Seriously how can it be the first day of spring? When a girlfriend told me today was the first day of spring I was shocked. After all, as many of you know, this is how it looked in my town a couple of days ago. What’s up with that?!
So I’ve only ever lived in places where life is devoid of any type of spring until much much later. Say May for instance. I suppose that could be why the idea of spring cleaning completely baffles me but in all honesty that’s not the only reason spring cleaning is foreign to me. I just don’t really understand it. There I said it.
Now keep in mind that I think there is a big difference between cleaning and organizing. When I speak of spring cleaning I’m referring to the scrubbing of stuff. In my mind I see an entire weekend/week/month devoted to the scrubbing of walls, doors, windows and whatever else people do when they “spring clean”.
Instead my philosophy is just to clean as I go throughout the year. If it’s dirty I clean it. Plus my kids help out tremendously as well with their regular weekly chores which is fantastic. In all honesty I don’t think I’ve cleaned a toilet in over 4 years. My kids have that one down. We all help out. If we see cobwebs we clean them, if we see gunk on baseboards we wipe them (this is a great job for young kids by the way) or if we see dirt on the walls we wash them and so I find that nothing ever piles up for us that we need to do a big spring clean. Plus because I’m organizing and moving furniture around all year long (such fun!) I make sure to clean those areas right then and there. I do suppose the only big project we save for summer is the outside window cleaning as that can’t be done in winter but then again only if it’s really needed. I’m not a make work kind of girl.
For those wondering about what specific chores my kids do weekly, here is a quick breakdown:
Youngest son (7): cleans all mirrors, disinfects all doorknobs and handles, wipes baseboards down, feeds the dog (daily)
Middle son (13): cleans toilets and sinks, empties waste baskets from every room, sorts the recycling, unloads dishwasher (daily)
Daughter (15): cleans bathtubs, mops kitchen floor, dusting and cleans up after dinner (daily)
However after talking with some girlfriends about the subject of spring cleaning, one of them said that to her spring cleaning doesn’t mean actual cleaning but instead the organizing and decluttering of her home. Ahhh now we are talking my language 🙂 Yet I think saving the task of decluttering to one particular time of year could be very overwhelming to some. It’s why I highly encourage the declutter as you go method, the same method I use for cleaning, a task I really don’t enjoy but know has to get done regardless.
One of the best ways to do this is by setting up a donation station (click on the link for more info on how to make weekly household purges happen) somewhere in your home. Why wait and declutter massive amounts at one time when you can do it all year long! Woohoo! Can you tell I love purging stuff, it makes me so happy 🙂 Here’s how I challenged another friend recently. She asked for my help because she has so much stuff (her words) and didn’t know where to start. I suggested she spend 15 minutes a day on organizing and decluttering. You seriously would be amazed at what can be done in that short amount of time. In fact while I was at her house we organized all her medications and first aid supplies and it only took us….15 minutes! Next I told her to find 5-10 items each day to put into a donation station. Get the whole family involved. Those per day items will add up so quickly and in the process it won’t feel like work because you are breaking it all down to manageable bits.
It’s totally what I do with the cleaning….manageable bits and with the whole family participating. Everyone helps make the mess and adds to the collection of stuff, so it only makes sense that everyone be a part of the decluttering and cleaning it all up.
Regularly.
Day by day.
So I know I may be opening up a big ole can of worms here but spring cleaning really is a topic that fascinates me. I’d love to know more. How do you feel about the whole idea of spring cleaning? Is spring cleaning necessary? What does it mean to you? How many of you save up your deep cleaning for one particular month or week a year? Do your kids help regularly with the cleaning? Curious, oh so curious 🙂
Happy spring everyone!
See also:
Sabrina says
Hi, love the post. Thanks for sharing.
To me, spring cleaning is cleaning inside the windows, taking down curtains and cleaning them, vacuuming blinds, dusting the tops of the baseboards and molding, cleaning above Kitchen cabinets, getting the a/c unit serviced, and cleaning behind large pieces of furniture that doesn’t normally get moved because they are too heavy. I also like to have the kids go through their summer clothes(closet area) to see what fits and make a list of what is needed.
Hope this helps. =)
Tink says
Generally deep clean as needed, but save some stuff like windows, and carpet shampoos for spring and fall.
Calliope says
Spring cleaning was invented back in the times where people used to warm the houses w coals all winter long so come spring everything was covered in black dust! Thus the term.
In Greece, where i live, spring cleaning is essential for 2 reasons: to summer-ize the house w lighter textiles, rugs, curtains etc and to deep clean everything from walls to floors to blankets etc
I do clean whenever something gets dirty but I think that are many things that need to be done twice a year and not every month.
Anna says
Love this! 🙂 I 100% agree with you!
April says
I guess I’ve never thought about it so technically … lots of my spring cleaning chores revolve around things that are more garden oriented than house oriented. It’s a time to sand and seal wooden handle tools, clean up the garden, turn the soil, rake, and mulch, and plant … dig in the dirt! I think I might go crazy if I couldn’t do that until May though! Then there is just this thing that is awakened inside of me … I want to deep clean stuff … open the windows and let the fresh air in … I guess that is what spring cleaning is all about to me.
