COUNTY LIFE
Spring brings ‘spring cleaning’
With the weather warming up, the excuses for postponing big cleaning projects melt away like the snow. It’s no longer “too cold” to clean out the garage and wash the windows. And the “I’ll wait until after the holidays to declutter” reasoning is also getting stale.
To learn more about the cleaning plans and habits of Americans, we surveyed more than 1,000 U.S. consumers via Google Surveys (see survey methodology).
Least-liked chores
Many chores steal away time we’d rather spend doing other things. But which chores do Americans hate the most? Never-ending drudgeries like cleaning the toilet, washing the dishes and doing laundry round out the Top 3.
Best month for spring cleaning
The largest contingent of consumers says April is the most motivating month for spring cleaning, with March a close second. A little over 20% of consumers would prefer to put off spring cleaning until May or June.
In your opinion, which is the best month for spring cleaning?
- April – 38%
- March – 31%
- May – 11%
- June – 10%
- February – 9%
- Other – 1%
(Other responses included: “All of them,” “I do mine in the fall when it’s nice and cool” and “When it’s needed.”)
Biggest spring-cleaning challenges
Lack of time is only the second-biggest thing holding Americans back from spring cleaning. The biggest hurdle? Lack of motivation:
What is the hardest part about spring cleaning?
- Finding the motivation – 33%
- Not enough time – 24%
- Cleanliness never lasts – 21%
- Physical effort of cleaning – 16%
- Unsure of what products to use where – 5%
- Other – 1%
Cleaning the house is so dreaded, in fact, that many consumers would be willing to give up some of life’s small joys to avoid it:
When we were going through my grandmother’s house in Nocona after it sold, I found a few neat keepsakes, but the biggest treasure I thought I had found was her biscuit cutter. I was so excited to show my mother (her daughter) and just knew she would be happy it was found and would still be used after all this time.
My mother, however, had a different thought about my precious biscuit cutter. She said, “Suzanne, you know that biscuit cutter is just an old tomato paste can that has both ends cut out.”
I was still no less delighted with my cutter. I continue to use it today. My husband has bought me vintage, new and fancier cutters, but this cutter is something I go back to time and again.
My Memaw was recruited to be a lunch lady from 1952 to 1958 at Nocona Elementary, back when lunches were cooked, not “fixed.” Lenora Brown Burnett was an excellent cook and everyone knew it. She went on to work at the Nocona Major Clinic kitchen from 1958 to 1969.
You could only use shortcuts if you knew how to do it the long way. That is how I still approach cooking. You can only use a cake mix if you know how to make a cake with lots of ingredients, time and effort.
Read Suzanne’s Love & Luck column in the Thursday Bowie News on the On the Table page.
Top photo – Grandmother’s biscuit cutter and hand written recipes. (Photo by Suzanne Storey)
By BARBARA GREEN
[email protected]
It’s a bitter cold January week, so it must be time for the Montague County Youth Fair, which opens Wednesday running through Saturday.
More than 330 students from across the county will compete in everything from golf ball art work to top dairy goat in this annual event where there are 1,160 entries. Almost every contest saw an increase in entries from the prior year.
Scheduling was still in flux at presstime due to pending weather. Watch the fair’s Facebook page for any late changes.
The All Together Show was moved to 5 p.m. on Jan. 8 in the show barn. It had been set for Thursday.
There were no changes for leadership day on Wednesday at presstime.
Read the full story on the fair in the Thursday Bowie News.
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