Spring is Coming

Despite the vagaries of the weather recently, it is apparent that spring is ‘around the corner’. Even when it’s freezing cold and the sky is spitting snow and sleet, the moist earthy scent that is a harbinger of spring drifts through the air filling my soul with the joy and hope of renewal. I lust for greenery, for the small tender shoots of newborn plants, the pale yellow green buds on shrubs and trees. I pour over gardening catalogues and websites. I daydream about my vegetable and herb gardens, about digging in the moist, fertile soil and planting my tender little seedlings.

I think about hanging my laundry out to dry in the sun. I imagine taking the corners of my white sheets, shaking them and watching them billow out, floating on the air in pristine and sparkling white glory, carrying the scent of the outdoors.

I open windows to rid the house of the stale air of wintertime and freeze myself with the too cold air. I look around the house and realize that she is due for her spring cleaning. It’s time to eliminate the excess accumulation in closets and drawers. It’s time to open her up and shake out the dust and dirt tracked in during the wintertime.

Housecleaning is a somewhat thankless job and I hate it. There are so many other things more interesting to do than cleaning. But even I will say that there is something almost magical about your home when it is clean top to bottom. It is welcoming when you walk in the door and it looks like company is coming, while the natural scents of herbs and flowers drift around you. So, I do a big spring cleaning and then try to maintain a semblance of that throughout the rest of the year.

I use cleaning supplies that I make myself from nontoxic substances that are readily available at the grocery store. If I am going to all the trouble to actually clean my house, I don’t want to fill it with toxins. How can I smell the lavender sachets made with the oil from lavender flowers in my drawers and closets if I have fragrance oils and objectionable chemicals polluting my personal space?

A simple example is what I use to scour my kitchen sinks with everyday.

½ cup baking soda
½ cup extra fine salt (popcorn salt)
A few drops of essential oil of choice, if desired
(tea tree, lavender, peppermint, orange, etc.)

Place the mixture in a shaker jar (I purchased a metal parmesan cheese shaker from the hardware store). Squirt a little liquid castile soap on the sponge, sprinkle the powder into the sink and scrub.

It makes my sink sparkly clean. This works on pots and pans, wooden cutting boards and bathroom fixtures as well.

Try it you might like it. It’s healthier for you, your family and the environment. I will add a few more recipes for you to try over the next few days.