The Zen of Window Washing
Sweep off the cobwebs and grit from the frame and sill, prep the soapy and rinse water buckets, climb the ladder, wash, rinse, squeegee and hand polish the corners. Climb down the ladder and reposition it for the next pane. Over and over and over again until the house is done.
Window washing is similar to painting a room--the biggest part of the job is in the prep. And the dread of going up and down the ladder with wasps and cobwebs landing on me in places where you can't reach--eek! But once it starts I remember how relaxing and, yes, how satisfying it is.
Windex is lovely for quick jobs but it doesn't touch the caked on dirt and pollen that accumulates on the window sills and around the edges of the frames. I save it for touch-ups or a hurried job when we have friends over at sunset and they might have to try and see out of my west-facing windows.
"Be sure you get the corners" was the counsel my mom gave me when I washed our windows at home each summer. Growing up in a mid-century ranch house outside Chicago we had casement windows flanking wide stationary panes in most of the rooms. My mom washed the wood siding each spring and then it was time for me to do the windows. Of course, they were storm windows, totaling four surfaces to clean on each window. Each storm window lifted out of a frame to be washed and the dirt and spiders nesting in the lower part of the frame were wiped away. Some of the window panes were so wide--one was 4+ feet--that took two people to remove and replace it in those finger-slicing metal casings.
I've heard that there are homes with windows that flip in their frames, for easier cleaning. For some reason, that makes me feel really outdated.
When I'm up on the ladder, everything else disappears. It's a completely Zen time for me because I practice Mindfulness in my whole being. Keeping my balance on the ladder, being aware of nature around me as I dodge yellow jackets, guiding the squeegee over the rinsed windows like a monk raking sand in a Japanese garden. Such a focused moment...so peaceful, meditative and calming.
And I get to do it again tomorrow.
Windex is lovely for quick jobs but it doesn't touch the caked on dirt and pollen that accumulates on the window sills and around the edges of the frames. I save it for touch-ups or a hurried job when we have friends over at sunset and they might have to try and see out of my west-facing windows.
"Be sure you get the corners" was the counsel my mom gave me when I washed our windows at home each summer. Growing up in a mid-century ranch house outside Chicago we had casement windows flanking wide stationary panes in most of the rooms. My mom washed the wood siding each spring and then it was time for me to do the windows. Of course, they were storm windows, totaling four surfaces to clean on each window. Each storm window lifted out of a frame to be washed and the dirt and spiders nesting in the lower part of the frame were wiped away. Some of the window panes were so wide--one was 4+ feet--that took two people to remove and replace it in those finger-slicing metal casings.
I've heard that there are homes with windows that flip in their frames, for easier cleaning. For some reason, that makes me feel really outdated.
When I'm up on the ladder, everything else disappears. It's a completely Zen time for me because I practice Mindfulness in my whole being. Keeping my balance on the ladder, being aware of nature around me as I dodge yellow jackets, guiding the squeegee over the rinsed windows like a monk raking sand in a Japanese garden. Such a focused moment...so peaceful, meditative and calming.
And I get to do it again tomorrow.
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| RubricForRetirement.blogspot.com 2017 |
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