What's Up With 'Spring Cleaning'?
It is SPRING. Full-on flowers blooming, runny nose, itchy eyes, warmer days…spring! Are you feeling the urge to clean? Are you wondering why this feeling has come over you?
Is it the warm weather?
The longer days?
The…media?
Well, it’s a little bit of everything.
1. Tradition:
Spring cleaning may be ingrained in us. Medieval homes consisted of one large room with a central fire, essentially a bonfire in the middle of the house (At Home, Bill Bryson). The spaces were filled with all the fire remnants you can think of. With the warm weather of spring, it was only natural to fling the doors open, sweep the debris out and let the fresh air in.
Religion also feeds the pattern of spring cleaning the home. Catholic traditions encourage a deep clean during Holy Week (near spring equinox) to prepare for the feast of Easter. Jewish traditions clean for the feast of Passover, which falls in the seventh month of the Jewish calendar: Nisan, the first month of spring.
2. Brain Chemistry:
Springtime brings more daylight. Daylight increases serotonin, which boosts mood and focus.
I’d also argue that these brighter days light your home, allowing you to see the nooks and crannies. The dust mites stand out--the pile of books in the corner are literally illuminated when you get home from work.
3. Temporal Landmark:
We’ve all felt this before: an event that pushes you toward a “fresh start” (New Year’s Day, birthday, first of the month).
Katherine Milkman researched this effect. For example, she found that people were 3.54 times more likely to set a goal reminder as “March 20, the First Day of Spring 2014” than “March 20, the Third Thursday in March 2014”. As she states,
“A new season is a new cycle.”
With these three catalysts combined, it’s no wonder that so many people feel the urge to spring clean. I say, lean into it! It can be healthy in a multitude of ways.
This is a time for change. As vaccines are distributed, we’re coming out of our Covid caves, and a fresh start makes a lot of sense.