At the risk of sounding like a horrible housekeeper and thus mother, I need to make a confession. I have scary places in my house. These places frighten me because they are dark and seldom accessed and thus they are never cleaned. However, during this round of spring cleaning, I am facing my scary places head on. For example, under the stove. I mean, it's just dark and weird under there. I confess that if a crumb or marble or silly band bracelet makes its way under there, I will not be reaching my hand into the dark abyss to retrieve it if it's not visible. It's just considered lost. But, this is the kind of thing my spring cleaning has been all about this year. Do you have scary places, or is it just me?

Also, while I'm getting things off my chest, I should add that my "spring cleaning" is a bit misleading. I was confessing to my mom that I've been cleaning things that I haven't cleaned in a LONG time. She tried to comfort me and help me feel like not such a bad housekeeper by reminding me that "they call it 'spring' cleaning for a reason." The implication, of course, is that it's something done once a year. If that's the case, then perhaps what I'm doing is Leap Year Cleaning, because I'm doing some stuff that just doesn't get done every year.

What can I say? I love an organized closet, drawer, or cabinet, but I'm not nearly as concerned about dusting them. And, that is why, when I clean, I reward myself by also getting to re-organize the cleaned spaces.

Ahhh. A place for everything and everything in its place! If you are not one for organization, please allow me to make a suggestion. Start with your silverware drawer. It's probably the drawer you open most often in your house. Thus, your organized drawer will make you smile an average of 7 times a day (or however many times you open it), and it just may inspire you to organize some other spaces. Maybe even your scary spaces. ;)