Spring cleaning
Why cleaning windows makes me happy
© Barbara Digital
Tidying up, wiping and vacuuming until the beads of sweat roll over your forehead: It's time for spring cleaning – and you really can't start early enough.
by Jessica Seiffert
Well-intentioned advice: start now! Anyone who still thinks in February that spring cleaning is completely unnecessary should hang on to the window pane with the glass cleaner no later than four weeks later on the first warm spring weekend. Then the rays of the sun show you quite clearly how terribly dirty the windows really are. You usually have no choice but to arm yourself with a mop and cleaning bucket for at least one weekend in spring and polish the booth to a shine. I've already done the spring cleaning. Soon I'll be enjoying the first ice cream in the sun in my spring outfit, while others (have to) quickly get frustrated with the basic cleaning of their apartment.
Pure liberation: spring cleaning is more than just tidying up
I am really not a woman who is crazy about cleaning – not at all. But I really bloom during spring cleaning. For me there is more to it than just creating dull order. There is something very liberating about it. Something meditative. It feels like I'm simply wiping away and throwing away the legacy of the dark and bleak winter months. That's how it is: Some start the new year highly motivated with resolutions and plans on January 1st. I, on the other hand, only wake up when the sunlight floods the apartment again and the first crocuses bloom – and then they scrub and clear!
Clean windows for a better view: wipe the dirt off your soul!
The great thing about spring cleaning: You can see the results immediately. You can hardly see the windows at all, as clear as they suddenly are. The floor is sparkling clean. And in the closet there is space for the new summer outfits. Not only does it feel good to have finally done the big annual to-do – you just see it right away. The apartment shines again. I am beaming. I rarely feel as productive and result-oriented as when I was spring cleaning. The good mood is inevitable. Ready for spring!
There is no perfect plan for spring cleaning
There are numerous checklists for spring cleaning online – even if I approach the matter with great motivation, none of them has ever worked for me. I therefore recommend simply indulging in your own cleaning flow. After cleaning the windows, do you want to move furniture and remove the cobwebs on the ceiling? Or do you prefer to sort the paperwork or put the winter clothes in the attic? Go for it! Whether you work your way up room by room or, like Marie Kondo, move on from one category to the next: It doesn't matter how you go about it. The most important thing is to start simply – preferably this weekend!