Spring cleaning? Who does this anymore?

Gone are the days where we needed to completely wash our homes from top to bottom in the springtime. One of my go-to resources for anything about homemaker stuff is Home Comforts:The Art and Science of Keeping House by Cheryl Mendelson. It may sound like a snooze of a read, but it’s really quite fun and helpful. About spring cleaning, she writes:

“The custom of a seasonal housecleaning in the spring arose because after two seasons of heating and lighting with wood, oil, gas, kerosene, and candles, the condition of the house made it essential. By winter’s end, everything in the house was coated with a malodorous layer of black grease and grime, the ugliness of which would become ever more apparent as the days became longer and sunnier. So people cleaned everything—literally everything—as soon as the heating season was over . . . beating rugs, taking mattresses and pillows outside for airing . . . emptied every drawer, shelf, cabinet . . . washed walls. Most of the rationale for doing spring cleaning has now gone by the wayside.”

While we do have a wood-burning fireplace, and I light candles all year long, the only regular greasy place in my house is the tile behind my cooktop after my husband fries the bacon.

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There’s something about freshening up the house in the spring.

And if I’m honest, I’ve always been an imperfect house-cleaner, especially during the winter months when we don’t entertain as often. And certainly during these past twelve months when we didn’t open our home to anybody.

So what to do? (Anytime I ask this question of myself, I tap my head in good Winnie-the-Pooh fashion and say, “Think. Think. Think.”)

And in the spirit of Winnie, here’s this:

“Christopher Robin was home by this time because it was the afternoon, and he was so glad to see them that they stayed there until very nearly tea-time, and then they had a Very Nearly tea, which is one you forget about afterwards, and hurried on to Pooh Corner, so as to see Eeyore before it was too late to have a Proper Tea with Owl.”

A.A. Milne, The House at Pooh Corner

Thank you, Mr. Milne, for this lovely idea of Very Nearly and Proper. Very Nearly is “good enough.” Proper is perfect. I tend to be a Very Nearly person in most things. (Here’s where I look at this from a faith perspective.)

I’m aiming for good enough.

So I’ve decided that a Very Nearly Spring Cleaning is in order right now. Because it’s kind of overwhelming to think I need to have a Proper Spring Cleaning.

So here are my 5 reminders about spring cleaning:

1. Let it go. Let go of the notion that I must do a proper spring cleaning. There’s serious guilt for me when I compare myself to others. And there is serious guilt when I think I need to wash the walls. (If you wash your walls, please tell me how.) If you are like my mom, a Proper Spring Cleaning kind of gal or guy, then high-fives. You inspire me to bigger and better next year.
2. Make Lists. I love list-making. So to make my Very Nearly Spring Cleaning fun, I’ll start with a colored pencil and paper list. I’ll walk through the house and figure out what really needs to get done and what can be left undone this year. (Photos do NOT need to be organized now. I will wait for the cold winter days to tackle that.) Notice that there is zero cleaning yet.
3. Schedule it. If I don’t write it down on the calendar, it ain’t happening. But I’m going to keep it simple. I’m not going to do an entire day of cleaning. One project per day. Maybe. Maybe not. Maybe one project per week. Still, zero cleaning.
4. Celebrate. Checking things off my to-do cleaning list is one super simple celebration for me. Inviting a couple friends over is another. Not to say, “Look at how clean my house is now!” But to rest and savor and enjoy just being together. Maybe there’s been a little cleaning.
5. Give myself grace. Even if I don’t do anything in the Spring Cleaning category, it’s okay. I’ll still love my people and before I open my home, I’ll do the old 5-minute pick-up and quick dust.
6. Remind myself of the best grace. “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.” Psalm 51:10

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