life & style // 10

Get the dust out!

» Spring cleaning: its history and importance

Sophie Isbister

-. Life & Style Editor
| Glifeandstyle

@theotherpress.ca

 
   

ke as spring cleaning,
the act of giving your living
space a thorough going-over
during the month of April is
probably not unfamiliar to
you. But why spring? Surely, in
Vancouver’s temperate climate,
and with modern innovations
such as heating and vacuum
cleaners, we could be getting
our clean on year-round.

There are myriad
probabilities for why “spring
cleaning” is a thing as opposed
to November cleaning or July
cleaning, but the most likely
explanation is the simplest: in
pre-electricity times (and in
some rural areas nowadays),
folks would heat their homes
with wood and coal, and keep
their houses tightly sealed
against the cold elements of
winter. Everything got really
filthy, and the warmth of spring
was the first opportunity to
open all the windows, drag
everything outside, the beat the
dust out with broomsticks. Fun
for the whole family!

Spring also symbolizes new
beginnings. Different cultures
celebrate their New Year during
spring, such as the Persian
New Year (Norouz). Judaism’s
Passover celebration, in spring,
also entails a thorough cleaning
of the house to get rid of any
bread crumbs. Chinese New
Year, in late winter/early spring,

: also dictates a fresh sweep of
: the house.

For students, cleaning

: during springtime is just

: practical. When the semester
: ends, we can finally sell old :
: textbooks and recycle unwanted :
: notes and handouts. We can get :
: rid of some winter clothes to
: make room for summer clothes. :
: And just because we haven't

: been heating our homes with

: coal all winter, it doesn’t mean

: that our airspace isn’t loaded

: with dust, dead skin (ew!), and
: various chemical residues from
: cleaning or beauty products.

Spring cleaning is a great

opportunity for anyone to

: shed some light on the mustier
: corners of our lives, whether

: you're a ig9th-century housewife
: ora thoroughly modern college

student. Here are a few often-
overlooked areas to get you

: started on your clean-mission.

Look up—way up: People

: often overlook cleaning their

: ceilings and tops of cupboards.
: Grab a stepladder ora sturdy

: chair and get to it! Wash your

: walls with an all-purpose

: cleaner or just dust them. Dust
: or clean light fixtures, ceiling

 

: fans, the top of your fridge,

: and anything else that the Jolly
: Green Giant might notice if he
: came over for brunch. Do this

: step first, because cleaning your :
: house from top to bottom just
: makes sense.

Bookshelf: Not only does

: your bookshelf accrue a lot of

: dust, it probably houses more

: thana few books you'll never

: read again. Empty your shelves.
: Make a pile of books to get

: rid of, and as for the rest, flip

: the pages to get the dust out,

: thoroughly clean the shelves,

: and replace all the books.

theotherpress.ca

Computer: If you're the

type of person who still has

: adesktop computer, it’s a

: breeding ground for epic dust.
: Head to Staples and invest in

: some compressed air. Unplug

: the CPU and all the wires.

: Move everything off your desk.
: Clean all the components with
: compressed air and a microfibre
: cloth, and then clean your

: desk, vacuuming while your

: computer is out of the area.

Window treatments:

: Unless your blinds and curtains
: are cleaned regularly, they

: probably contribute to a lot of
: dust in your home. Run your

: curtains through the washing
: machine. Venetian blinds

: area little trickier to clean,

: depending on how much dust
: and grease has built up. If the
: slats aren't too bad, they can

: be cleaned with a microfibre

: dusting glove (or Swiffer-type
: duster). If they are a total

: nightmare reminiscent of the
: slum apartment I moved into
: in my first year of college,

: they may need to be removed,
: soaked in cleanser in your tub

(possibly overnight), and then

: cleaned with a rag.

There are many more

: spots in your life that could

: usea thorough wipe, including
: but not limited to: bedding,

: backpack, makeup brushes,

: under the kitchen sink, the

: outsides of your windows, and
: the far-reaches of your closet.

: But I think I’ve given you

: enough to get you started.

 

Take it slow on your next voyage

» Learn to love road trips

= Aidan Mouellic
E Staff Writer

 

L* week ] found myself with
a bit of time on my hands.
In the past year or so, the
longest I had been away from
Vancouver was a couple nights
in Wisconsin, so I decided
that a jaunt out of town was
called for. I only had a week
and a half of time to spare
and wanted to maximize my
adventure. As convenient as
flying is, last-minute flights
are often expensive and when
flying, you don’t get to see
much except your destination.
So I decided to leave
Vancouver and head south
for California by car. I’d never

: taken a long road trip, but I

: quickly fell in love with the

: slower pace and the constant

: roadside sights. I learnt my first
: lesson of road tripping very

: quickly: plan your driving to

: avoid traffic and busy borders.

: Asa novice road tripper, I was

: naive in my belief that I would

: cruise south without any issues.

Heading to my first stop

: of Portland, my Interstate-5

: naivety took its toll when I

: hit non-stop slow-moving

: traffic pretty much right up to
: Portland. Perhaps the golden
: rule of road tripping (aside from :
: packing beef jerky and caffeine)
: is to avoid peak traffic hours.

T eventually made it to

: Portland, which actually is all

: that it’s cracked up to be, and it
: was great to havea car to fully

: explore the city. For young

: travellers, renting a car is often
: not an option because rental

: companies will charge youth a

: surcharge or outright ban them
: from renting. But I would not

: have been able to fully explore

: Portland without a vehicle.

: When you have a car with you

: ina great city, not only is your

: range of exploration larger, but
: you don't have to worry about

: packing light. Ifit can fitin your :
: car’s trunk, you can bring it—so
: long as it’s not contraband.

The final destination of

: my short road trip was San

Francisco, where I currently

: am. Before leaving Vancouver,

: Trelied heavily on Google Maps
: to judge routes and driving

: distances. Google isa great

: tool but it has a way of making

: distances seem shorter than

: they actually are. Portland to

: San Francisco ina day seems

: easy when viewed on Google

: Maps; in reality the drive took
: me all day and tuckered me

: out to the point where I took

: anap ata rest stop in Weed,

: California. It’s easy to bea bit

: over-confident, so prepare for
: how long the trip could take.

: Aslow voyage is a good thing

: and it’s worth embracing. It’s

amazing to see the geography

: ofa region change before you.

It’s not always possible

: to have a companion to share
: the driving with you. I’m

: doing this trip solo and it’s

: been great so far, but I’ve

: also consumed a lot of sug-

: ar-free Red Bull. Try to bring
: someone with you, because

: it will make the experience

: even richer—and allow you

: tonap in the passenger seat.

Perhaps the
golden rule of road
tripping (aside
from packing beef
jerky and caffeine)
is to avoid peak
traffic hours.

For your next adventure,

: consider a road trip to the

: United States. Driving allows
: you to see a lot more than you
: would by just flying some-

: where. If you decide to drive

> toSan Francisco, you can

: pretend to be Steve McQueen
: in Bullitt and bomb down
some hills for some thrills.