Ohsoji - Big Year End Cleaning Time!

Here in Japan the year end is the time to clean. I think I'll knock out some PEP Nest badges while I'm at it.

Care to join in the cleaning fun?

Nikki had a similar idea here - https://permies.com/t/171697/PEP-Holidays

Let's see how many of these badges (or at least tasks) I can accomplish before New Years Day.

Clean a bathroom
Sweep a floor - Check!
Oil utensils - Check!
Clean 4 Windows - Check for the task, not for the BB
Manually Clean an Oven
Wipe down condensation on 3 windows - Check!
Replace grout
Organize with boxes
Remove mold - Check!
Clean a car interior - Check!
Clean under faucet knobs
Deep clean stainless steel sink - Check!
Organize a dysfunctional closet

I missed clean out a dysfunctional closet when I looked at Nest! I'm doing that today, and now I know to snap a few photos while I'm at it.

It looks like I'll finish a little less than half of these. Not too bad.

Today I finished cleaning the interior of the car and the window cleaning. I cannot fulfill the window cleaning BB as it violates our personal privacy rules. I haven't found a way to take non-revealing pictures of our window glass.

I haven't cleaned glass in a while, but I recall that many people have difficulty doing it. I find cleaning glass easy and rewarding. I have some tips.

I think it's worth having a roll of paper towels, a squirt bottle, and a trash can (or compost bin) at the ready.

I like to clean glass in two steps: 1 dirt removal, 2 water streak removal.

1. Dirt removal is easy, but it's easy to look at a pane of glass and brush it off as clean until you wipe it and find that there was a lot of undetectable filth accumulated. So, wipe all surface area with water and rags or paper towels.

2. Water streak removal is where having paper towels really comes in handy. You can use a squeegee with a rubber wiper on it for the same task. I believe that is how pros do it. I fold a paper towel in quarters and apply just a little water from the squirt bottle onto the window or the paper towel and carefully go over all surface area of the glass again, making sure not to leave any water standing on the glass. If you leave water droplets it will leave tiny particulate matter as it dries, that's the streaking that you often see.

Change rags or towels frequently. If you reapply the dirt you already wiped off, you will have to remove it again to get the glass clean.

Avoid using too much water, you will have to remove it as well.

I do not see the point in using any glass cleaner. Water and friction remove everything I have encountered.

My spouse is at his shop doing oo-souji right now! (he did the house yesterday-- I'm on working/cooking duty over the holiday so I get a pass)
We left Japan 20+ years ago but old habits die hard...some, like this one, are worth keeping, I think. Good luck and hope you knock 'em all off your list!

I managed to do 7 out of 13!

Also did quite a few other things that weren't BBs.

L. Johnson wrote:Here in Japan the year end is the time to clean. I think I'll knock out some PEP Nest badges while I'm at it.
...

Let's see how many of these badges (or at least tasks) I can accomplish before New Years Day.

are you like Taiwan where "New years" is a season?
This year our season ends mid-Febr., with lantern festival.

It makes for a more forgiving deadline ... anywhere in 1.5 months counts.

How have you done with your ambitious list? Even ONE is forward.

L. Johnson wrote:I managed to do 7 out of 13!

Also did quite a few other things that weren't BBs.

OH! Now I find it. Thanks for posting.
With the Chinese deadline, I bet you can do them all. I'll offer my context!

Jane Lewis wrote:

L. Johnson wrote:I managed to do 7 out of 13!

Also did quite a few other things that weren't BBs.

OH! Now I find it. Thanks for posting.
With the Chinese deadline, I bet you can do them all. I'll offer my context!

New years is not a season here, just a longish holiday. It's over now.

I've switched gears to other tasks, but the ohsoji cleaning that I didn't get done is still on my big to do list.

I started making daily to-do lists to break my big list into more doable tasks, so far I've had a very productive week.

This year's big cleaning is coming soon! I just need to check off a few more day job tasks and then it's on to this list (some leftover from last year)

Manually Clean an Oven
Replace grout
Organize with boxes
Clean under faucet knobs
Organize a dysfunctional closet
Clean curtains
Deep clean a sofa
Get whiter whites without bleach
Clean window screens
Clean walls and ceilings
Make a rag system

I'm not into the PEP or Badges, however, I did till up raised beds in the garden, 4 ea 3 ft X 15 ft and 4 ea 4 ft X 4 ft, along with a corn area about 8 ft X 20 ft and a Flower Bed 3 ft X 40 ft when we had some good warm days after some really nasty cold weather leading into winter. The 4 long raised beds were tilled, a full large bag of real charcoal then tilled again, then a layer of compost and a final 3" layer of mulch. The other raised beds got the same treatment minus the charcoal and the Flower Bed just received a layer of compost. When I get time I will put down a layer of straw mulch on that bed.

So, why post this? I've promised myself for the last 4 years or so that I would be prepared for Spring planting and have not done so until this Winter.

My REWARD was so many self-applied pats on the back that my arms were sore for days after that!   :-)