I'm not sure what the origins of the tradition of spring cleaning are. Maybe it had to do with people being shut in their homes during the cold months with smokey, sooty fires and candles---and so in the spring, they would wash away the winter grime?
Anyway.... do people really spring clean anymore?
Do you spring clean your libraries? I used to get sticky tape residue on my library tables and doors. There was some kind of special cleaner that I had that would remove the residue from the tape, but I can't remember what it was called. Does anyone know the name of that special cleaner?
I have this stuff called Goo Away that you can buy at office supply stores that gets sticky stuff off pretty well. I use it on my scissors fairly regularly.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, as for spring cleaning the library, I am just hoping to find time for inventory... :-)
I guess you can technically call cleaning at the end of the school year still Spring cleaning. That's when I clean my library. Sometimes I really think I should wait until August when I get back, though, because there are students in here all summer long and they don't pick up after themselves very well. I use the Goo Away all year long to clean sticky stuff, too. It's great.
ReplyDeleteI can't wait to read what everyone writes!
ReplyDeleteI think Goo Be Gone is another one like Goo Away. I agree with Tamara. It is frustrating to clean up the library...scrub the tables shiny clean, and have to do it all over again after summer.
ReplyDeleteIn my own home, after moving last summer, I realized that I should at least "summer clean" in places that don't get a lot of weekend attention. I was shocked how much dusty stuff I had.
ReplyDeleteSpring cleaning for me is an "outside activity" cleaning away all the debris in the yard that has blown in or died over teh winter. I find it goes much easier if I have realy tried to keep up on keeping things cleaned up last fall. I suppose that is the way with everywhere. the more "pre-work" we do, the less onerous the task is when we get to it.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Julie for the Lysol wipes! I always combine cleaning with inventory and give each shelf a good wipe down. Someday I'll get all my barcodes attached to the back of the books so I don't remove all the books from the shelf. Then I will have to do spring cleaning.
ReplyDeleteYour'e right, Sheryl! All my barcodes are on the back of the books so during inventory (which used to double as cleaning time) the books never even come off the shelf. Makes for a dirtier library, but a MUCH faster inventory.
DeleteI am LOL. There have been so many students in here; I get the leftovers from CRT's. I am looking around and it looks like a tornado came through here. The cart is full of books to be shelved. I say every approaching summer I would like to come and get help taking down the mini blinds, there are 20, and take them outside and wash them. This summer I will probably still be shelving books.
ReplyDeleteI really like Fall Cleaning better at home but am too busy at school to do it then! So, I "spring clean" in my library. I consider doing a long due inventory of my library spring cleaning this year. I have been discovering book treasures that I didn't know I have and also weeding like mad. I can't wait to have a more accurate idea of what is on my shelves!(I use Goo Gone for the sticky bits.)
ReplyDeleteI hate to ask this: Isn't Goo Away and all those degunking things very toxic? I believe I had bought one and tried using it in the library until I noticed the strong odor. I read the bottle and realized it was very toxic. I don't think I'd use that until maybe the summer when the students are gone and I can air things out better without them around. Can someone let me know if their product is non-toxic?
ReplyDeleteMy mom tells me that back in the day when furnaces were powered by burning coal, spring cleaning meant using this wad of something similar to Silly Putty to rub the soot off the walls. She said the wallpaper would literally change colors in the before and after process.
ReplyDeleteI don't know if we can say I spring clean, but I do work in my garden cleaning up after a hard winter. I do sort of purge my house of things I don't use much anymore, and I do clean up in the library as the school year comes to an end, but clean again after the summer break.
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