Spring Cleaning, Where Do I Begin ???

Spring cleaning can be totally overwhelming at the best of times, never mind when the weather isn't cooperating by not putting me in the mood for it.

Not only in the mood for it, Spring or Rob has bestowed a "wonderful" head cold my way, as well.  I have been fighting the oncoming of a sore throat, fever, cough & stuffy nose for the past month or so, whilst Rob has had it, but nooooo silly me had to kiss him every day or twice some days, and here I am, once again I might add, paying the price of the Piper (or shall I say the Rhinovirus?).  To remind my silly self of all the symptoms I have been experiencing I looked it up:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_cold

Yep, I was right, I do have the Common cold.

Not good timing as I really do want to get going on with & get over this Spring Cleaning stuff, before the weather gets too nice to be out in the gardens.

 Yes, I get myself in a dither every year with the thoughts of having to take the curtains down, wash them & re-hang them (that's the part I don't care for).  Getting into every nook & cranny with a duster and/or damp cloth.  Dealing with flys coming back to life & spiders creeping me out.  And not to mention the windows & patio door !  Every year I clean the patio door it rains within the next day or so after, and guess what?  Needs done again.

That old saying, "a woman's work is never done", should say, "repeat, repeat, repeat" or "ball & chain, ball & chain, ball & chain".  It is a vicious circle, but you know I do have to admit once I get one job accomplished & out of the way I can't beat the feeling of going back to look at the finished product & having a really good feeling.  The sense of accomplishment can be greater then the overwhelming feelings !

First I will try to get it in my head to get my regular daily routine stuff out of the way like make the bed, do up breakfast dishes, etc....(mind you all this after my first 2 coffees & the completion of the "blog"), then tackle one new thing for the day.  Remember way back in one of my first 'blogs', tackle things in a 'grid' & stay within the 'grid', however big or small it doesn't matter, however if it is too big it will bring back that overwhelming feeling again.  Take a really "big" breath & dig right in after you first get your tools of the trade out & all lined up.  Also I am going to give myself a time limit of an hour or so before I allow for a coffee break, and not answer the phone within this time.  I have call answer so if it is important they will leave a message; if I wasn't home or in the house I wouldn't hear it ring anyway.

I decided I have a whole world of help & advice in-front of me so I thought I would put it into the works before I get started on a project today:

This link is from Style At Home (there are helpful links within the links as well on this website):

http://www.styleathome.com/organizing/organizing-ideas/10-spring-cleaning-tips/a/901

The Farmer's Almanac shared a great link on Stain Removers that I might find helpful at times & inexpensive:

http://www.almanac.com/content/homemade-cleaners-carpet-floor-glass-drains

I must not to forget to refer time & time again to the "131 Vinegar Tips", as I am a frequent vinegar user:

http://www.angelfire.com/cantina/homemaking/vinegar.html

I am a big fan of the Bowl Brite Toilet cleaner for at least the past 17 years.  When living in the country and having a drilled, dug well, or otherwise, I have not been fortunate enough not to have minerals in our water, however potable.  A water softener is beneficial but does not remove the rust.  Rust in the toilet, sinks, etc..... 

This is where the Bowl Brite comes in, as it is the only cleaner that has addressed these rust issues I've had all these years.  The past two bottles I have purchased just didn't do the job it has always done, so I checked to see if there was a phone number on the bottle to call with my concerns.  I was so surprised to find the manufacturer is a not too far away in the neighbouring town of Tara.

Upon calling Barclay Manufacturing I spoke to a gal there whose name is Debbie Barclay.  After explaining the poor performance of the previous 2 bottles I had used, she told me another woman had called just three weeks prior with the same concerns.  Trust me I was not complaining I just wanted it to be back to the way it was working before!  Debbie advised me there must be something wrong with the mixture, and will be sending someone out this Friday to pickup the remaining 1/2 bottle I have left so it can be tested, along with a replacement bottle or two.  Now that is awesome "Customer Service" !  Thank you Barclay Manufacturing for standing behind your product !  There still is customer service out there, so should you have a problem with a product, pickup the phone & hopefully they will be as helpful as Barclay Manufacturing was to me.

Once I have completed a "grid" of my Spring Cleaning project of the day, I think I might kick up my heels and have a little fun for myself like this gal:

http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=10150442734630157&comments

I thought I would end the most part of my day by attempting a "new recipe", Pancetta-Wrapped Pork Tenderloin With Garlic Mashed Potatoes.  Doesn't that sound good?  It sounds easy & not too time consuming, or I wouldn't be making it, LOL:

http://www.canadianliving.com/food/quick_and_easy/pancetta_wrapped_pork_tenderloin_with_garlic_mashed_potatoes.php

Only 434 Calories per serving, so I am going to hopefully enjoy this dish.

By the way our "Magnificent Seven", as I have named our 7 puppies, are all doing fine.  Once they are a week old I will post some 1 week old pictures, as they like most babies, change so quickly.

Oops almost forgot what is the Wiarton Airport has to say about my day ahead:

Today:

Sunny. Wind north 20 km/h. High minus 4. UV index 4 or moderate.

 

Tonight:

A few clouds. Low minus 16.

Looking good with no snow like the rest of Ontario around us got yesterday.  That sure was a change as usually Bruce Peninsula gets it.

Signing off for now from "Just North of Wiarton & South of the Checkerboard".