I'm sort of a clean as I go person, though the one thing I do in spring that I don't do other times is wash the windows -- it's always nice to get a winter's worth of fog and road dirt, etc off the glass and be able to see everything all clear and bright. Otherwise, most of our housework is routine, done once a week more or less. It has to be that way with 2 dogs and 2 cats puffing out hair all the time.

The things that my mom used to do for spring cleaning, like washing curtains, etc, I eradicate by not having curtains. *G* They're just dust catchers for those of us with allergies, so we have decorator UV shades, those honeycomb ones made of fabric, on all the windows instead...no cleaning. :)

Sam

I'm a seasonal sort. And I do go on rampages (I don't think of these episodes as cleaning so much as attacking) about two or three times a year. There is usually a June rampage when school is out and I can finally tackle all that stuff I've been putting off until school is over. Then it gets hot and I go into lizard mode. Once it cools off again I do the pre-hibernation rampage before it gets too cold to do anything.

I do a heavy duty cleaning once a year for Passover, so it's sort of a "forced" spring cleaning, but at other times during the year I go through with the trash bags and get rid of stuff!

M

Tawny, I'm more like you; I start one project and then it sort of takes on a life of its own, and before I know it, I have the entire house turned upside down and my entire family really irritated with me as I put them to work. This past weekend, it was kids' closets -- yikes!! My younger daughter (she's in the fifth grade) has grown nearly three inches since last August, and now towers over me at 5'8" (fifth grade!). Her solution for clothing that no longer fits her is to chuck it into the back of her closet. And since she's constantly outgrowing her clothing, her closet is full. So cleaning that out and bringing stuff to the Salvation Army also included looking at their books and toys and miscellaneous flotsam, to determine what we can yard sale or donate to the local thrift store. It's the never-ending project!

Can you come over and show me how it's done? I'm a horrible packrat and feel constant pressure to pare down the collection but typically don't know where to start, get overwhelmed, and then give up. Aack! ;)

I'll admit to being a pack-rat. There are some things I just can't throw away, like home decorating magazines and food magazines. I also tend to hang onto mail-order catalogs for a long time, tho I'm getting better at chucking those immediately if I have no extra money with which to buy things. But the other night, my husband asked me if the nursing home where my grandmother lives might not like to have my "old" romance novels. I sort of looked at him and asked, "Which ones would those be?" He truly believed that I would part with any of my books! I know there are readers out there who have no problem getting rid of books they've already read, or won't read (or won't read again, LOL). But I want to keep them all! It's a problem.

Not that you can tell, because my family covers my problem--they're enablers. I clean almost violently on Saturdays most of the time. Some weeks I'm too lazy, but I generally make up for it when I can square away some time to attack. So I spring clean at least once every other month.

I'm psychotic that way. :)
Dee

I clean as I go. If I didn't, it would get to be too much for this old body to cope with.