Spring Cleaning 101

What Is Spring Cleaning? Spring cleaning refers to the deep-cleaning chores that people may engage in during spring, after the winter months have made many jobs more difficult to do and thus more neglected. Spring cleaning jobs generally include things like washing windows, cleaning appliances, scrubbing floors, and washing sheets and linens (but hopefully you’re doing that year-round), as well as donating clothes, paring down, and putting organization systems in place.

Who Does Spring Cleaning? The obvious answer is that people who want a clean home are those who engage in spring cleaning. More specifically, though, 86% of women and 68% of men (77% of Americans) report regularly engage in spring cleaning, according to The Soap and Detergent Association’s (SDA) 2008 Spring Cleaning Survey. This is up 12% from 2007’s numbers, so it appears that spring cleaning is catching on.

How Does Spring Cleaning Relieve Stress? Spring cleaning creates a less cluttered, less dirty atmosphere, which can impact your stress levels more than you may realize. It can also be a time saver throughout the year, as you’ll have less trouble finding things you need if you’re more organized. See this article for several other ways that cleaning in general can be an excellent stress reliever.

Painless Strategies for Spring Cleaning Spring cleaning’s popularity, however, does not necessarily indicate that it’s a fun part of people’s lives: when asked what they would give up in order to avoid spring cleaning, a significant number of people said they’d pay $100, give up dining out for a month, or forego a weekend trip! If you find yourself dreading spring cleaning, fear not; it can actually be fun and an effective route to stress relief. This piece on clutter and stress can help you better understand the hidden cost of clutter, and make spring cleaning almost painless.