I’ve written before about all the Spring Cleaning we do around the farmyard. Well, this weekend I was busy with the traditional kind of spring cleaning. The house. Ugh! I’m not much of a cleaner, more of a straighten-upper–which I realize every time I start doing any deep cleaning. {sigh}So I made sure to take a lot of breaks to walk the dogs. And feed the dogs. And just watch the dogs.

Did I mention taking a lot of breaks?

Oh yes, and if you don’t follow us on Facebook, you might have missed the fact that we  got a puppy at Christmas! (Psss…you should follow us on Facebook. We post a lot of updates over there that never make it to the blog!) His name is Coal, and he’s an Australian Cattle Dog. He’s also my excuse for getting out of the house alone a lot lately. He needs a lot of exercise. {smile}

One of the reasons I hate deep cleaning is because you don’t get much external satisfaction from it. It’s all internal because, really, once you’re done scrubbing the baseboards and the window blinds, who really notices?

Plus, it’s the kind of cleaning that seems to make a bigger mess before you’re done. Right now our living room is covered in kid clothes. Every surface. That’s what it takes right now to sort out, purge, wash, and get back to our Simple Wardrobes. I mean, really, how many monster-truck tee shirts does one boy need? Seven? No, I don’t think so. (Be sure to hop over and print our Simple Wardrobe Checklists to help with your spring cleaning!)

I did stumble across a great recipe for hardwood floor cleaner on Pinterest that made my living room and bedroom shine–for about 5 minutes. (Spring = dirt around here. It’s a little discouraging.) I also like this orange cleaner for tables and counters, just be aware that both are going to smell like pickles right at first. The floor cleaner smell faded pretty much as quickly as the floor dried (and I use microfiber clothes to dry as I go along) but the orange doesn’t overcome the vinegar right away for the spray. It’s a gradual take over. I’ve been thinking about trying essential oils for a stronger scent.

If you do that, let me know how it works and what your favorite scent is!

I also used these simple steps to freshen up our mattress and pillows with baking soda and washed all our sheets and blankets. I like to hang our quilts and comforters outside to dry and get that fresh sunshine smell to them. I haven’t worked my way up to the kiddos rooms yet, but they’ll be done the same!

I washed all the throw pillows and blankets and used baking soda in all the cushion crevices to freshen up the couch. I found a great homemade leather cleaner recipe, but didn’t try it yet. Have you used anything like this on your leather furniture?

And of course, I scrubbed the doors, door trim, and baseboards. I just used hot water with a little Dawn  and elbow grease on those. I’ve got the kitchen cabinet doors in my sights for this week as well, after I tackle the clothes monster!

I’ve also been bitten by the purge and simplify bug again. I go through this phase every couple of months or so and just start throwing or giving stuff away. (Mr. Fix-It loves it!) I don’t know how “stuff” accumulates so fast! But here’s one way Pinterest is a big help to me and not just a big time-suck–I follow a lot of Boards about de-cluttering, organizing, and minimalism, and they encourage me to get up and go DO IT.

I read this post about making money while de-cluttering (hint: NOT a yard sale!) and it inspired me to go through our books and make a stack to sell. I thought it would be hard, but it turns out there was a lot of stuff taking up room on our shelves that I had definitely out-grown. (What to Expect the Toddler Years, perhaps?) Some I didn’t even know where they had come from. (Potty Training for Dummies…really?) And some I had read and they just didn’t speak to me. (I LOVED the Lion of War series by Cliff Graham, but Call of Duty just left me bored.) I’m a serial re-reader, so if I haven’t picked it up at least twice, it really doesn’t belong here.

So that’s where we are this week. Our house is in the middle of being torn apart and reassembled, and Mr. Fix-It is working on stuff outside (probably to stay out of mess!) with the kiddos bouncing back and forth depending on who will give them less work to do! {smile}

There’s several great checklists pinned on my Cleaning and Organizing Board if you want to hop over there for some more help. I find I’m just in a back-to-basics mood lately. I want more time, not stuff.

What were you up to this weekend?