As the flowers begin to bud and the sun finally sets after the workday ends, it’s the perfect time to recentre ourselves – and our personal space – for a fresh start. From purging closets to scrubbing windows and floors, spring cleaning is a ritual many people can’t help but take part in. Some even find it restorative or fun.
To help ring in the changing of the seasons, we asked Globe readers what they love most about spring cleaning. Here’s what they said.
Get it all out of the way: In March, I clean one room at a time at my cottage, pulling out beds and cleaning baseboards, removing clutter and changing flannel sheets and heavy duvets to lighter sleeping fare. On those dreary or sloppy March days, I have in mind the sunny or warmer days, when my spring cleaning is done and I can get out and do outside activities like getting on my bike or going for a hike. By late April, I am ready to tackle the yard. I usually listen to Leon Bridges, Nathaniel Rateliff and surprisingly of late, I am working out or cleaning to disco! - Joann McCann, Sheenboro, Que.
Illustration by Miguel Manich
The “old flame” test: I love the feeling of a purge of no longer needed items. I ask myself, “Would I rather have the money I spent at the time or the item?” It helps me modify my spending to be more thoughtful. Also, if I wouldn’t want to be caught wearing it by an old flame, it shouldn’t be in my closet! - Trish Saltys, Toronto
Practising patience: The first time you go outside and feel the sun’s warmth in your skin in spring, in a way that makes you stop and close your eyes and linger, is the first real moment of spring, in my mind.
This spring, I have two broken wrists and casts on both my arms. I can’t do any housework at all. I am watching my family struggle to keep up with extra chores created because I can’t do my part for even the basic daily chores. And I actually long to be able to do the rituals of spring cleaning and getting everything in order. To have to sit by and not be able to do these things is teaching me a lot about being patient, and about not needing to have things done exactly the way I would do them. - Juliet Graham, Indian Harbour, N.S.
A sense of renewal: I get the satisfaction of renewing my home just like the outdoors is renewing. Out with the old, the dusty, the mouldy, the useless. In with natural clean and freshness. I like the sense of accomplishment that comes from spring cleaning, although I don’t like the tediousness of regular cleaning. Once a year, I throw myself into deep cleaning and then put up my feet and relax. - Laurie Crocker, Waterloo, Ont.
Goodbye, mouldy Tupperwares: There’s nothing like opening the fridge door on the day after a thorough clean and seeing glistening shelves and drawers. So proud. It’s just a matter of setting aside time, filling the sink with hot sudsy water, towels ready for wiping, then go! - June Doyle, Southern Ontario
Spring cleaning all year: I spring clean 12 months of the year. Spring does bring out a few additional activities, such as cleaning windows, moving furniture, replacing towels, throwing out used mats, cleaning winter boots and putting away for another season. I live in a small condo and try to live with a minimum of stuff, staying on top of it by editing and purging monthly. I’m constantly thinking of my adult kids as I live my life, hoping that they won’t be burdened with too much stuff when the time comes for them to sort through it all. - Louise Turner, Toronto
Moving in: I started spring cleaning in January, 2025. We have been in this home for nine years, and it is long past time for the leftover moving boxes to be emptied. I started to clear the storage space under the stairs and now have two car loads for a charity yard sale, two bags to garbage, a load has gone to Goodwill and another to recycling. - Jane Steward, Woodstock, Ont.
