Because of our large Amish population, we do not have to go to a living history museum to observe and appreciate the old ways, we see it all year 'round in farms populated by Amish and Mennonites.

These pics tell the story, albeit a grainy one. I was pretty far away from the action, and I respect the fact that the men were working and did not want to invade their privacy. I stood in the open so that they could see that I was taking pictures, I would never take a picture of people without them knowing.

The man riding has three horses that are pulling a large log out of the woods, taking it to a loading station. The man walking has dropped of f his log and is leading two horses back into the woods to pick up another log to pull out. I was too far away to hear the horses clomping along, but could easily hear the buzz of chainsaws taking down trees.

Yes, Amish and Mennonite are not adverse to using modern tools, which is a misconception for people who don't live near them. They use what is best for the job. In this case, horses are perfect for bringing out the logs as they can maneuver around the woods much easier than a tractor.

Marcheta *also Spring cleaning...where's my team? :)

Clutter Bugs

Springtime means "Spring Cleaning" to a lot of folk, and I am no exception. After a (super) long winter, it feels good to throw open the sashes to let fresh air and sunshine breeze through the rooms.

For me, Spring cleaning is more about getting rid of clutter than actually cleaning. In days in the not-so-distant past, I cleaned the house top to bottom; washing windows and curtains, pulling out furniture to clean under and behind, washing woodwork with Murphy's Oil Soap, shampooing carpets...whew!

Now days I wonder how I had the time and energy to do all of that.

It's not that I don't like a clean environment, I really, really do. What happens is that the past few years I spend the winter browsing through thrift stores and bringing home treasures that I think that I will make into something else. 20+ years of setting up at craft shows has my brain hard-wired into thinking I have to make a few dozen of everything I design.

Trouble is, I no longer set up at craft shows. You can see where this is leading, can't you? :)

I've spent the better part of several days sorting through "stuff".  Purging is always difficult at first, but then it becomes a game. And, I am really lucky in another regard. Since I no longer use a  lot of craft tools, I asked my daughter if she wants them for her craft room and she said yes.

YAY

I am going to visit her tomorrow and have packed up a large tote with paper punches, edge trimmers, fancy scissors, rubber stamps and inks, and craft paper. It feels good to me to pass these to her and my grand kids. I had many enjoyable hours designing things with the tools, now the tools can assist the younger generation in my family to be creative.

So, this is how my Spring cleaning goes these days: purge an area of clutter, knock down any cobwebs, dust, and sweep.  Then, as I have time and energy, I go through the house room-by-room and do up the windows.

I am so aggravated this time around about having to spend time de-cluttering, when I could be outside enjoying nature or just plain relaxing, that I vow: no matter how many garage sales lure me, no matter how many flea markets and craft fairs we go to this summer, no matter how tempting autumn decorations are, no matter how many rainy/snowy/ days we get until Spring 2014, I will resist temptation and not have to go through this big clearing out again. I'll be richer in both the money saved from spending on trivel and time saved in pitching.

Yeah, right.

No, really!

BUT...did I mention the barn..... (psst) (it is overflowing..)

Marcheta *ouch

Spring Cleaning

My idea of housework is to sweep the room with a glance. ~Erma Bombeck

Ohioan Erma Bombeck not only found humor in everyday life as a homemaker: she also had a knack for words which led her to a successful career as humorist and writer.

While "sweeping the room with a glance" may be the easy way out, it doesn't exactly clean anything, does it? :)

I know that "spring cleaning" is a thing of the past for most women, but for those of us who live in homes heated with wood, spring cleaning the house is like, well, a breath of spring!

I used to enjoy spring cleaning, getting the windows and curtains washed, cupboards cleaned out, etc. I can't say that I actually enjoy spring cleaning now, but I don't hate it, either.

This latest craze of "green living" (seems to come around every-other generation) has gone beyond  people being aware of what they eat and what is in their food products to include what is absorbed through the skin via cosmetics. As we gather more education on the affects of chemicals on our health, this round of health consciousness is beginning to include what we breath via household cleaning products.

Cleaning with vinegar and baking soda is nothing new, it just got lost when the advertising world convinced us that we needed a special product for every single cleaning chore we might encounter.

With the economic downturn, folks began looking for a way to save money, and cleaning supplies seemed like a good choice. The number of advice columns on frugal living and blogs dedicated to sustainable lifestyles has seemed to explode lately.
 
I stumbled across one such blog while I was researching something else. In it, saw instructions for making Homemade Citrus Vinegar Cleaner that uses orange rinds and vinegar. Two simple, organic, and inexpensive ingredients. That's for me!

I did a Google search and pages of websites for making this cleaner popped up. Since so many people were making this cleaner and liking it so much that they were sharing, I decided to give it a try.

On March 24, I put orange rinds in a quart mason jar and filled the jar with white vinegar. Every few days I gave the jar a shake.

Most instructions for say to let the two soak for at least 2 weeks. It hasn't been quite two weeks, but I couldn't resist temptation any longer and gave the cleaner its "maid"-en voyage this morning.

My concoction did have the citrus smell, but also had the vinegar smell, too. It did a 'so-so' job on a greasy spot of my stove. The purpose of soaking the orange peels in vinegar is to draw out the oil, which is supposed to be a good de-greaser.

Even though I was disappointed in the lack of grease cutting, I am not giving up. Maybe the oranges need to soak longer in the vinegar to release more oil and have the vinegar smell get weaker. But even if it doesn't, I think that this is still a great cleaner for counter tops, mirrors, and windows, so I will continue to make and use it.

Marcheta *mirror, mirror, on the wall... speckled with toothpaste and hairspray and ~~~~~zap!  you're clean!