Spring Cleaning

Its that time of year again...SPRING CLEANING. When the weather warms, you can do lots to get your house ready for the upcoming spring season. Oddly enough, have always wondered why our places get so messy during the winter...Spring cleaning is a time to clean out the gutters so that April Showers don't weigh down the roof of your house. Getting leaves out of the yard will allow your grass and weeds to grow without hesitation. Cleaning the house makes everyone feel better for a couple of days, too - until you have messes it up again. I have some ideas that I like to use....you can use them, too, but only if you are as an extreme cleaner like myself.

Disclaimer: No matter what you do to clean, you can never do enough to rid the evidence of Lee Scripture IV. This tiny Tyrant can get into a building and ransack the place in a matter of minutes. He can even hide stuff in the far corners of your room, as well as the universe. Also, you will never, ever clean a house or room as well as the Housekeeping Crew at the Eastern 4-H Center. Terri & Cindy can clean ANYTHING. For a challenge, they often sweep the flower beds free of dirt, clear down to the mantle of the earth.

With that being said, this is the single-man's guide to cleaning your residence:

1) If you have a girlfriend...arm wrestle her, the loser does chores for a year!

2) I love the smell of an evergreen forest. Pouring Pine-Sol into your air conditioning unit will leave your place smelling like a Red Spruce for ages. Even after you have replaced your air conditioning unit, the scent will linger.

3) Vacuum with a shop-vac...there are few things more manly than lugging a tub shaped vacuum around your living room. My Shop-Vac can pick up anything from dust and pizza crusts to small pets and lawn furniture.

4) Cleaning Counter tops is no fun...I just by a can pf spray paint that matches my counter-tops. You can also by the primer coat for that professional look, but I prefer to just spray over the entire counter, coffee grinds and all. It gives me that textured look.

5) Cleaning out the refrigerator is always a fun experience. I feel like a spanish conquistador over newly chartered lands....Why? Because I have no idea what I am about to find. I have been through my parents refigerator in the past year and found items like Coca-Cola cans that read "Happy Holidays 2001". I know that they area little old. I also like to find the 3 year old jams and jellies. This fur covered confections should be discarded immediately.

6) Sweeping the floor is also a cinch...just use your Shop-Vac.

7) Build shelves....this handy items will give you tons pf storage space...you can get everything off of the floor! Shelves can also be put anywhere - garage to bathroom!

I love cleaning a little bit. I think that cleaning men help to debunk stereotypes about cleaning. One thing that I will never understand...Why make a bed everyday if you are only going to get in it again. I don't host many open houses, so I do not think it is that important. Growing up, I was a bit messy. My Mom went on Strike in 1994 from helping me clean my room. That is the truth. She has held firm in her conviction, too. But if it weren't for the "Great Strike of '94" *** I would never have learned to clean!

***My mom went on Strike the same year major league baseball went on strike. So I had nothing to watch on TV...I started cleaning.

Enjoy your day