The Monday Rant: Spring Cleaning

This rant is probably not what you think it's going to be.  I actually enjoy Spring Cleaning - well, most of it anyway. I enjoy getting rid of stuff, clearing up space where clutter lived before, and living in the final result.  I'm not a big fan of mopping my floor or vacuuming or dusting, but the rest of it, I don't mind.

No, as usual, this rant is about another person.

I have mentioned to several people that I'm doing some crazy Spring Cleaning this year.  (Update later this week.)  Most of the responses are something like this:

"Wow!  Good for you!" (non-sarcastically)
"Wow - I haven't even thought about starting our Spring Cleaning yet!"
"Want to come over and clean my house?"

None of those bother me at all.  What bothers me was the person who replied in this manner:

"Oh, I don't Spring Clean.  I just keep my house clean all year round."

Okay, who else wants to join me in punching this person?  Or better yet, tramping through their house with muddy boots?

I mean, seriously?  And this was said with as pompous and patronizing an air as you can imagine, like I was some sort of dirty peasant because I couldn't manage to keep my house spotless at every given moment.  They didn't expect me to be able to keep my house clean - of course not me- but still, some people can manage to do so.

Do you know why I Spring Clean?  It's a two-fold thing.  First of all, I Spring Clean for the same reason most people Spring Clean.  Clutter accumulates, dust gets into forgotten corners, and the house just needs an overall refreshing clean.  Why not do so when the weather is bursting with freshness, too?  But second of all, I Spring Clean because this summer I'll be working full-time and my husband will be working over 60 hours a week.  I will have so little time to clean; all I will be able to do is maintain.

Therefore, I Spring Clean so that if my toilet seat only gets wiped down with Clorox wipes for 10 weeks, I can be okay with that.  I Spring Clean so that if someone stops over unexpectedly, I can know that at least the floor was vacuumed within the last month or so.  I Spring Clean so that when I'm in a rush looking for something, I can know right where it is, because I dealt with literally every object in my home earlier in the year.

This summer, I plan to take 15 minutes every morning to clean my house.  This will include washing dishes (which does not take as long as you think it does - seriously, time yourself sometime), maintaining the kitchen, sorting laundry, wiping down the bathroom, opening the curtains, tidying the house, etc.  Of course not all in the same day, but you can get a lot more done in 15 minutes than you might think.

Therefore, I Spring Clean so that these 15 minutes a day will be enough to keep my house in decent shape.

So forgive me for actually having a life, but my husband and I will only get to see each other for a few hours in the evening and on the weekends.  Excuse me if I don't spend them keeping our house perfectly clean.

Love and Fairy Tales,
Leah Joy

P.S. I'll probably also have to Fall Clean to take care of the aftermath.