The #1 thing that motivates me to do spring cleaning...

Out-of-town Guests!

It's March and women everywhere are opening up and clearing up. What is a once-a-season event everywhere else is called Saturday here in OC where the windows are always open and desert sand and highway carbon clings to every surface.  

It's hard to get excited about a weekly event. I needed a solid reason to get in touch with my clean green self. I now have two - Martha and Brian arrive in three days. Ahhh public humiliation, nothing gets me moving towards a mop faster.

I'm not a slob, but the idea of spending 5 hours doing what doesn't come naturally is such a waste of type time. I'd rather do taxes... Just knowing that when the cleaning is done that not only will my husband and I enjoy the space, but so will our guests makes it worth the down time, per se.

All the green cleaning tips I've read from my Green Group will be employed. I have a full box of baking soda, a jug of vinegar and fresh picked lemons to cap it off. Thanks to Karen, I also have cheap, but very effective spray cleaners courtesy of Shaklee. She convinced me to give it a try with MONEY. Two or three teaspoons of concentrate pure full bottle of water is all you need. (tiz true) I paid for the concentrate, not the water nor the bottle.

THE WORSE SURFACE TO CLEAN

While the house is tedious the real cleaning will begin when I clear off the desk. To continually stack and organize doesn't give my brain the breathing space it needs to create, but thanks to Martha and Brian, it's toss or file time. By the end of today, it will look like an Ikea office space - fresh, polished and waiting for next creative burst.  

Thank you Martha and Brian, for stopping, staying and giving me a solid reason for coming clean.

Comments

[Beth Terry, aka Fake Plastic Fish]

Feh. You just reminded me that I still have to do our taxes. Thanks.

I have friends coming over tonight to watch a movie, so while my "spring cleaning" is done, I have some routing maintenance to take care of. Ha! There is nothing routine about me with a scrubber in my hand.

:-)

[StuffMomsWant]

I had guests over on Tues. (my book group) and Fri. (family friends). My house is super clean. The laundry on the other hand..is not.

[Anna (Green Talk)]

Nothing like company or a special event to get your motivated. Scrub, woman, scrub!

[mother earth aka karen hanrahan]

you captivated the very core of why buying a super duper plant based multi-use concentrated green cleaning product makes the very best sense of all ...saving money and the earth !! Oh and the stuff actually cleans well too. Imagine that !! Thanks Mary!

I don't know choosing between taxes or cleaning ??

Could we just do lunch instead?

[Mary]

All - the house is spotless, the planters replanted with spring flowers, and fresh flowers are around the house, but alas... the desktop is still calling for attention. Maybe we should start an office cleaning ritual.

[Lynn from OrganicMania.com]

I'm with you Mary - taxes or cleaning - pick your poison. One of the hardest things I've had to do recently was to give up the luxury of having a cleaning lady.
At least it sounds like you are good about keeping up with it every Saturday!
Enjoy your company!

[Mary]

Lynn - I can't do cleaning services, they take longer to "manage" than it takes to clean the house, plus there aren't any green ones close.

[Diane]

Mary, you're absolutely right! Guests are a great motivator to put the house in order. Remember that old phrase our parents used to utter: "Company's coming!" Still works on me!

[Alline]

If it weren't for guests I'd NEVER get the house cleaned. sometimes, when it's especially bad, I'll invite someone over just so I'll have to clean it. Kind of rewarding myself with friends for the drudgery and pain of cleaning!