Are you one of those spring cleaning fanatical people I am seeing everywhere this week? You know the ones whose cart is full of cleaning supplies and Rubbermaid storage containers?
Well I am happy to say that this year, I am not one of those people. I have a stockpile of cleaning supplies that will get me through the next several years of spring cleaning, and most of our closets are already organized with the clear totes (the girls toys however are on my list of things to get squared away in the next couple months). What is it about spring that inspires so many to "get organized"? Here is the history from Wikipedia:
It has been suggested that the origins of spring cleaning date back to the Iranian Norouz, the Persian new year, which falls on the first day of spring[citation needed]. Iranians continue the practice of "khooneh tekouni" which literally means "shaking the house" just before the new year. Everything in the house is thoroughly cleaned, from the drapes to the furniture. A similar tradition is the Scottish "New Year's cleaning" on Hogmanay (December 31), a practice now also widespread in Ireland, New Zealand, and to some extent North America.
Another possibility of the origin of spring cleaning can be traced to the ancient Jewish practice of thoroughly cleansing the home in anticipation of the spring-time holiday of Passover. In remembrance of the Jews' hasty flight from Egypt following their captivity there, during the eight-day holiday there is a strict prohibition against eating anything which may have been leavened. Jews are not only supposed to refrain from leavened foodstuffs (known in Hebrew as chametz), they are expressly commanded to rid their homes of even small remnants of chametz for the length of the holiday (Exodus 12:15). Therefore, for the past 3,500 years, observant Jews have conducted a thorough "spring cleaning" of the house, followed by a traditional hunt for chametz crumbs by candlelight on the evening before the holiday begins.
In North America and northern Europe, the custom found an especial practical value due to those regions' continental and wet climates. During the 19th century in America, prior to the advent of the vacuum cleaner, March was often the best time for dusting because it was getting warm enough to open windows and doors (but not warm enough for insects to be a problem), and the high winds could carry the dust out of the house. For the same reason, modern rural households often use the month of March for cleaning projects involving the use of chemical products which generate fumes.
In Greece, and other Orthodox nations, it is traditional to clean the house thoroughly either right before or during the first week of Great Lent, which is referred to as Clean Week. This also often corresponds with the Julian New Year, or April 1.
So there you have it. It seems regardless of your heritage, Spring Cleaning has been instilled in each of us for centuries. I too am doing a bit of "spring cleaning," but not in the traditional sense. I have a rigid cleaning schedule that I stick to year round. You can find it here. Maybe it will help you avoid the spring cleaning fiasco next year. So instead of deep cleaning my house, I am cleaning other areas, like the garden!
I spent some time today getting all the dead leaves and debris from my strawberry patch, which is looking good! I am excited for them to start producing in a couple months. I have some great new recipes to try, and my kids will only eat strawberry jam so I will be making a ton of that! (They turn up their noses at the blackberry I made so that has become my guilty pleasure of late). I am also on the lookout for the recipe to that awesome Amish canned strawberry dessert that you can buy at their vegetable stands in the spring so if any of you have it, please pass it my way!
I also started some seeds a couple weeks ago:
These are some of the tomatoes. I also started some pepper plants, and garlic bulbs that are starting to sprout too.
So there you have it, my unconventional spring cleaning. What things are you doing to get ready for spring?
Another possibility of the origin of spring cleaning can be traced to the ancient Jewish practice of thoroughly cleansing the home in anticipation of the spring-time holiday of Passover. In remembrance of the Jews' hasty flight from Egypt following their captivity there, during the eight-day holiday there is a strict prohibition against eating anything which may have been leavened. Jews are not only supposed to refrain from leavened foodstuffs (known in Hebrew as chametz), they are expressly commanded to rid their homes of even small remnants of chametz for the length of the holiday (Exodus 12:15). Therefore, for the past 3,500 years, observant Jews have conducted a thorough "spring cleaning" of the house, followed by a traditional hunt for chametz crumbs by candlelight on the evening before the holiday begins.
In North America and northern Europe, the custom found an especial practical value due to those regions' continental and wet climates. During the 19th century in America, prior to the advent of the vacuum cleaner, March was often the best time for dusting because it was getting warm enough to open windows and doors (but not warm enough for insects to be a problem), and the high winds could carry the dust out of the house. For the same reason, modern rural households often use the month of March for cleaning projects involving the use of chemical products which generate fumes.
In Greece, and other Orthodox nations, it is traditional to clean the house thoroughly either right before or during the first week of Great Lent, which is referred to as Clean Week. This also often corresponds with the Julian New Year, or April 1.
So there you have it. It seems regardless of your heritage, Spring Cleaning has been instilled in each of us for centuries. I too am doing a bit of "spring cleaning," but not in the traditional sense. I have a rigid cleaning schedule that I stick to year round. You can find it here. Maybe it will help you avoid the spring cleaning fiasco next year. So instead of deep cleaning my house, I am cleaning other areas, like the garden!
I also started some seeds a couple weeks ago:
These are some of the tomatoes. I also started some pepper plants, and garlic bulbs that are starting to sprout too.
So there you have it, my unconventional spring cleaning. What things are you doing to get ready for spring?
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