Spring Into Clean
How to Master Spring Cleaning
It’s finally that time of year again; that rejuvenating time when the crisp of winter has finally burned away, the flowers start to bloom, and you realize just how messy your home is. You know what that means, right? That means it’s time for some spring cleaning!
According to a recent survey by the American Cleaning Institute (yes, that’s a thing), 72% of the American population considers spring cleaning to be an annual ritual of theirs, which is only slightly less than the 80.6% of the population that celebrates Easter every year.
But, while most accept spring cleaning as gospel, there is plenty that you might not know about spring cleaning, and are a multitude of techniques that can take your spring cleaning from a yearly chore to one you’ll look forward to all year long.
The History of Spring Cleaning
It’s difficult to pinpoint when spring cleaning turned into “spring cleaning”. While the act of cleaning in springtime surely goes back to cave people sweeping out their dusty hovels, researchers disagree on the origins of the modern incarnation of the ritual of spring cleaning.
Some trace its origins back to Iranian Nowruz, or the Persian New Year, which has been celebrated for more than 3,000 years in the Middle East. Usually occurring on or around March 21, as part of the celebration, participants take part in khooneh takouni, which literally translates to “shaking the house.” To shake aforementioned house, celebrators thoroughly clean, rearrange, organize, and update their house in order to gain a new perspective and jump start the new year. When finished cleaning, it is tradition to invite the neighbors over to check out the new look.
Researchers also look to Passover to help explain the springtime fascination with cleaning.
As part of the Passover tradition, in order to remember and sympathize with the Israelites’ exodus from Egypt, Jews are restricted from consuming anything that may have been leavened or fermented with yeast. In fact, it’s not even supposed to be in the house. Not even a crumb.
So, to remove every trace of these substances from the house, Jews thoroughly scour the house, tidying it and searching for any last remnant of leavened foodstuffs (known in Hebrew as chametz). The night before Passover, participants are required to take one final pass about the house by candlelight to make sure nothing has slipped through the cracks.
Most likely, it’s some combination of these two ancient traditions that led to the current iteration, but I think most would agree that whatever you do today is preferable to searching by candlelight or inviting your neighbors to see how well you’ve cleaner your home.
How To Do It
It seems like whenever you talk about cleaning, someone gives you some suggestion that they read in a book or heard about somewhere that “completely changed their lives.”
And, if you don’t have something like that, odds are, you feel a little left out, and a little like you’re being interrogated.
Well, if you don’t have a set system to clean your house, don’t worry.
For some, it might be easier to use a more “freeform” approach, but if you really want to get down to some serious cleaning and want to have a plan, here are a few of our favorite techniques and tips to take your spring cleaning to the next level.
The Tidying Technique
Made popular in her New York Times-bestselling book The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing, author Marie Kondo suggests gathering all of your items into a big pile in the middle of a room, picking them up one by one, and asking yourself “does this item give me joy?” If it does, you keep it; if not, you thank the item for its service, and dispose of it. This gives you a chance to see exactly what you have, want, and need, and what you don’t. And, it’s a fun and silly way to go through all your old stuff.
The Recruiting Technique
If you ever feel like this:
And you’re having some trouble getting it all done by yourself, recruit some family and friends to help you out!
Your family has to do it (especially if you’re the parent), and your friends would probably do it too (especially if you offer a six-pack of beer).
It can be kind of fun, too. You can reminisce with your loved ones about when you used to wear that patent leather jacket, or tried to learn the accordion. Your friends will love thinking about those old times, and your family might be embarrassed by it, but they’ll secretly like it.
The Competition Technique
If you’re in a home with a few people, turn spring cleaning into a game. Give each member of the household a room that they have to clean up, and whoever cleans theirs the fastest (while still doing a good job) gets a prize.
WARNING: If you’re a parent, this might lead to accusations of unfair cleaning conditions, so you should be extra careful about crafting the cleaning assignments and outlining the rules.
The Mind Training Technique
If spring cleaning seems daunting to you, the head of the Japanese Cleaning Association Satori Imamura suggests training your mind to get used to cleaning. “It’s important to clean for 10 seconds on a daily basis,” Imamura says. “And then keep doing it.” Even if it’s just clearing out the dishwasher, or putting a towel away, he says that this will not only lessen the amount of cleaning that you might have to do during spring cleaning, but will actually train your mind to accept cleaning as fun and easy.
You’re Done Cleaning, So Now What?
Okay, you’ve now meticulously cleaned up your entire home, and realized just how much stuff you have and don’t really want, so what should you do with all of it?
Don’t despair, you won’t have to rent a dumpster and spend your next day throwing everything out, because there are plenty of things to do with all your “useless junk,” like….
Give It a Makeover
If you have an old knick-knack, pot, or household decoration that you like, but don’t like that much, sometimes a fresh coat of paint can be just what it takes to turn it from trash to fash…ionable.
With just a couple quick strokes of a paintbrush to some of your less than favorite items, you can completely change the aesthetic of your home. And, this is a great and rewarding activity for the whole family, and is an easy and fun way to put your own stamp on your home’s decor.
Donate It
If you have anything that still has some use left, but you don’t want it, donate it to charity! It will make you feel like you’re making a difference, and it will help someone in need.
International charities like the Salvation Army, Habitat for Humanity, and Goodwill will gladly take your things, even large household appliances. Or, you can donate it to your local homeless shelter, or halfway house to help someone closer to home.
We particularly recommend checking out DonationTown if you want to go down this route. They will pick up your stuff for free and donate it to the charity of your choice from the more than 400 charities that they partner with. Win-win.
Sell It
If you’ve got some stuff that you don’t want, but also don’t want to give away, you can sell it and get some money for it. Websites like Craigslist and eBay are useful ways to sell some of your random stuff.
If you have some items that might be slightly more valuable, or is part of a niche market, Panjo.com is a great place to sell them.
Panjo is a marketplace designed by and for enthusiasts. So, if you have a specific item that you need sold, Panjo might be the site for you. Whether it’s an aquarium setup that’s been sitting without water for years now, old BMW parts that you found in the garage, a camping tent that you don’t use anymore, or anything else that you find and think someone might love as much as you once did, Panjo can connect you to that person.
With a money back guarantee, an easy to use interface, and a dedicated audience of buyers, Panjo.com might be the best and easiest way to sell some of that stuff that you rediscover while spring cleaning.
