Spring Cleaning
It is spring and everyone knows what that means. Tis the time of the season where I successfully managed to delay the publication date of this article… and tis the time of the season to clean.
To be frank, I wanted to publish this article last year in autumn and then I realised that way too many things came in between and suddenly it is spring again. Just like my winter vacation, everything was over in a blink of an eye.
Not that I am the biggest fan of spring cleaning. If I wanted to come across as dim-witted, I would even say that I don’t even own enough springs to be able to spend a whole day cleaning them.
Nevertheless, I don’t believe spring cleaning is a seasonal occurrence and I do know that I have some things I wanted to write about spring cleaning.
Like many of my articles before, let’s start with the definition. Spring-cleaning is a tradition undertaken in (unsurprisingly) spring to usher out everything old and make room for new. Spring is like a fresh start after the cold winter months and your house should supposedly show that as well.
Funnily, the definition of spring cleaning is just “a thorough cleaning of a house or room, typically undertaken in spring.” Emphasis on the word typically. That does not mean that spring-cleaning must take place in spring but typically is.
I have no idea why I am arguing about when spring cleaning should take place but here we are. My point is spring-cleaning is not necessarily spring only and this article is more about cleaning rather than the seasonal tradition of cleaning.
The reason why I am writing about cleaning, in general, is because I have been thinking about it and it is the thing I do with things I think about. In addition, I need to get my priorities sorted when it comes to cleaning in general. What better way to sort out priorities than laying them out in front of me.
First things first, I am a bit of a lazy arse hence I hate to actually get off my arse to clean. However, when I am motivated enough and have enough time to clean, I will clean everything. Frankly, I would describe myself as a lazy perfectionist. I adore a good thorough clean and organized environment since I feel most comfortable in those kinds of environments. Therefore when I live with roommates who leave their stuff every, I tend to go a little crazy.
There is something about untidiness that just blocks my thinking. Maybe it just distracts me, the cluttered spaces and full shelves. Yet I still don’t quite understand why untidiness just bugs me since something as mundane as disorganisation shouldn’t distract.
However why disorganisation distracts me should not be the main focus of this article. I wanted to write this article because I have always had a hard time getting my younger self to clean and organize the things that distract me so I can continue working concentratedly, which is contra-productive when I come to think about it. Cleaning is just the action to make something clean. Why does it come so hard to my younger me?
Maybe it is because cleaning takes effort, which I didn’t want to put in. Maybe cleaning is frustrating, so I come to hate it, which in turn makes me more frustrated and lets annoyance flow through my veins when we need to clean up. Maybe cleaning was and is something my parents forced me to do and therefore I hate cleaning out of rebellion. My point is cleaning especially on a larger scale is unpleasant to baby me.
However, after growing up a bit I come to enjoy it more than I used to since after getting used to cleaning, it just comes easier. In no way am I admitting that I like cleaning because frankly, I don’t, especially if I must clean up messes not made by me. Where is the fun in cleaning up someone else´s mess anyway? You didn’t have the fun making the mess and you won’t have fun cleaning up the mess.
Anyways, cleaning just seems very meditative to me since it can take my mind off some things and preoccupy my mind with other things. It is especially meditative when the effort put into cleaning is visible at the end of the day.
After cleaning up there is just this sense of peace and structure. Knowing that the place looks nice and clean is just very amicable. Considering the other option, cleaning just makes everything seem more serene.
Sometimes when I have time, I just clean and re-organize since it declutters my room and my mind. It is frankly a win-win. In those times, I might also have a tiny little obsession with perfection. Making sure everything is in the right place down to the centimetre and tossing out anything that I no longer need or is just straight out annoying me.
The tossing out part of my cleaning regimen has made me many enemies over the years. One thing I have never experienced was living alone, which means I shared living spaces with other people my whole life and people tend to fill those living spaces with items.
Let´s just say it does not hang well with other people if one would just throw out their belongings without their permission. Not that I have done that before, but I just know it would piss me off if my belongings would suddenly disappear and later I would find out that my roommate threw it out because they hated it seeing it in the common room.
