This time of year inspires many of us to want to deep clean our homes. That feeling can come from the transition that happens when we go from winter to spring and having longer hours of sun and warmer weather. In the winter, I know I feel like hibernating.

In case you wondered where spring cleaning got its origins…

Spring Cleaning can be traced back to Jewish and Iranian cultures. The Chinese also have a similar custom. In the Chinese and Iranian cultures, the new year begins with a thorough cleaning of the home. In the Jewish culture, leavened bread in the home during Passover is considered such an affront that even overlooked crumbs count. To combat inadvertently insulting God, Jews scour their homes before Passover to ensure they didn’t miss any bread. Since Passover comes around April, many people consider this custom as the origin of spring cleaning (howstuffworks.com).

Most people get that spring cleaning bug in March when weather begins to get warmer and spring officially arrives. But the National Day Calendar says National Cleaning Week kicks off the fourth week of March.

Does Spring Cleaning bring to mind hours of exhausting work or do you get excited thinking about scouring every surface in your home? We are all different and therefore it is good to know how you are wired. But even I, who likes to declutter and organize, can get overwhelmed keeping up with deep cleaning and work outside the home.

How do you keep spring cleaning expectations in perspective?

There are three things I like to keep in mind when it comes to cleaning no matter what time of year it is: declutter first, have a routine, and manage expectations.

1. Declutter First

I am a big proponent of decluttering because if you have less clutter the easier it is to clean your house. When you have papers on your surfaces or clothes, books, etc. on your floors, it is more work moving it around in order to clean.

Go room by room, if you have something you or your family doesn’t care about, then release it. Donate, recycle, or toss your unwanted clutter. I am sure there are also items amongst the clutter you want to hold on to, just be sure to find a home for it.

Remember: everything has a home.

Here are some guidelines to follow:

• Pick a room that needs some decluttering: focus on one room or area a week. Don’t get distracted with other projects you see that need to be done in each room-make a list and return to that later
• Find 3 boxes or garbage sacks: one for throwing items away (or recycle) that aren’t worth donating, another box for donations, and another one for things that need to be relocated or put in storage
• Set a time for 15 – 30 minutes
• If you haven’t used something in the last five years get rid of it

Decluttering has also been studied and can be good for your mental health. From personal experience, focusing on tasks is easier when my environment is less cluttered.

Declutter: to remove unnecessary items from an untidy or overcrowded place

Oxford Languages Dictionary

2. Have a Routine

Doing an intense spring cleaning of your whole house in two weeks or even a month is exhausting. Many just give it up as a bad job and wait until next spring to begin anew the vicious cycle of trying to dectutter, organize, and deep clean.

It is much less overwhelming to spread out how you clean your house over time, but that means you need some kind of routine. I think most people can clean for at least 15 minutes a day. You would be surprised at how much you can accomplish in 15 minutes. Set your timer and turn on some music or listen to a podcast or enjoy the silence (if your home is quiet).

Here are some ideas to get you started:

• To get in the swing of things, run (or walk) through your house with a bag and fill it with stuff you no longer want and then either recycle, donate, or throw out. Don’t get distracted (speaking from experience). Do what you can in 15 minutes.
• This may take a bit longer, but clear your kitchen counters and do the dishes. If the kitchen is clean, the whole house feels cleaner.
• Focus on one area or zone per week (more on that on an upcoming post).

3. Manage Expectations

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t have it in for spring cleaning. I do enjoy thinking about refreshing my home after wintertime. But I see it as more of a seasonal change in cleaning. Spring signals that it is time to wash and store warm blankets you used in the winter months. Winter clothes, like sweaters, can be placed in a clothing storage container that you can keep under the bed or in storage, and then you get out your spring and summer clothes that you forget about and then its like Christmas because of all the things you forgot you had. Spring is also a great time to go through your closet and dresser and get rid of items you don’t wear, and you can bless someone else with the ones that are in good condition. I also love cleaning up my patio furniture and planning a garden this time of year.

Take the pressure off yourself. It isn’t worth it. Stop thinking you can only deep clean and declutter in the spring. It is much less overwhelming to clean and declutter throughout the year. Of course there are still weekly cleaning jobs that need doing (toilets, tubs, vacuuming/floors, dusting, laundry). And by all means, enlist the help of others if needed-there is no shame in asking for help.