Steph says
Like Sabrina mentioned, I do deep cleaning/spring cleaning once a year. I take everything out of cupboards, dressers, etc., wipe things down, and put things back. It is my time to purge a LOT of stuff. Although I purge on a regular basis, I get rid of far more during spring cleaning than I do any other time of the year. I tackle 1 room/weekend (more if time allows with my 3 kids’ busy schedules) and by the end of my spring cleaning (roughly 3 months, start to finish), I have filled several garbage and recycling bins and made a handful of Goodwill runs. I also sell all of my kids’ toys, games, clothes, books, etc. on Craig’s List. I think off self as a very organized person throughout the year, but I feel so good when I finish spring cleaning, looking at all the freshly organized cabinets, closets, etc. You are an inspiration to me and I find myself asking “Do I have room to store this?” “No?” It’s gone! 🙂 Thank you!!!
Erin says
This is my first year doing spring cleaning (that’s about how long we’ve had our house). I guess for me spring cleaning is a chance to capitalize on the extra energy I seem to get when the weather warms up. I keep up with the basic cleaning on a weekly basis, but spring cleaning allows me to do detailed cleaning less often, knowing I’ll at least check those things off once a year. It reminds me to do the yearly things (changing the filter in the fridge, deep clean the counters and the dishwasher, wash the duvet cover and duvet and pack them up for the summer, etc.) as well as to straighten out cabinets and reassess where things go in the cupboards, pantry and closets. It’s like a whole-house reset button on organization and decluttering. Not stressing about sticking to a schedule or deep-cleaning every corner helps it not become a burden. Maybe it helps that my corner of California starts warming up as early as mid-February 🙂
Tragic Sandwich says
Spring cleaning is a holdover term from when homes were heated by fire, and therefore coated in smoke particles by the end of winter. The annual scrubbing of walls is not as necessary now as it was then, but it’s probably still useful in the sense of evaluating what you have, decluttering, and refreshing/replacing as necessary.
Linda Stoll says
I’ve been talking with my readers about springtime giving us the opportunity to start with a clean slate … sprucing up their living areas, but also considering what their online activity looks like … and the benefits of taking care of whatever relationship issues need to be settled.
http://creeksideministries.blogspot.com/2013/03/a-clean-slate.html
Physical space, brain space, and heart space. The counselor in me truly believes that each one impacts the other!
;-}
Susanne says
Loved this post and loved reading the comments. I’m not huge on the spring cleaning thing. I try, key word being try, to keep up with cleaning all year but I do things like switching out of seasonal clothes and taking a harder look at things to declutter.
Kandy says
Wow! I wish that I had taught my sons to do these things (and insisted that they do them!) They are grown now. Great job! I did my sons a major disservice.
Damian says
A deep clean is not only good for your house but it’s good for your psychologically and good for the soul. 🙂
Mel says
In our home, spring cleaning is simply preparing for Passover.
Kimberley says
Ya, Spring Cleaning means nothing to me either!!! I TRY to just keep things clean all year, the idea of one huge weekend of nothing but cleaning NEVER works for me. I would be so sick and tired of cleaning I wouldn’t do it for a month and all of my efforts would be wasted!
Joanna @way2gomom says
My spring cleaning is more like doing the entire month’s worth of deep cleaning during Spring Break week – we don’t have other obligations during the week, so I can get a lot of cleaning done and feel like the house has a fresh new feel.
Nana says
To our family, Spring cleaning involves shampooing all the rugs (too cold for them to dry properly in winter), washing/dry cleaning all the winter clothes/linens and packing them away, and dragging out all the spring/summer decor and lighter weight linens. Like you, I’d prefer to do the rest of the cleaning throughout the year, rather than in a mad rush when the weather turns warm.
Amy says
I get this unstoppable urge to clean out and refresh everything in the spring and fall every year, similar to how the “nesting instinct” kicked in when I was pregnant. I don’t do some of the hardcore stuff like scrub baseboards or clean carpets and grout – I find it’s a lot easier and more efficient to have a floor-and-carpet-cleaning service come in and do those tasks. I work full-time and we have a housekeeper in every other week, so the house stays pretty clean, but what I do during spring cleaning, as another poster said, is purge unneeded/wanted items. I don’t feel like I buy a ton of stuff, but for example, today I got rid of two garbage bags full of worn-out clothes, half-empty beauty products, torn books and magazines, etc. from my bedroom! Spring is the time when I go through and clean out old clothes, toys, and stuff we just don’t want or need anymore. I also love washing and changing out all of our bedding twice a year, including pillows and comforters – that first few days of sleeping on a totally clean bed are always pretty great. 🙂
Heather says
Spring cleaning is definitely a thing for me. It’s all the things that you can’t do over the winter because you can’t open the windows for that long–like dusting! I will dust all year whenever it’s needed, but the couple months in the winter (really just January and February) that it is constantly snowy, it tends to build up. Then I moved to the Pacific northwest. This year I was struck by how much PNW winter resembles a midwest spring, and I was doing my dusting and washing my curtains in February.
Scottish tradition is to do a big clean on Dec 31 (well, and the week preceding) so you start the year with a clean slate. Unfortunately that’s a lot of work when I’m usually on vacation! Mine is to do a big clean in spring and fall, tackle all those things that have built up being shut in over the winter and having the windows open all summer. De-nesting after the winter colds, preparing to shut us all in for the winter, putting away or bringing out all the seasonal items like lawn chairs and snow shovels.
It is nice to have a designated time of year to declutter certain parts of the house, though. But I find “when it bugs me” works well enough.
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