SubscribeSpring has sprung and so should we
I started my spring cleaning the other day when I realized that a project I had planned to do in a few hours has turned into several days.
My two youngest daughters are typical teens who love to shop, whether they need clothes or not. Their biggest challenge is that their drawer space is tight. But that doesn’t matter to them because they still keep them packed with clothes that they’ll probably never wear again. And there’s nothing worse than having tons of ill-fitting clothes that you hate, either because they make you feel fat or they’re last year’s styles.
When I examined their drawers, I was shamefully reminded of my late grandmother Susie, who would be appalled because she didn’t believe in waste and only owned three of any pieces of clothing. Her basic rule was: One on your back, one in the drawer and one in the wash. Remembering this, I insisted that my daughters throw away clothes that they no longer use before I’ll buy them anything new. So they’re busy getting rid of stuff and their giveaway piles are huge.
The thing about spring cleaning is that we never realize how much useless stuff we accumulate until we start purging. And that goes for the kitchen as well.
Every week or so, I try to invest in my kitchen. But since I’m not currently in a position to purchase the six-burner Wolf professional stove or the Sub-Zero refrigerator that I dream of owning, I’m busy stocking up on cooking utensils that I can afford. And just like with my closets, every time I buy a new kitchen utensil, I get rid of something else to make space for the new item. Recently, I got rid of my deep fryer and replaced it with a bamboo steamer.
Come to think of it, I can’t even remember where the fryer came from, but it has never served me well. It’s a good thing, too, because just like the dust bunnies and junk that was in my house, I didn’t realize how much weight I’d gained until I went clothes shopping. But many of us neglect ourselves during the colder months.
Maybe it’s because we wear so many clothes to keep warm that we don’t really notice all of the weight that has piled on. Then it’s time to start shedding those layers of clothes and we get to see what a mess we’ve become.
One look in the mirror and I decided to postpone my clothes-shopping trip until I’ve dropped at least two dress sizes. And if you’re anything like me, you’re also probably wishing that you’d been a little more active while it was cold. Now that it’s getting warm, there’s no excuse not to walk, run and get moving.
And as I’ve mentioned in other recent posts, spring is a great time to freshen up our diets, too. Food, like exercise, is seasonal, and we should steam vegetables like baby asparagus, squash or mushrooms. Steaming preserves more of the nutrients and is much less caloric than frying.
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As the mother of five and a journalist, I've always encouraged people to empower themselves with information on healthy foods and lifestyles. Nurturing our children with healthy food is one of the most important jobs we have, yet as families have become busier or drifted apart, meal times have been sacrificed.
