I am not one who feels inspired to clean in the springtime. I grew up in Arizona where winter was a whole different ball of wax than what you find here in Ohio so when Spring rolls around… you won’t find me inside the house cleaning! I am going to be outside enjoying the sunshine and early spring flowers.

While I am not a fan of the cold I do not get depressed in winter as so many do… due to lack of outdoor time and sunshine. I do find myself drawn indoors most of the time but I find it sets off a sort of nesting instinct. Out come the warm quilts (I have a blanket fetish), I clean and declutter, and generally just try to make sure our hybernation chamber is comfy and clean.

This week I bartered for help cleaning house. In fact I plan to get permanent help in that regard but I can’t wrap my mind around paying someone to do what I can do myself so I have devised a way to trick myself. I will cancel the YMCA family membership we never use and cancel our cable and use that money to pay a house cleaner twice a month. Then I won’t feel like I am paying out extra money. Now I just have to sell my husband on the idea but since he almost never watches TV, I think I can do it.

This week I got busy cleaning carpets, cleaning windows, cleaning the oven, scrubbing everything down, rearranging furniture, and cleaning out closets. In return for help with all that I am teaching someone step by step how to set up an online business and make money at home.

In addition to cleaning, this time is also perfect for winterizing. My daughter’s room is freakin cold no matter what we do, so I decided to make room for a twin size bed in my own bedroom for her and she will just sleep there for winter. We already have our toddler in our bed so the only one missing is my oldest boy.

We have a very drafty closet on one end of the house so that got loaded from floor to ceiling with fabric, rugs, blankets, books, storage bins, etc to insulate more. We brought a futon out into the living room for the kids since the cold leather couch was discouraging them from sitting out there to read or watch DVDs. And a Wii is going out here after Christmas so we wanted it to be cozy. Next week I will set to work making a draft snake (filled with rice) for the front door, because we have a wicked draft coming in at the base of the door.

Oh and anyone else ever get sick from the Peppermint Castile Soap from Dr. Bronners?? We used it to clean the carpets and the peppermint smell was so strong and it made me so nauseous that I had to leave the house for awhile to avoid vomiting. Guess I need to use less of it next time… either that or I am so sensitive to fragrance that I need a plastic bubble now.

So tell me… do you “nest” in the winter? What do you do?