Spring and Fall Cleaning

A time seems to come in every woman's life when she gets an uncontrollable urge to giver her house a thorough cleaning.  Heaven help her, because no one else usually will!  Many women still follow the old fashioned spring and fall schedule.  Spring cleaning was unavoidable many years ago when coal stoves were used all winter long, coating everything with a thick, greasy dirt.  Fall cleaning had to be taken on because the windows were open all summer long, letting the dust sift and settle throughout the house.  They both could have been abandoned when air conditioners and central heating were installed.  This tradition is especially a burden to women who work outside the home.  There just isn't enough time to tackle this HUGE job, unless you use your vacation days. 
A modern woman alternative is to clean one room thoroughly at least once a month.  It is easier to remember to do this if the same day is scheduled for cleaning.
Rooms with a stove or fireplace should still be cleaned in the spring.  The kitchen is the biggest job and usually takes two days to do.  It needs to be cleaned about every 6 months because cooking spreads greasy dirt on everything.  Bathrooms may also need to be thoroughly cleaned every 6 months if there is a problem with mold and mildew.
You can use an ancient method to determine what room to clean each month.  You look around the house and decide which room is absolutely driving you crazy, then start tearing it apart.

"Women's minds are cleaner than men's- they change them more often." -Oliver Herford

Start with closet and throw away or give away clutter.  Wash the shelves and then reorganize the remaining contents.  If you are working in a bedroom, pull off the blankets, mattress pads, and pillows and run them through the dryer on the air fluff cycle.  Turn over the mattress.  Regardless of where you are cleaning, move all the furniture to one side of the room, then work on the empty side.   Vacuum the curtains, blinds or sheer curtains or put them in the dryer.  Some types of sheers should be washed.  While the curtains are down, scrub the walls and mop boards.  Use the crevice tool on the vacuum cleaner to clean the edges of the carpet and the baseboard, then vacuum or sweep the floor.  I don't scrub the portions of the carpets that have been under heavy furniture because they are protected from traffic and dirt.  The only exception to this is a dirty ring on the carpet around the heat or air vent.  If the room is uncarpeted, the floors should be washed. 
When the floor is dry, move all the furniture to the clean side of the room and repeat the process.
After the furniture is back in order, vacuum the couches and chairs thoroughly.  If the seat cushions or back cushions are removable, vacuum the tops, bottoms and sides and the area under the cushions.  Use the crevice tool to vacuum around the upholstery buttons and tucks and down in the crevices.
Give all the wood furniture a good cleaning.  Pull out the drawers and vacuum or dust the casing.  These dark corners make luxurious nests for spider families.
Wash the chandeliers, light fixtures, and windows and finally scrub the middle of the floor.