Spring Cleaning

     Inspired by the recent success of our repo rehab project in Butte, I decided it was time to start spring cleaning.  The concept of spring cleaning has become passe, it used to refer to deep house cleaning people did after a winter of being cooped up inside small cabins heated by smoky fires.  In those days when being minimalist was called being poor, it was fairly easy to carry a room's contents outside and scrub everything top to bottom.  My grandma did this faithfully to each room in her house every six months even though two pet free geriatirics do not get a house all that dirty.  Besides, rugs covered the carpet, the couch was covered with blankets, the lampshades were still wrapped in plastic etc. Dust mites would have died of lonliness at grandma's house.
    I, however, have established a dust mite preserve.  After our children left home and there was no need for the four hour remedial cleaning I did every Friday, I began a gradual descent from a somewhat regular lick-and-a-promise cleaning to irregular, promise only (who wants to lick?) thoughts about cleaning.  I may tackle one cleaning project a day and that works well as long as I don't place those days very close together.  Unfortunately we are not pet free geriatrics, we have a dog and two cats and are temporarily housing our daughter's cat.  If there is something in the yard they neglect to track in, my husband will oblige.
     That is why I was so excited to see the progress we made in my daughter's dirty domicile with several people cleaning.  So last Saturday I conscripted my husband and hired an unemployed friend to help me with some window washing and yardwork. I discovered anew that my windows are actually neither frosted nor tinted. I am so taken with the see through effect that I haven't even put the lattice back in the French doors.  Neither Reed nor I would have the strength to mistakenly run through it even if we were being chased by a bear .  If Diane will oblige me by staying unemployed a little longer I may even get the carpets shampooed.  If "Many hands make light work.", my goal is to find enough hands to make almost no work (for me).  Either that or create my own motto "Less light makes the house look clean".