My neighbor in Springfield said his dad used to just hose off the patio furniture and call it a day, and it made me wonder if we're all overthinking this stuff now.

We spent a whole afternoon last Sunday scrubbing our Adirondack chairs with special cleaner, and his simple comment about just using the garden hose from back in the day really stuck with me, making me miss when a backyard felt more like a simple place to relax than a list of chores to perfect.

3 comments

3 Comments

amy_cooper4614d ago

My local hardware store has a whole aisle for deck and patio cleaners now. It feels like every simple task gets turned into a project that needs the right product. Sometimes the old way was just fine.

ryanj6014d ago

But those products save so much time and effort.

milacarr9d ago

Honestly, I get what ryanj60 is saying about saving time, but a lot of those cleaners are for stuff like mold or really ground in dirt. If it's just some dust and pollen, the hose works great and you're done in two minutes. My grandpa did the same thing, and his furniture lasted for years. We bought into this idea that everything needs a special solution, when often the simple fix is right there.