Before we get into our Wicked Wednesday topic, we wanted to announce the winners from Chrystle Fiedler’s recent guest post! Penny Marks and Shannon Malloy, message us your addresses on Facebook and Chrystle will get your books right out. Now back to spring cleaning….
Spring is a relative term here in New England, but we think it is a safe to put away our winter jackets. Maybe. But with open windows and changing of clothes comes spring cleaning. Wickeds, what do you do for spring cleaning? Anything writing related? Readers, chime in with your favorite seasonal switch routines.
Julie: I have definite spring rituals. The gradual putting away of cold weather gear, though I always carry gloves and a scarf with me–you never know. I change out my curtains, and my comforter cover. Regarding writing–I get a real boost of energy. I suspect it is because I can go out and walk, and it isn’t miserable. Spring is my day dreaming season–so glad it is here!
Edith: Opening the windows. Planting my vegetable garden. Hurrying to apply anti-tick 
stuff on the cats. Putting away flannel sheets and bringing out smooth cotton ones. And this year exulting in the three-year-old asparagus bed finally yielding a pound every other day. I don’t change out much besides sheets and wool coats, because with the see-saw in temperatures – swinging from 85 to 50 and back, and back – the shorts and the scarves have to coexist. Oh, look, there’s the first mosquito! For writing, I find nice weather way too distracting. Have to chain myself to the desk.
Jessie: When the temperatures start to warm and the birds start to sing, I feel the need to lighten up on possessions. I go through all the closets and dressers and pull out the things to donate to charities. I clear books I won’t re-read and I sort magazines into the recycling. I even put off trips to the grocer and plan menus that use up all those things that keep getting shoved to the back of the pantry. By the time summer arrives I feel like my house is ready for the most laid back season.
Liz: Spring shopping, of course! Which I was tremendously successful at this past weekend. And finding pretty new spring shoes. But also purging old clothes to donate, like Jessie, and general decluttering.
Barb: I do many of the same things. Changing out my clothes and donating things that weren’t worn over the last season, taking coats to the dry cleaner and putting them away. I change some of the household the decor seasonally–little things around the place that signify the season. I’d love to be cleaning out drawers and cupboards, but the last two years I’ve had a book deadline June 1, which has interfered with the heavy lifting. Next winter will be tough, with deadlines January 15 and March 1, but the spring will be glorious!
Sherry: Well, I feel like a slacker. I don’t have any rituals or routines. I did take a lot (and I mean a lot) of papers to a local shred event last weekend. But to me spring means an opportunity to go to garage sales!
Readers– what are your favorite seasonal switch routines, and does spring affect your work?
There’s nothing like fresh-picked asparagus!
That’s for sure! Doesn’t really even need cooking…
Cincinnati went from cold and rainy to temps in the mid-eighties. So I had to forego my usual write all morning routine, taking a break at lunchtime to walk the dogs, to pound the pavements before 9am, then try to get some weeding done before draping my body over an a/c vent by noon. Fresh asparagus…truly doesn’t get any better.
Yesterday, Margaret, I had the space heater on in the morning, by noon I had on sandals, and by four I put on shorts!
Being on the road for two weeks kind of put a crimp in my spring cleaning (it was 80+ degrees in DC!), and I came back to find drifts of cat hair scudding around the floor (getting rid of winter coats, they are, all three of the cats at once). We got the screens up last weekend. I located my t-shirts (I have how many? remind me never to buy another t-shirt. Yeah, right.) so am swapping out long sleeves for short sleeves. And I’ve sprayed my apple trees against winter moth worms–but I need to do it again ASAP. But if the blooms are any indication, it’ll be a good apple year, and the bees have been busy.
Did you spray with BT, Sheila? The winter moth lavae are ruining my poor baby blueberry bushes!
Spinosad (at the recommendation of my USDA husband). Winter moth arrived in this area just about the time we did, about ten years ago, and they did a number of my (few) apple trees before I caught on. But the spray works mainly on the larvae (and works very well, I would add), so timing is important. My first, pre-Malice application saved most of the first leaves, but there was a second wave as the neighborhood maples leafed out and send the larvae flying, so I just hit the trees again today. They also ravaged my lovely big ferns last year, but the ferns are looking good this year. It’s always something, isn’t it?
We went from the 70’s to about four inches of wet, heavy snow this week. Yesterday we spent a lot of time cutting the broken branches out of the trees and bushes. Is it spring yet? But, honestly, I don’t do too much as far as spring cleaning. I have enjoyed sleeping with the bedroom window open, even if it did get down to 57 degrees in the house. Spring!
We also sleep with the bedroom window open all but for the coldest months of the winter. Such a treat to get fresh air in there again.
Our spring cleaning was cleaning up all the branches that broke on the trees and shrubs after our 4 or so inches of very heavy wet snow Monday morning. We may find that there are more that need to be trimmed out of some of the bushes.
Spring means taking anti-histamine every day for my allergies. But cleaning? What’s that? Something that takes time away from writing and TV watching! Spring does mean that season finales are upon us, at least for the major networks.
Hmmm, allergy medicine now that is a spring ritual!
Clean all the winter debris from the yard, clean off the decks, do outside repairs we could not get to do during the winter. I clean out the flower beds and we work on opening the pool.
Opening the pool is a ritual I could get on board with!