SOL 30 of 31 -- Spring Cleaning

I guess you could call it spring cleaning.  Really, it was the time to do all the cleaning that should have been done regularly throughout the winter but wasn't.  I always mean to mop the floors every couple of weeks but actually I just hand wash the visible spots and sweep often.  But this time, there was a developing odor.  I think the animals had begun taking over the house (and by animals I mean anyone under the age of 7 and/or male).

This cleaning became Operation Odor Elimination.  It started with emptying the athletic bag, cleaning out the lunch boxes, clearing out the refrigerator, taking out the trash and opening all the windows.  It continued with vacuuming and mopping.  And this wasn't just regular mopping. It was a suds cycle using generous amounts of  Pine-Sol followed by two rinse cycles.

Then I noticed the kitchen cabinets.  They are painted white--a very poor choice for a kitchen if you actually use it. Wearing rubber gloves, I scrubbed them with Chlorox wipes and 409.  Now I was on a roll: I moved on to wiping the baseboards and washing the windows. While I worked, Max cleaned out the cat liter boxes.

Now, if I notice an odor tonight after I return home, I might get out the carpet cleaner.   Then I'll be burning incense and refilling my Plug-Ins.





Rubber gloves photo credit: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tilling-67/9061253129/">Rina Pitucci (Tilling 67)</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/2.0/">cc</a>

mop photo credit: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/joybot/6310522216/">Joybot</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/">cc</a>

Carpet cleaner photo credit: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/williac/1255534528/">williac</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/">cc</a>