Spring Cleaning.........

Call me crazy, call me old fashioned but I still do my Spring cleaning. As I grew up I saw all the housewives annual foray into frantic cleaning. They all did it. The windows would be flung open wide at the first chance of a fresh breezy day. The rugs would hang from windows like crazy flags and women would shake and beat them into submission. The larger ones thrown over the line in the garden for a good whacking. Not too many people had "hoovers" in the early days. A broom was the best one could do. My parents house and the others on Bidwell Hill only had 2 rooms down and 3 bedrooms. The windows would get cleaned with a pink liquid paste that dried on white. That to be polished off and not a chance of missing a spot that way. You knew when the cleaning bug struck when the neighbourhood windows would all be pasty white for several hours while the rest of the cleaning went on inside.


We learned to clean the outside of the upstairs windows in innovative ways. I don't know whose picture I am using from photobucket but it could easily be my mother out there on the ledge. I remember mum sitting on the window ledge leaning out and reaching across to do the other window upstairs. I did the same thing myself. You could hang on to the closed window and reach right out.
The beds had springs, maybe that's why its called Spring cleaning haha. Well the metal springs had to be dusted with a mop on a stick. At least once a year the mattress would be removed, it was usually horse hair and chicken feathers or some such thing, maybe batting of some kind. Mine was very lumpy The mattress would be vacuumed if one had one or beat and brushed if not.

All the chairs would be on top of the table and the floor could be swept all the way through, washed and polished before the rugs came back in from the line or window.
Before all this began the Chimney Sweep would make his rounds.

Kids would be sent outside to watch for the broom to come out of the pot.
When all was clean and back in place it would be time for a chat with the neighbours and a cup of tea. Then to wash the ornaments and china.
Well, maybe that much has changed, the chat and tea and maybe the methods have changed but basically its still jobs that need to be done. I don't have a fire so no chimney sweep for me and I use Windex instead of paste. Does not do such a great job I must admit. I think our lives have many advantages over the old days but still........its good to remember. It was less complicated somehow. Hard work, but houses were smaller and kids helped adults, given their own chores to do. Maybe just getting the smaller kids out of the house or taking a neighbours baby for a walk so she could work.
Well my Spring clean is done for this year and I admit to the fact that it is very satisfactory to have everything clean if only for a day or two.