• Home
  • About Kim
    • Author Bio
    • Author FAQs
    • Other Writing
  • Books
    • Book Club Discussion
  • Events
    • Beaches, Bathrooms, and Books
  • Blog
  • Press
    • Press Kits
  • Contact Kim
  • Bloglovin
  • Facebook
  • Google+
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

Kimberly Dalferes | Author

Crazy, Southern, Irish Gal, Author

Spring Fever … Virgo Style

March 22, 2013 by Kim Dalferes

This happens to me every March: I believe that Spring will arrive in this third month of the year. I believe that the gloomy, grey, overcast skies will transform into magical sunny clear blue warmth. I believe that I will be able to turn off the heat and go play outside in my garden and fill my planters and hanging baskets with beautiful impatiens, ivy, and geraniums. March 20th is supposed to be the official beginning of Spring, right? Well, as always, this week was my reminder that Mother Nature has a calendar, and a mind, of her own (as all women do). As my little happy welcome dance for Spring was side-lined by cold icy snow (yes, SNOW!), I found my Virgo brain contemplating:

If I can’t go outside; what can I be doing right now – indoors?

If by chance you’ve read my book , you know that I possess many crazy Virgo tendencies, including a fondness for the neat and the orderly. Marry my “Virgotitis” with good ol’ southern girl sensibilities, and you’ve got a gal who likes her living spaces tidy. Wandering through my home, I wondered what out-of-the-ordinary Spring cleaning I could tackle. There were plenty of Spring 2013 outdoor projects piling up: gutter cleaning; power washing the siding; flower bed planting, etc. But, what could I accomplish indoors? This needed to go beyond the typical house-cleaning. I wanted to be inspired.

What follows are the results of this past week’s indoor Spring cleaning throw-down. My goal was to discover areas of my house that had been truly neglected for a long, long while. If you’re not feeling this, you’re probably not a Virgo.

  • Cleaning the dishwasher. I recently discovered a website that provides great how-to advice regarding all types of topics and issues: One Good Thing By Jillee. I perused the site and discovered that, much to my surprise, dishwashing machines require cleaning – who knew? Jill’s (I hope she is OK with my calling her Jill) steps for cleaning a dishwasher are fairly simple: http://www.onegoodthingbyjillee.com/2012/02/how-to-clean-your-dishwasher.html Here’s a tip: do NOT skip the part about examining the drain area. I discovered some extraordinary gunk up in and around the drain. Seriously gross. After following Jill’s steps the next load of dishes did seem to sparkle a little brighter.
  • Cleaning the washing machine. This was another example/inspiration that I found on Jill’s site. In the interest of full disclosure, in the dozen years that I have lived in my house, I have never “cleaned” the clothes washing machine. The grime that this endeavor dislodged was truly disgusting. I’m talking NIH-should-be-notified sort of stuff. I should also note that this cleaning exercise required a bit more elbow grease than Jill had suggested, but I can’t really blame her: the machine had not been cleaned since 2001! Here is the link to Jill’s instructions. http://www.onegoodthingbyjillee.com/2012/04/how-to-clean-your-top-loader-washing.html
  • Cleaning out the kitchen junk drawer. We all have one, that one drawer in the kitchen where we deposit all the coupons, take-out menus, pencils, notepads, magnets, and various other will-throw-this-away-later treasures. It was amazing to me how much “stuff” had been shoved into this one helpless little drawer.

Before …

messy drawer

After … (I’ve been looking for those grill wipes for-ev-er…)

neat drawer

  • Utilizing the self-cleaning oven function. This one might not really count; it was just too easy. However, there was lingering Thanksgiving sweet potato pudding on the bottom of the oven which definitely needed to be eliminated.
  • Washing the pillows. All pillows are not created equal. I must admit that when I took the time to really inspect the pillows in my house, some of them just had to go. Others I saved by following the instructions that I found on Apartment Therapy: http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/how-to-wash-your-pillows-marth-105944

There were a few things I did not get to this past week: washing the dog (which really needs to wait until it’s warm enough to go outside); and cleaning out the winter coat closet. Maybe I’ll tackle that closet next week; or perhaps Mother Nature will have other plans.

Happy Spring everyone.

happy spring

How about you; do you have any suggestions for unusual indoor spring cleaning projects? 

