Emerging Spring (Cleaning)

Who invented spring cleaning anyway? If you (yes you, not me) are plenty busy already with other important work, the extra emphasis that emerges, along with the arrival of spring, on all things clean, just adds another layer of guilt to the mounding piles of dirty laundry, heaps of brown leaves on the lawn and other debris fields that may have accumulated through the winter (or during the last 20 years). I used two examples that are not true for me just to make myself feel better. I am The Laundry Queen and I am the first on my block to have my entire front lawn raked!

I feel like I've been bombarded with images of spring and cleaning. All the March/April magazines feature spring beauty in shades of pastel--not just Easter eggs, candy and daffodils, but spring cleaning storage solutions with light and pretty, matched and labeled boxes--set on right-sized shelves--all pretty pricey, too. Every magazine includes easy cleaning how-tos: how to clean out your entire refrigerator, including checking all the expiration dates and brushing the coils--in 20 minutes. (April 2011 Real Simple--spring cleaning shortcuts) Whom are they kidding?

Even our realtor's postcard this month includes tips: Organize your Home. It begins, "If you're feeling overwhelmed with the clutter in your home, it's time to get organized." Duh. Tell me something I don't know. The first tip is, "When removing clutter be scrupulous of the items and their purpose when deciding what to keep." That is not a good English sentence but I know what it means. Then, "Set small goals, so you'll feel less stressed to get things done all at once." I actually like that one! I'm going to make it my second random thought about Saving/Throwing for Rose's Rule's for Retiring: SET SMALL GOALS. It sounds good to me because it seems that a very small clearing has emerged so far out of that basement debris field which I have referenced in previous posts.

Primula buds in my yard

Spring has arrived here today (7:21 P.M. EDT ) and as the snow receded last week, some bulbs have emerged from their underground sleep with fresh green growth. After another very cold Michigan winter, any sign of spring is welcome. I emerged from my basement blogging bog (not really--just liked the alliteration) to rake as hard and long as my aging back allowed. There were at least six more bags of those poo-hued honey locust pods (say poo-hued pods three times), snow mold to break up and abundant dead grass to de-thatch. I am always overwhelmed by how bad things look in the spring but also know that somehow, soon, all things will be made beautiful once again. One primrose has buds ready to unfold--the only sign of spring color in my yard.

The first warm days last week (one in the mid-sixties and yesterday--sunny and mid-fifties) will not find me cleaning in a cold basement. I was already diverted from my basement the previous week by agreeing to help with the cleanup of my daughter Marissa and husband's basement apartment which they vacated, emerging to occupy more sunny and spacious environs above ground, not so much unlike the emergent green from the buried bulbs in my yard! Now that they have more room to grow (accumulate?), they could make me feel better by retrieving a few stored things from my basement--two bags of golf clubs and an easel, for instance--baby steps of progress for my Living Cleaner goal.

Somehow spring always demands more cleanup than winter. For example, the backyard snowbanks remained  more than knee-high much of the winter and I allowed coffee grounds and other compost material to accumulate in a couple of five-gallon pails in the garage. Those emerging smells needed immediate attention last week. Smells both good and bad are rising from the warming earth, as well. I smelled more like dog fur than April Fresh Downy yesterday when I came inside from raking. I sprayed the yard with Liquid Fence (putrified egg solids), adding more bad smells all over the yard, to deter the nibbling critters. But enough about that--see my March Madness post from last year. Spring will hopefully smell better after some April showers.

 I was surprised to find a couple of pansies in a grower's tray in the garage that had survived for 3 months without water--green and healthy. Amazing. I also took out some dried geraniums which had been sealed in a brown paper bag since November. They had green buds. That's how spring is--very messy, very muddy, very brown, with new green growth sprouting everywhere, including those first bloomers, The Crocuses--forcing their bright heads up through the dark, cold earth and lingering banks of snow--with promise for brighter days ahead!

Finally, I do hope that spring weather emerges soon in Japan. What a load of dirt and debris and destruction the ocean has dumped on its coast. It has been suggested that all that flooding may provide increased fertility in the region in the future. More green from brown. They surely could use some warm weather, sunshine, renewed energy, green things, clean things, faith, hope, love, and peace.

Photo of a cigarette machine I snapped in Tokyo!