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Show J Slice of Life r By JUDY JENSEN Spring cleaning: an idea whose time has come and gone Ah spring, that time of year when a young man's fancy turns to love and a woman's fancy turns to house cleaning. In the good old days, women struggled with archaic cleaning methods like hanging the rugs on the clothes line (another remnant of the past) and beating them with a stick. Today we are blessed with a plethora of "new," "improved" products that take all of the worry and stress out of "dirty yellow wax build-up." And now women all over America are ready to begin their yearly ritual. Isn't that true? Well, maybe not. Just exactly what is it we're supposed to be cleaning? I've heard people talk about a time when they would clean the soot that had been spewed out of the furnace during the long winter months, but that has not been a problem for me. I've also heard a rumor of people actually cleaning 4 'behind" their refrigerators, but that was in the old days, I'm sure. Spring cleaning today consists of more exotic cleaning. Today the challenge is to look inside the refrigerator and try to determine what is in the Tupperware bowls. This chore can provide an evening of fun entertainment for the entire family. To spruce up the spring wardrobes, war-drobes, I've always found cleaning "under" the beds to be a boon. Here we can find the missing T-shirt T-shirt that was critical to the one pair of jeans that has hung in the closet all winter since the T-shirt was missing. And the entire family can be outfitted with stockings once the under bed war zone has been attacked. at-tacked. Paramount in the spring ritual is the purchase of the newest cleaning products that promise to "shout "at and "resolve" our cleaning woes. Industrial strength cleaner is not enough for our home. I need something that "screams" at the dirt Scruhbing bubbles are just not going to make it. You know the joke about "I don't do windows?" Well it's no wonder. Windows may be the eyes of the soul, but I certainly hope a home is not judged by its windows. There is no such thing as a product pro-duct that easily cleans windows. Vinegar, Limeaway, and old newspapers seem to leave more streaks than they remove. The quicker-picker-upper must only work for Rosie. On my windows, it only works as a slower-putter-downer of lint. Men seem to find spring the time to clean up the garage. It is a bold idea to think that the lined-up tools and garden shovels will remain neat and at attention for use throughout the summer but the truth is, they will be in a jumbled heap within the week. Another thing one can do is to take the plants outside just a little too early, in time to eliminate them with the first frost. That way, one can say they tried, but the elements were against them. An effective new method of spring cleaning is to open the windows, let the old air out and the new air in, then go shopping or fishing. And voila, you've spring cleaned. Haven't you? |