“In the days that followed, Sophie cleaned her way remorselessly through the castle. She really enjoyed herself. Telling herself she was looking for clues, she washed the window, she cleaned out the oozing sink, and she made Michael clear everything off the work bench and the shelves so that she could scrub them. She had everything out of the cupboards and down from the beams and cleaned those too. …Then she tacked an old sheet to the beams nearest the fireplace and forced Calcifer to bend his head down while she swept the chimney. Calcifer hated that. He crackled with mean laughter when Sophie discovered that soot had got all over the room and she had to clean it all again. That was Sophie’s trouble. She was remorseless, but the lacked method.”
~Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones
I tend to think of this passage a lot when I’m cleaning; but unlike Sophie, I try to have a little method in my madness. Now that illness, weddings, and trips to California are over, I’m diving in–even if I missed out on the “spring” part.
Happy summer, happy cleaning.
Ash & Acorn 