Ask the Readers By Carla Slavey
What are your best
Tips ?
Ah , spring ! The call of the outdoors . The need to get outside and till the soil . The warm air beckoning to take a stroll . Why is it , then , that we humans created an entire concept around forcing ourselves to stay indoors and do the one thing we don ’ t want to – clean .
With spring right around the corner , so is the tradition of spring cleaning . It can be therapeutic to air out the home , shake out the cobwebs and dust bunnies of winter and lather every surface in either a citrus- or pine-scented solution .
But it ’ s not fun . And many of our readers pointed that out when we asked them for their favorite spring cleaning tips .
What we were looking for were honest ideas , such as how to organize , what are the best cleaning tools , or how to not overdo the physical labor .
Some of the people who responded provided those answers , too . But some just as easily gave us their honest but funny thoughts . Like just not cleaning at all .
That ’ s fair . It ’ s hard enough to do the everyday chores . And possibly the best advice , for spring cleaning or any chore , is to start somewhere . Even if it ’ s just cleaning the closet or seeing if there ’ s anything in the fridge that needs to go . Start somewhere , and see where it leads .
And if it leads outside to enjoy the warm weather , so be it .
We asked our readers through a Facebook post “ What are your best spring cleaning tips ?” Their responses follow . As always , answers may be modified for grammar or spelling , or to remove emojis which might not print out the same as they do on social media .
Kris Buster : “ Pace yourself and don ’ t overdo it !”
Kelly Bullock : “ Burn it all and start over .”
Laura Rutherford Phelps : “ When I spring clean I do one room at a time . I pick the easiest room first to motivate me to get it done . I declutter then clean from top to bottom . I also use my red spin mop to wash my walls in the spring .”
Susie Phelps : “ Clean one room at a time . Concentrate on a certain area of the room to clean , like clean out the closet or take down the curtains , wash , iron , hang . And take your time , you don ' t have to do it all in one day !”
Jordan Bernard : “ Hire someone .” Alicia Jo Jasper : “ Alcohol and music .”
Penny Jo Johnson : “ Open the doors and go through your house with your leaf blower ! Dust and stuff will come out of places you didn ’ t even know about . Clean from top to bottom .”
Dawn Mapes : “ Take one room at a time until it ’ s completely in order .”
Penny Jo Johnson : “ Always Clean it next week ... lol .”
Willie Holmes : “ Bulldoze it down and move .”
30 • SEKY - Southeast Kentucky Life March 2025