As the temperatures starts to creep up and the days get increasingly longer and lighter, its time to start to think about the big annual spring clean… but why? Where does the tradition of the spring clean come from and is it relevant in today’s living?
It is not known for certain where spring cleaning was first recorded but it is found across several religions and cultures throughout the world and below are some facts you may not know about this age old tradition
- Cleaning is part of the Iranian Norouz, Persian New Year, which falls on the first day of spring and is called “Khooneh tekouni”, which literally means “shaking the house”
- Pagans and Wiccans practise cleaning rituals at Spring in order to renew the protection on their home, when mother nature renews the earth
- The Jewish faith cleans as part of the preparation for passover. Members of the faith remove all trace of leaven (bread yeast) from their homes by cleaning the whole home from top to bottom
- Greek and orthodox nations traditionally clean days before or or during the first week of lent, which corresponds with the Julian new year on April 1st
- The tradition in Northern America and Northern Europe was to clean throughout March and April, as the weather was warm enough to open doors and windows to air the home, after a cold and wet winter, but cool enough still that the bugs are attracted indoors
The tradition of Spring Cleaning is something that has started to loose its importance in our modern fast cultures, as we no longer have to wait for warm weather to beat rugs outside since the invention of the vacuum, or scrub the sideboards for hours on end with the invention of modern day chemicals but does that mean we should cease spring cleaning all together?
Psychologically the act of a spring clean is very beneficial – time for a big sort out and de-clutter, out with the old – in with the new, tidy house – tidy mind etc. the list of cliches go on…
People can often feel encumbered by all the possessions they own, possessions they have to keep them ahead of the Joneses or possesions they may keep to remind them of a time gone by – but ask yourself (truthfully) do you really need those 1990’s ripped denim jeans hanging in the wardrobe that will never again been worn or your collection of old magazines you will never read again? And what about on your PC, is it necessary to have all those folders and files sitting there that are never looked in or used?
So no matter if you clean through your inbox, scrub all rooms in your home from top to bottom or just sort your wardrobe out to give to your local charity shop, do something positive for yourself as the new spring starts and release yourself from the shackles of winter with a tidy, fresh outlook