Spring Cleaning
by Jeff Campbell
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Book Summary Information
Author: Jeff CampbellEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 1989-03-04
ISBN: 0440501628
Number of pages: 208
Publisher: Dell
Book Reviews of Spring Cleaning
Book Review: The best quick guide to spring (quarterly) cleaning
Summary: 4 Stars
I think of the chores laid out here as being either ones that never need to be done (washing ceilings- as I don't smoke & don't have popcorn ceilings, that's never going to need doing), need to be done quarterly (washing the windows, in my case) or has to be done yearly or twice a year (getting the carpets deep-cleaned through extraction or another method). They are CHORES, too, no doubt. In this day & age, a person has to consider how relevant these jobs are to your own particular life. I think cleaning my windows four times a year is plenty- but in a place where you live close to say, a coal mine, obviously once every three months wouldn't cut it on your windows.
If you looking for a book that's quick to read, yet gives you all that you need to know about certain jobs- chores that are NOT going to be done weekly or most likely even monthly- this is it. With newer homes, which is what I have, stripping & waxing floors, for example, isn't something that I have to do. But if you need to, this book is your guide of how to perform said chore. The window-washing was the one method from the book that I used consistently. I coughed up the dough to buy The Clean Team's own Clean Windows Kit, and I'm very glad I did. I got five very large, floor-to-ceiling windows & a large balcony door w/ fifteen panes of glass clean (inside & out) in 20 minutes the last time I used their method. Trust me- toss the paper towels & Windex method!
I also learned from their identification & explanation of various carpet stains & how to get rid of them. If you have nothing but hard floors, obviously this will not be of much help. But I appreciated learning about when to use enzyme cleaners & when that wouldn't work. Also discussed was the various forms of deep carpet cleaning- and I got the impression that extraction, done properly, is probably the best method. And I've found that to be true.
Ultimately, this cuts time on specific chores & also makes them more safe to perform. Granted, this may only be outlining work a great deal of the world no longer does. As the author pointed out, lifestyles & homes have changed over the years. Most of us no longer burn wood-based fires all winter, using coal ovens & such, so the need for true "spring cleaning" is much less than in previous centuries.
What the authors didn't address was things that I consider to be necessary spring cleaning/quarterly chores, but that don't require a a particular method, per se. Things such as removing slipcovers from furniture, washing them & vacuuming the upholstery they were on. Or removing curtains to get the built-up dust washed out. Stripping beds & washing the mattress pads, comforters, dust ruffles, etc., then vacuuming the beds. The author doesn't address the need for such chores. If you are coming to this guide for a checklist of these chores that every housecleaner should do, you'll have to look elsewhere. While I personally believe it is immensely important to do these things (with the goal of creating a truly clean home), the author doesn't address it. Hence, a star lost for being incomplete, IMO. A truly clueless housekeeper needs such guidance- after all, how many of us are taken aside by someone & given a checklist of when to perform what to keep your home running smoothly, like one is given when they buy a new car? Not many of us. It would've been nice for the author to approach the topic with that in mind, but you will have to look elsewhere for that. I would say the closest I've come is learning about Zone Cleaning from FlyLady, in which you focus on one or two areas of your home each week, and detail-clean in those rooms. Even so, one really has to come up with their own proper plan & timetable.
Summary of Spring Cleaning
The people who taught readers how to clean their homes in 42 minutes flat spell out how to go about tackling those heavy-duty, spring cleaning chores in the most efficient, and painless, way.Cleaning, Caretaking & Relocating Books
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