Spring Cleaning Tips

Spring has definitely arrived in New York City! Everywhere I look, both at curbside and parks, bulbs are poking up through the dead leaves on the ground.

Pansies that have revived in planters are aspreading their colorful cheer. Ferns and fiddle heads are beginning to grow in the Brooklyn Botanical Garden as well as the magnolia trees. Check out my post about the Brooklyn Botanic Garden's Magnolia trees on this link.

Peach blossoms are in bloom....

....and even some early cherry blossoms are beginning to open, much earlier than in previous years due to the unusually mild weather we have had at the end of this winter season.  You can see my post about the cherry blossoms in the Brooklyn Botanic Garden on this link.  The Garden also has a link up called the "Cherry Watch" with updates as to when the majority of cherry trees will be at peak viewing.  It is a glorious sight to see!

So what does all of this have to do with Spring cleaning tips?

above photo sources

Well, like most people, when the Spring season brings open windows to my house and longer daylight hours to my day, I feel energetic and revitalized.  I begin to see the cobwebs that have gathered on my ceilings and curtains and dust balls that have morphed into true dust bunnies.  I want to change my wardrobe over from winter to spring and summer clothes. This entails a lot of laundry and ironing for me as I switch my clothes from basement storage to my bedroom closet. I remove all the items from my closet first, and vacuum and dust.  I  bag up all the clothes, shoes and bags I haven't worn or used to donate to charity, and then replace what I do use and my newly laundered wardrobe.  Since I've been in Colorado for a few days, visiting for my youngest grandson's first birthday (more on that in a future post!) and since my daughter's wedding only a few months away, I am pressed for time for this season's Spring cleaning. So, BlogHer's Life Well Lived post of  Spring Cleaning in 10 Minutes a Day was a timely and valuable one for me!  I especially liked the tip to go through the refrigerator and medicine cabinet to throw away all expired food stuffs and medicines, both prescription and over the counter, that have expired, and to change the batteries on all my smoke detectors. These are tasks that are often overlooked.  I'm sure you will also find some great tips from Alicia's post and the comments she's received, and perhaps you'd like to leave some of your own Spring cleaning tips in the comments.  In any event, be sure to enter BlogHer's Life Well Lived Sweepstakes for a chance to win Kindle Fire by leaving a comment on this link. *

* (The BlogHer Life Well Lived Moments sweepstakes 7 runs from March 1, 2012 to April 5, 2012 and is only open to individuals who, at the time of entry deadline, are legal residents of the United States or Canada (excluding Quebec), are 18 years or older and who are registered users of www.blogher.com at the time of entry. Winners will be randomly selected from all eligible entries. Click here for official rules. Good luck!)

I'm linking this post to the Mosaic Monday event on Mary's blog Little Red House -- please check out all the beautiful mosaics joining in today's event on Mary's blog.