This week, while dusting - the fireplace makes so much of it when you burn wood - I moved some things around a bit. Of course real 'Spring cleaning' (such as moving heavy furniture) will be necessary after daily use of said fireplace. Being a bit of a lazy Winter house cleaner, other than the basics as in bathrooms, kitchen, quick run-throughs now and then with the vac, means that big clean is looming closer, ugh! These current lovely sunny days seem to show up the dust as the harsh Winter light streams through the now grimy windows. Of course spiffy clean exteriors on windows are definitely not a Winter must, are they? It may still snow again!
How about those cobwebs suddenly visible in cottage corners - where the heck did they come from? I haven't seen a spider since the unusual southern cold arrived some months back.
Anyway, dusting means moving objects. Sometimes just putting them back in different places makes one see them with a new eye.
Moving the angel from my dresser to the nightstand was perfect - she's still wearing the papyrus bracelet made for me by our boat captain while drifting through the Okavango Delta in Botswana last May - awesome memories to ponder at bedtime.
The shade I made years ago. Love it except it does need the feather duster often because of all those chiffon pleats!
The mantel - always a fun place to 're-decorate'. At last I took away the mercury glass candlesticks reminiscent of Christmas Past. Instead the patina of the vintage metal candleholder is making me smile as I dream of flowers, real ones, appearing in the garden in a couple of months.
Do you enjoy moving objects around your home? Are you always 'dust free'? Do you climb on ladders to wash your second floor windows, or lean out precariously as I do on a warm day?
Come on, please own up, at least where dusting is concerned, so I don't feel so guilty!
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Lovely pictures ~ LOVE the candle holder! Happy Saturday ;-)
ReplyDeleteI'm always changing just my kitchen counters but not with decorations but with appliances. I don't have many items but lighthouses. I love looking at others though.
ReplyDeleteI dust with a Swifter once a week, but I don't take things off shelves or tabletops. I just dust over and around them. About twice a year I do a thorough cleaning. The blinds, baseboards, under furniture etc. I noticed today when I sat down on my living room chair, dust motes flew through the sunbeams...
ReplyDeleteHugs,
Penny
I know what you mean about being a lazy Winter house cleaner Mary LOL! Looked through the grime on my windows today as the sun streamed through, must clean them tomorrow. Love your angel, but I looked at the photo before reading the text..I wondered if her halo had slipped at first;-)
ReplyDeleteI hate dusting. I do it, but not often enough. And I have found many little cobwebs recently!
ReplyDeleteBy the way, I love that lampshade, Mary.
xo
Claudia
Hello Mary ~ Your cottage is lovely!...and certainly looks clean to me. I dearly love the pink lampshade. Living in the woods makes it extra hard to keep our windows clean. We'll have to have professionals come in - even then, they'll be dirty again soon.
ReplyDeleteMiss you!
xo
Deborah
Oh, I hate to dust, and avoid it at all costs. I keep the floors swept, load the dishwasher pretty regularly, and attempt to stay on top of the laundry, but the rest I hire out. Life's just too short to clean your own windows!
ReplyDeleteOh, we all know what you mean, keep putting off my windows, maybe tomorrow will be warm enough!!
ReplyDeleteGlad you visited the Okavongo. Did you notice that the silence there was amazing?
I live in a townhome with 27 stairs .... this means I hire someone to do my windows inside and out! And I love moving things around, furniture, artwork, knicknacks.
ReplyDeleteI have two lovely ladies that come every 2 weeks and never miss a spot. Needless to say, I have tons of laundry, shopping errands, meals and everyday kitchen, bathroom and family room cleanup. And yes, I might see a cobweb that they have missed!!
ReplyDeleteIn between visits by Margaret and Dana, I like to rearrange little pieces just a bit. That said, I loved seeing pictures of your pretty home!
XO,
Jane
Mary, I absolutely do move things around all over my house! Your photos were lovely!
ReplyDeleteI don't dust often enough, so when the sun shines I am shocked. I don't see it on those gray days and think the house isn't so dirty. Love the sunshine, but please don't show me that dust.
ReplyDeleteDon't feel guilty. I try to swiffer daily because we have a dog who sheds terribly and every couple weeks I get the vac out to to the front stairs (gross) and dust when I happen to see it collecting on the bookshelf. Summer is worse here for dust as we leave windows and doors (screened) open for fresh air (we don't get the humidity you do in the south!). As for windows, I do them from the inside reaching out when they look dirty (not in winter!). It never ends does it? Pamela
ReplyDeleteI have more dust than anyone !!! There is no furnace in this old home so dust is everywhere. No furnace to filter the air! Cobwebs are a loosing battle...especially with all the beams(coifferd) in the ceilings ! Are ceilings are sooo high you need a ladder to get at the webs too!
ReplyDeleteI love rearranging and dusting gives me the excuse!
Pamela xo
Hi Mary,
ReplyDeleteWe love our wood burner in the sitting room, it does make a lot of work but is so worth it for the sheer pleasure of sitting before it, reading a book, on these dreary winter days.
I dust about twice a week through the downstairs rooms, our bedroom & bathrooms, and yes I do pick things up as I go and they don't always go back in the same place!
DH does the vacuuming, as I can't even lift the Kirby!
Like you I always put off washing the windows because whenever I do clean off the mess that the virginia creeper deposits on them it seems to rain the very next day.
Beautiful photographs as always, btw.
Have a wonderful week, dear lady.
The house is a reasonably dust free zone most of the time but not as dust free as it used to be before DH retired! I was a good housewife in those days. I've never been an interior decorator though, things stay in the same place from one year's end to the next. It's only at Christmas that there's a bit of shuffling about when the decorations are done then it's back to the same old thing. I'm always going to do something about it but somehow I never do:)
ReplyDelete"Vac"? What is this "vac" of which you speak?
ReplyDeleteNo wood-burning fireplace, but two dogs shedding all winter, which is going to require some serious spring dusting, just as soon as it get a bit warmer.
Umm let's see--my place is so tiny I can move all the furniture in a blink of an eye--from side of the room to the other! LOL.
ReplyDeleteI love the angel there by the pretty pink lampshade. Makes for a stunning photo.
Mary, I hope you take tons of photos with your next trip. Enjoy.
Like you, I dust and tidy as the need becomes evident, and save the big cleaning for spring, summer and fall - somewhat more often than in the winter because it's just easier. Until recently I never vacuumed, but it's a skill have had to develop in the last month. Windows? They get done in late fall and again in early spring, but not in between, and I never, ever climb a ladder to the second floor. I use a special spray on the hose and aim high!
ReplyDeleteA little love on Valentine's Day.
ReplyDeleteGreetings from the Ebro Delta, Spain.
I usually change things for the seasons, and yes where do those spiders and their webs come from?!!
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