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Follow the Japanese tradition of “spring cleaning” for New Years

For many in the Japanese culture, cleaning and tidying up their homes at New Years is a yearly tradition. The cleaning can even include the workplace and school. This tradition has its roots in religious tradition.

Looking around your house, here are are a few questions to ask: How do you feel in your home? Is it clean? Can you find things? Is every surface covered with something, like a plant, books or other items? Are you at ease? If you were to clean, would a major tidying of items be required first? Are you able to be in the space in the way you desire?

There are many experts out there on tidying and cleaning. A few include Denise Linn, Marie Kondo, and Karen Kingston. However one reason that there are so many experts and so much advice out there is that tidying is not a one fits all approach. How we want to feel and how we use our space is very individualized. For example, I don’t want my pantry to look like a Container Store pop up with every item distilled into it. That’s my preference.

How to clean for New Years without spending hours doing so? This is how I am going to break it down for myself. Note, this assumes a general level of organization. Since I recently moved, I am pretty well organized with a place for most things. I am now in a process of revisiting if the space is organized and being used in the manner that I desire. For example, I need to bring in a bigger bookcase to hold my children’s items in the living room.

First, mentally divide each space into a “room.” For example, the bathroom, the bedroom, the kitchen. Do this so that you can tackle one at a time, this is more likely to lead to success.

Next, stand in the space, or sit and visualize it. Do you notice anything that does not belong or that you do not want in the space. For example, my bathroom is relatively small. Standing in it, I can quickly see if anything needs to be put away or removed. The used washcloth in the shower goes to the laundry. The old flowers on the floating shelf go to the compost. The trash emptied.

Third and last step, is to clean the space. I like to use scent and chemical free cleaning products to clean with. Following the bathroom example, I can easily clean surfaces, dust the items that need it, clean the sink console, etc.

Let’s step calmly into the New Year.