Spring Cleaning Begins

February 6, 2005

I’ve read about it in fairy tales and women’s magazines. It appears to be a project that has some origin in the seasonal traditions of an organized and rhythmic household, kind of like the mythical schedule of yesteryear’s domestic engineers that did baking on Monday, laundry on Friday and ironing on Saturday. I’ve seen collector’s kitchen towels with those very words and coordinating scenes embroidered on them. I’ve always wondered if a set of seven towels implied that a well-managed home used one dishtowel per day. Having never mastered such an orderly lifestyle, I don’t even attempt to plan a day for laundry or shopping. It would be far too much to imagine that an entire block of days be set aside for the sole purpose of cleaning.

My house cleaning schedule fits in around other activities of higher priority. I washed one kitchen window when the temperature crept above freezing last week. It was the first warm day of several. Why did I worry? There was lots of time for window washing. All of the glass on several tractors was crystal clear, at least for a few hours. And floors, yes, we cleaned floors for three days in a row. They were really a mess, with months of winter accumulation; it was great to get them cleared off. The cattle liked it too. They seemed to appreciate dry concrete and a fresh bale of straw to lounge on.

The balmy temperatures provided an opportunity to open up the door and a couple of windows, toss out the soiled bedding, and freshen up the chicken house. The hens were a bit upset at the skid loader pushing through the center of their living quarters, causing a temporary lag in egg production. It was perfect weather for rearranging too. The couch and the TV and the piano always stay in the same place. But the grain truck and the combine and a bunch of other implements have to be moved around. Their engines need to be started on warm days. They have to be re-positioned to allow access to the round bales embedded in the depths of the pole shed.

There are so many things to tidy up when spring-like weather arrives. The last hard clumps of packed snow and ice need to be chiseled off the sidewalk. The sloping approach to the grain bins and feed grinding area have to be cleared. Water from melting ice and snow has to be pumped out of the grain leg pit.

I might get a few more windows washed, and maybe I’ll clean a floor or two. There is an outside chance I will get some housecleaning done too.

By Patsy Bronner