Spring Cleaning - Why Do We Do It

While the origins of spring cleaning as we know it can’t be traced back to a single time or event, we can see different variations of deep cleaning throughout our history books. Whether it’s preparing for a religious holiday or just working as the weather allows, spring cleaning allows us to take account of all our junk, crumbs, and dirt and dump them for a fresh start. It’s become such an important part of modern culture that the term is even used in finance and business. 

There are four major origins for spring cleaning: Persian, Jewish, and Catholic, as well as weather-related. Plenty of other cultures have their own variations of spring cleaning, but we will focus on these four. 

1. Persian 

Because the Iranian New Year falls on March 21, in Persian culture, spring is the perfect time to start fresh. Just as we start anew in January in the States, Iranians do the same in the spring. Iranians buy new clothes during this time, clean the house from top to bottom, and use cleansing symbols like burning and planting. This practice is called khaneh tekani which translates to "shaking the house". So spring cleaning in America can be traced back to this practice of shaking the house clean. 

2. Jewish 

Another source of the spring cleaning tradition can be traced back to Jewish culture. To prepare for Passover, Jewish people clean their home thoroughly. They don’t eat any leavened foods during Passover and they examine their houses to ensure there aren’t any crumbs or visible signs of leavened foods, including looking for crumbs by candlelight the night before Passover starts. 

3. Catholic 

The Catholic Church cleans the altar the day before Good Friday to prepare for Easter. And in Orthodox religions, the process of cleaning your home before Lent is referred to as Clean Week. Once again, this is associated with a New Year - in this case the Julian New Year on April 1st. 

4. Weather 

While modern tools like air conditioning and vacuum cleaners make the practice of cleaning in the spring less dependent upon the weather, there was a time when cleaning during spring was essential. March allowed homeowners in colder climates in the United States and Northern Europe to clean their rugs, dust, and clean their floors and walls without having to worry about soot from the coal furnaces or insects coming in through the open doors and windows. 

No matter which source of spring cleaning you follow, springtime allows us to take account for everything we accumulated and neglected during the colder winter months and freshen the home for the new season.

To get your home ready for spring, contact Cleandae to take care of all of your cleaning needs. Whether it’s a one-time deep clean or starting a recurring cleaning schedule, Cleandae has the services you need.