def strip_strings(value):
	"""
	Strip excess whitespace, on strings, and simple lists
	using recursion
	"""
	if (value == None):
		return None
	elif (type(value) == list):
		# List, so recursively strip elements
		for i in range(0, len(value)):
			value[i] = strip_strings(value[i])
		return value
	else:
		try:
			value = value.replace("  ", " ")
			return value.strip()
		except(AttributeError):
			return value