Cheers,

Kimba

Filed Under: The Middle-Aged Cheap Seats Tagged With: amazon best sellers, blog, cleaning, dishwasher, First Day of Spring, I was in love with a short man once, Jillee, Kim Dalferes, Kim Dalferes Author, Kimba, Kimberly Dalferes, kitchen junk drawer, middle-aged, middle-aged cheap seats, Mother Nature, southern gal, spring, spring fever, Virgo, washing machine

Comments

  1. Lacey says

    October 28, 2013 at 9:04 am

    Do you mind if I quote a couple of your articles as
    long as I provide credit and sources back to your webpage?
    My blog site is in the very same niche as yours and my visitors would certainly benefit from some of the
    information you provide here. Please let me know if this alright
    with you. Thank you!

    • Kim Dalferes says

      October 28, 2013 at 9:36 am

      Hi Lacey. Pls tell me more about your blog – I’m intrigued…

  2. option binaire en ligne says

    October 27, 2013 at 3:32 am

    Good day! I could have sworn I’ve visited this website before but after going through a few
    of the articles I realized it’s new to me. Regardless, I’m certainly happy I stumbled upon it and I’ll be bookmarking it and checking
    back frequently!

  3. pozycjonowanie says

    April 4, 2013 at 6:55 am

    Greetings from Florida! I’m bored at work so I decided to browse your website on my iphone during lunch break. I love the knowledge you present here and can’t wait to take a look when I get home.
    I’m amazed at how fast your blog loaded on my phone .. I’m
    not even using WIFI, just 3G .. Anyhow, good blog!

  4. BBQ says

    April 3, 2013 at 10:10 am

    I like the helpful info you provide in your articles. I’ll bookmark your weblog and take a look at once more here regularly. I am reasonably sure I will be informed plenty of new stuff right right here! Best of luck for the next!

« Older Comments

Hello!

Author photo #2 in colorI hope you enjoy your time here and that you come back often. Wondering what makes me tick? This favorite quote from one of the grand dames of writing, Erma Bombeck, might help: Hook 'em with the lead. Hold 'em with laughter. Exit with a quip they won't forget. This seems to be a good overall life goal, don’t you think?

Hello!

Author photo #2 in colorWelcome to The Middle-Aged Cheap Seats,  the blog of Kimba Dalferes: slayer of king salmon, estate sale junkie, sometimes writes books.
Read More...

Beaches, Bathrooms, and Books!

What kind of bum are you: beach or bowl?

Sahar bathroom picKimba’s books have been called both “beach reads” and “bathroom reads.” She prefers beach reads, but hey, if the size 11 shoe fits…Read More...

Kim Dalferes’ Latest Book…

Crazy Southern Irish Gal Two-Book Bundle

Humor writer Kimberly “Kimba” Dalferes dishes on a wide variety of topics–from days of her youth spent blissfully on the shores of Florida’s beaches to menopause and empty nests–in her nonfiction collection Crazy Southern Irish Gal Two-Book Bundle. In both titles: I Was In Love With a Short Man Once and Magic Fishing Panties, Dalferes’ crazy Southern Irish gal perspective inspires her illustrations of life’s quirky twists and turns. Together, these books offer descriptive and colorful essays on subjects such as getting a tattoo in midlife, unique uses for kitty litter, handling a rabid bat, public speaking gone wrong, and naked hot-tubbing in Vegas. Dalferes skillfully weaves what at first glance may appear to be dissimilar themes into a tapestry that invokes her life’s motto: live out loud, laugh often, and ‘occasionally’ drink tequila. Now available through Amazon Kindle.

Search

Upcoming Events

There are no events to display

Author Hangouts

Beaches Bathroom Books Header sm
logo for A.Lbadge-ba50-final bombeck-writers-workshop lakerMagazineMasthead VWC-Logo-Master---97-years badge

The Archive


Goodreads reviews for I Was in Love with a Short Man Once

Reviews from Goodreads.com

Random Kimba Musings

Upcoming Events

"Bringing Your Book to the World: Book Launches, Signings, and Publicity", 2017 Virginia Writers Club Symposium, Charlottesville, VA, Saturday, August 5, 2017 http://www.virginiawritersclub.org/event-2484727

MORE INFO COMING SOON - Bridgewater Plaza Fall Festival, Saturday, October 14, 2017, Moneta, VA

"What's Creative About Nonfiction?", Reston Regional Library, Fairfax, VA, Monday, November 13, 2017, 7:00 p.m. http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/library/branches/rr/

  • Bloglovin
  • Facebook
  • Google+
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

Copyright © 2023 Kimberly Dalferes · Customized by Elaine Griffin Designs · Built on the Genesis Framework