Nevertheless, I always wonder if my roommates would actually notice it if I would toss out their possessions since the things cluttering the common space just seems old and out of use. They would never miss that old dusty thing in that corner.
At the same time, you will never know how much you need something until it is gone. Sometimes, I come to that realization years after I threw out something I presently don’t need but will need in the future. It is just hard to estimate the importance of something.
Nevertheless, nothing that I own can’t be replaced. Every item is available at the store in case I do throw away something I need. The only difference between the items in the store and the item I own is the item at home has sentimental value while the store items don’t.
I guess that is the reason it's so hard for anyone to throw away anything since we are attached to it. The reason why is also interesting, but the short version is in the video below.
We always want to hold onto the familiar no matter how broken it may be. It is hard to let go of something we are so accustomed to even if that thing no longer serves its purpose properly. Therefore throwing out something, especially nostalgic possessions is heart-wrenching.
For instance, I did my parents a huge favour by sorting through their old stacks of CDs. It was taking up space and no one used it because we don’t have a CD Player anymore. However, my parents constantly were asking me to leave it because they want to keep it.
Since I became more rational over the years I always asked them some questions before I give in and let them keep it. For example, I would always ask them if they see themselves actually listening to the CDs in the future or if they are only imagining themselves using them in the future since plans and dreams are two very different things.
Moreover, they should spend some time thinking about the reasons they truly want to keep it. Is the reason emotional or useful?
Then they should consider what would happen if it were gone since they probably already forgot the cd before I brought it up so that should not be too hard.
The reason I am pushing my parents so hard to get rid of their CDs is simply that I can sell them, which is higher than the value they are currently worth in the basement in a box (which is nothing).
My insistence on selling my parent's belongings stems from the fact that revenge is fair play. They sold my toys first, asking me the questions I use to turn on them first, making me get rid of my stuff first. Even though I made more from selling my unwanted toys than I could imagine those toys being worth, it still hurt greatly to know that they are gone. It hurts, even more, knowing my parents are not very good salespeople.
Nevertheless, after a month or two I completely forgot that those toys existed. When I do remember their existence, I am not sad anymore but grateful to know that they are in a home now where children will actually play with them instead of leaving them on a shelf or even worse leaving them in a box in the basement.
Through selling my toys I also discovered an unexplored hobby, photography. Many buyers always would leave a comment saying that the picture looks good. It is nice to hear the praise because at the start of it I had no idea what I was doing whatsoever. Through the selling of my old belongings, I learned and improved. I can’t lie but this whole process was fun even though I had my doubts at first.
For the fact that I don’t think about my old toys anymore, I sincerely doubt my parents will remember their CDs once they are gone since they already have trouble remembering some personal facts.
This is how I came to the conclusion that I sincerely doubt anyone would remember what they placed in the commonplace of the house since they are prone to forgetting and leaving their belongings there.
Cleaning on the other hand is not as easy as throwing out. It takes time and effort. If you live with careless people, like me, it can get frustrating to find the kitchen dirty for the 500th time and you are left with a dilemma. On the one hand, I want a clean kitchen since I am prone to cleaning the mess I didn’t make because I like the kitchen clean when I cook. On the other hand, I don’t want to clean the kitchen since I don’t want them to think it is okay to leave a bloody mess every time they enter the kitchen.
Living in a dorm with flatmates is all about compromises and this, as it turns out, is just one of them. Whenever I would go into the kitchen I would just have to turn a blind eye to the mess and just do what I wanted to do in that kitchen, cook. Even though the mess sometimes makes it hard to do even that.
To be fair, there is nothing I could do about that constant mess in the kitchen so there is that. I guess I just wanted to write an article about cleaning because I just didn’t and still don’t understand why some people just like hanging on to their no-longer-usable belongings and live in the annoying messes they made. Whether they are sentimental or just lazy, it can oftentimes be annoying but as long as you keep your living spaces liveable and those spaces makes you comfortable that is really all that counts and matters.