mop. scrub. hose.

[OT from cottage renovations]

one of clearest symptoms of my shortcomings in the area of ars domestica is that some aspect of the place will get to the point where a massive intervention is required to deal with it.  gratifying though its results can be, a program of regular maintenance would be a better approach: binge cleaning is no more suited to domestic management than binge-and-purge eating is to nutrition or weight control. 

so yesterday afternoon's project was to take on the porch where dirt, once tracked onto the paint, had apparently decided to settle in for a nice long visit.  deck broom and leaf blower had been ineffective so I resorted to Murphy Oil Soap, along with lots of mopping, scrubbing for some of the more intractible spots, and a final phase garden hose rinse.  a certain amount of caution was indicated because once the oil soap is applied the surface becomes quite slick and footing is treacherous. 

the cat cam caught it all: 
(click through these thumbnails for higher resolution images)

the result was a vast improvement.  I'm just hoping that the soap residue, along with all the gunk from the porch floor, doesn't have a secondary use as an herbicide.  if the hydrangeas and other plants are still there in a week's time I won't worry about it.