Spring Cleaning - What’s It All About?

It’s that time of year when "spring cleaning" becomes the buzz word we constantly hear.

The tradition of spring cleaning is all about thoroughly clearing the energy in your home. A thorough cleanup includes cleaning areas you don’t usually clean, i.e. dusting beneath furniture and carpets and top kitchen shelves and even ceiling. Spring time is the time to declutter your closets and throw away things you no longer need or use.

Traditionally spring cleaning has been associated with the spring time. Spring cleaning can start whenever you feel like it, but it usually starts between March 1st and ends by April 30th.

Why Scent Is Considered Spiritual And 3 Traditions of Spring Cleaning

Spring cleaning seems to be an innate part of human nature as many world cultures have traditions of spring cleaning. Spring cleaning is actually thought to predate recorded history.

Some researchers attribute the origin of spring cleaning to the Iranian Nowruz, the Persian new year, which falls on the first day of spring. Today Iranians continue to practice, "khooneh tekouni,” which means "shaking the house.” Everything in the house is cleaned from top to bottom in preparation for the Persian New Year.¹

Religious organizations like the Catholic and Greek Orthodox churches also have spring cleaning rituals since ancient times.² Frankincense is a favorite scent used in many religious ceremonies and incense is used in churches to remind us of heaven.

The Jewish people also have a tradition of spring cleaning in preparation for the springtime festival of Passover.

They believe that, “The soul enjoys the sense smell and it is spiritual.”

Think about it, smelling salts are commonly used to revive someone who has fainted. Scent is thought to reach the essence of the soul, which is never unconscious. The soul, revitalized by the scent, then infuses new life into the body.

Unlike the other 5 senses the sense of smell can reach the essence of all things. When we want to get to the truth of a matter we use terms like, ”sniffing things out" or “something smells fishy.”

Research has shown that, unlike any of your other 5 senses the sense of smell enters directly into the brain. There are no filters interpreting scent like the other senses.

Smells are actually “felt” by the neuro-receptors. This felt signal is then sent along the nerve pathway directly into the brain where it triggers a cascade of chemical responses throughout your body.

Practically speaking it makes perfect sense to do a thorough cleaning at springtime. For many cultures with spring cleaning practices the winter season is wet and cold, so spring time is perfect for cleaning homes. On the first warm sunny day in spring you can open up all of your windows and air out the house while insects are not yet a problem.³

READ the next article in this series, Essential Oils for Spring Cleaning

¹Spring Cleaning Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spring_cleaning
²Spring Cleaning Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spring_cleaning
³Spring Cleaning Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spring_cleaning