Spring Cleaning Already ?

It is February, and our lives are getting gradually busier with each passing day. We have been very busy these past 2 weeks ... Cherub 1 has a play (Drama Club) that will be presented in February, plus we have various church and church activities, youth activities, in addition to school, and now soccer sign-ups .... yes ... Soccer season is almost here again. As if we needed MORE on our agenda, right ?? HA !! So, after sign-ups finish this Saturday, the practices will begin at the end of February, and the first game of the season is March 17th. Cherub 3, Cherub 4, and Cherub 5 are playing this season. Cherubs 3 and Cherub 4 will be playing U-10 Boys for a new coach this year (not DadToCherubs), and then we are coaching a U-8 Girls team which will include Cherub 5 ... plus we ALL coach our V.I.P. Program.

And right around the corner are springtime, gardening, and weather that makes you want to be outside as much as possible. When Soccer is finished at the end of May, it will be time to start our trips to Lake Oconee in GA to visit with our grandparents, to boat, jetski, and swim. And we also want to take some daytrips / weekend trips this summer too.

So last year we made a conscious decision to get a "jump start" on Spring-Time-Jobs this year, before the activities really get heavy, which means starting the Spring-Time-To-Do-List in February. One of those BIG SpringTime jobs is Spring Cleaning, which is a major undertaking at our house. No surface untouched, no drawer or "nook" uncleaned, and no "piles" left standing. So, in preparation for Spring Cleaning we decided to update our cleaning tools to help things work more efficiently and to be more thorough. So we bought a little Shark vacumn which works great, and does a great job espicially cleaning up the hardwood floors without "spraying" dust everywhere. It also works well on carpet and our stairs, and even dusts flat surfaces - and it is SO much lighter to carry from room to room. GOOD PURCHASE !! And we reluctantly decided to try Swiffer's Dusters. We were not sure they "worked" as promised, but surprisingly they really do "pick up" dust instead of scattering it, and are quite "bendable" fo they catch dust on lots of different surfaces and in "nooks and crannies" too. We were very pleased and will continue to use them for sure. ANOTHER GOOD PURCHASE !! And finally we also tried Magic Erasers. These little sponges are "magic". We have not found anything yet that those will NOT remove (smudges, dirt, scuffs, pencils and pen marks, and lots more) without damaging the original surface. YET ANOTHER GOOD PURCHASE !! But our most favorite NEW tool is the Shark Steamer. We have used this on appliances, windows, floors, bathrooms, tile, woodwork, some furniture .... this thing is amazing !! With plain water it makes steam which is pushed out with some pressure .... and the dirt and grime (and hard water stains, and even food spatters and grease) literally washes away under the steam, after which you wipe it up with a soft clean terry towel. And you wash the towels in the washing machine as usual. No harsh chemicals on the surfaces or "smells" in the air ... and you get a SPOTLESS clean on surfaces. Just amazing !! BY FAR THE BEST PURCHASE OF ALL !!

So, now I am going to start getting out a "few" pieces of spring clothing (mostly for soccer). I have yet to take down all of the curtains to wash them, and clean the windows inside and out. And we need to do some cleaning out in our schoolroom and in the garage. We are NEARLY all finished now with our Spring Cleaning (about 1 week to go) .... everything looks so nice. And before we know it, soccer will start, and it will be time to get outside in the gardens again. We hope that maybe we can also get some of our Spring Gardening chores done ahead of time too (during Soccer season instead of afterwards) this year instead of fighting the heat at the end of springtime.