When I was a young child, every spring the whole house would be the subject of a major event…the annual spring cleaning. The spring clean was all about getting the house ready for the year ahead, starting with Easter. After the long winter when we were all cooped up inside, the doors and windows were opened to the world again and fresh air poured in.

Every corner of the house was to be cleared out, de-cluttered, scrubbed, and polished so the house would look its best for the season to come. We discovered toys and other items we had almost forgotten about and that, with a little cleaning would be perfectly fit for purpose again. Items that were broken were either fixed (yes, the good old days!) or discarded. Windows and curtains were washed until they gleamed in the sunshine. To top it all off, each person would get new ‘Sunday best’ clothes and the winter wardrobe would be changed into the summer one.

This outward change would also create an inward change. The freshness of the spring clean somehow permeated through into our very being. There was a spring in our step, a cleanliness in our mind. An undefinable sense of new beginnings, new possibilities, new everything.

Today, the seasons seem less defined and we ‘glide’ through the year without the big markers that were the religious holidays, in particular Easter and Christmas. Each of which had a preparation time of its own, much like spring cleaning, where people were encouraged to do a ‘spiritual spring clean’. During both Lent and Advent people were encouraged to look at their inner life, to make amends for times when they let themselves and others down, to give up small pleasures and to give to charity. All this to get ready to celebrate life wholeheartedly and free of unnecessary ‘bagage’.

How can we do our own inner spring clean if we’re not or no longer religious? Do we need to go to retreats in far flung places or start meditating 5 hours a day? Do we need to practice yoga twice a day or volunteer in refugee camps? You can of course when it inspires you, but you don’t need to. 

We can simply start by getting rid of things that are no longer useful like old grudges or outworn hurts. Like burning coal and oil during the long winter season, these will leave a sticky, dirty and poisonous residue in our interior. If left unchecked this will cause severe damage to our health and wellbeing and may in time be detrimental to us. Letting go of them allows the light to reach our interior again and we can breathe more easily.

 Our inner cupboard can be cleansed by checking the ‘best before dates’ on our mental concepts. Being human means there is an innate impulse to grow and to change. But like our cupboards, if we don’t clean out once in a while, it will become clogged, nothing new can be added and growth will be restricted.

Much like the spring clean our mothers did, a spiritual spring clean involves hard graft and determination. It is not going to happen all by itself, and it is going to be uncomfortable for a while. It might get mucky, and we will need to let go of things that were once precious. 

If nothing else, we can simply start being more charitable towards others AND ourselves. Now THAT in itself will bring a major clean up in your life.

Maybe you want to try this at home, at work or on the bus and bring to life your shiny ‘new’ YOU, ready for the new growth that is trying to push its way through the still dark and cold ground. A promise for all the good things to come.