I’m having a hard time accepting that Spring is right around the corner. Where I live in Colorado they are calling for a whole lot of snow over the next few days…not just inches but feet. Egads, that’s a lot of snow. Spring does officially arrive on March 20th, which means that even though we may be covered in snow it is time to talk about Spring Cleaning.
Do You Spring Clean?
I grew up in a house where Spring Cleaning was an undertaking. It was when curtains got washed, furniture got moved to thoroughly clean around and under, drawers and closets got cleaned out. As an adult I find that Spring Cleaning gets me excited for the warmer months.
Have you ever thought about where Spring Cleaning comes from? Until now I had not really given it much thought but found myself curious. I was surprised that not only is it a tradition that dates back hundreds and hundreds of years (maybe even thousands), but it is also strongly rooted in religion. I found a bit of info on Wikipedia, so if it differs from what any of you may know, I would love to hear your feedback.
Some believe that it has origins that trace it to a practice related to the Persian New Year which is on the first day of Spring. Iranians call this Khaneh-Tekani which means “shaking the house.” So cool! Others owe its origins to the Jewish custom of cleaning the home in anticipation of Passover. There are yet others who trace it to the Catholic Church’s tradition of cleaning the church altar and its surroundings the day before Good Friday. Stories of the origin of Spring Cleaning go on from there.
Are You Ready to Dive In?
Regardless of where the practice comes from it can feel really good to give your home a little deep cleaning and decluttering attention.
Over the next three weeks, I will be focusing on helping you to do some Spring Cleaning and decluttering of your own.
We are going to start with decluttering. March 21st is the start of National Clutter Awareness Week and National Clean Out Your Closet Week. So, it’s not hard to guess that we will be focusing on cleaning out and decluttering our closets.
Then, the following week on March 28th National Cleaning Week begins. During this week we will focus on things like cleaning routines, things we often forget to clean, and other Spring Cleaning Tips.
You can follow Operation Spring Cleaning and Decluttering by subscribing to our blog (you can find the signup on the main blog page), or signing up for our email list by clicking here (I won’t give away your info, I promise!). For additional tips along the way you can check out my Facebook or Instagram Pages.
Happy Organizing!