CHAPTER 1

Spring

Lilacs in dooryardsHolding quiet conversations with an early moon.

—Amy Lowell

Home

"April prepares her green traffic light and the world thinks Go."

—Christopher Morley

A Job Well Done

I'm a window cleaner and I get very attached to the windows I work on. I know theirindividual personalities, their mineral deposits, bad seals, and BB holes. I remove everyspeck of bee gunk, snail trail, fly crud, and bird doo that desecrates "my" windows, as wellas the damage inflicted by that natural enemy, the painter. I bring garden clippers andprune bushes and plants that dare to interfere with my windows. As I drive my route, I getgreat enjoyment from seeing my glass glistening in the sunlight.

"We will have to give up taking things for granted, even the apparently simple things."

—J.D. Bernal

THINGS TO DO

Healthier Cleaning Pleasures

When the weather starts getting warmer and the days longer, you know it's time for a goodspring cleaning. There's great satisfaction in a major cleaning project, but the result shouldbe a clean-smelling house or apartment, not one over-whelmed with chemicals or artificialscents of some mythical forest glade. How many plastic containers of chemical spraycleaners do you need under the sink, anyway? They aren't good for you or theenvironment. Fortunately, nontoxic cleaning substitutes are within easy reach.

Baking soda is a mild cleanser for kitchen and bath fixtures; just sprinkle it straight fromthe box onto a damp cloth or sponge. A couple of tablespoons dissolved in a quart ofwater can be used to wash the interiors of refrigerators and freezers, neutralizing odors.Add a tablespoon to coffee pots and vacuum bottles, then fill them with water to freshenthem, too. Still on supermarket shelves, venerable Bon Ami cleanser (with the drawing ofthe chick that "hasn't scratched yet") is a little more effective than baking soda, anddoesn't contain chlorine, phosphates, perfumes, or harsh abrasives.

Borax or baking soda with lemon juice will handle soap film in the bathtub and shower.Adding a couple of teaspoons of vinegar to a quart of water produces a handy glasscleaner, and there's even a less pungent solution for the dishwasher—equal parts of boraxand washing soda (sodium carbonate, often labeled as "detergent booster"). Discoloredcopper pots? Try a cleanser from early in the twentieth century: a tablespoon of salt mixedwith a half-cup of vinegar.

There are also all-natural air fresheners made from the concentrated oils and essences oforange peels that can neutralize odors, not just cover them up. Orange-based freshenersare available in hardware and larger natural-food stores. Cedar oil spray can freshen petbeds and closets and renew the scent of cedar chests and shoe trees. And, for more thana century, Mrs. Stewart's Liquid Bluing has been added to the laundry rinse water towhiten sheets, shirts, and other fabrics that have yellowed or grayed with age. Mrs.Stewart—whose no-nonsense portrait is still on the label—would be pleased that she's stillteaching us a thing or two about housekeeping.

Psychic Cleanup

When I accumulate too many people, experiences, and fatigue in my life, I get emotionallyand spiritually disheveled. The sign that this is happening is that I have a dream full ofcluttered, kaleidoscopic images. Then I know I need to set aside a day for a good old-fashioned clear-out. When I wake up on the appointed morning, I go on a cleaning bingein my trailer. I put away books and tidy up papers, empty the old cream cheese out of thefridge, and wash my clothes. I clean up my body, too, by drinking only juice and maybegoing for a very long run. I unplug the phone, keep the radio turned off (news is clutter),and if anyone comes to visit me, I say, "I'm sorry, I'm not talking to anyone today."

At night, the clean-up ends when I go to bed in fresh, clean sheets and read somethingpeaceful and uplifting. Then I have a good long sleep, free of cluttered dreams. The nextday I feel completely replenished, with all my psychic garbage hauled away.

"What a gift of grace to be able to take the chaos from within and from it create somesemblance of order."

—Katherine Paterson

THINGS TO DO

"Scent" sational Idea

Take your favorite essential oil (peach, rose, and vanilla are very nice environmentalscents) and rub it on the light bulbs in your bedroom and the night light in the bathroom.The room will be infused with scent as light heats up the oil. For a "higher tech" approach,you can also buy inexpensive clay light bulb rings that hold the oil. Good sources for theoils, as well as all kinds of other yummy simple pleasures are: Body Time catalog andstores (510-524-0360), The Body Shop catalog and stores (800-541-2535), BareEscentuals catalog and stores (800-227-3990), Cost Plus stores, Earthsake stores, GreenWorld Mercantile (415-771-5717), Red Rose catalog and stores (800-374-5505), andHearthsong catalog and stores (800-432-6314).

"We should all just smell well and enjoy ourselves more."

—Cary Grant

The Zen of Vacuuming

I never wear shoes unless I have to. I always go barefoot if I'm painting or cooking. I like tofeel the ground against my skin, with no interruption in the energy that comes through myfeet. I prefer to live in the desert, where I don't need shoes either inside or outside. Andwherever I'm living, clean floors are essential.

My love affair with vacuuming began when I was a child. The noise blocked out mymother's scolding, and I could feel like I was doing something that made grownups proudof me. Vacuuming is still my joy and meditation. I totally check out when I'm running myElectrolux over the floor. Sometimes I go over the same spot over and over again. I feelabout my Electrolux the way some people feel about classic cars. It's like an old DeSoto orStudebaker. It never gets too old, it just keeps getting more stylish, and it gets the jobdone. The only thing better than walking barefoot on a freshly vacuumed floor is getting afoot massage.

"That man is the richest whose pleasures are the cheapest."

—Thoreau

THINGS TO DO

If a foot rub is your idea of a good...