Spring and springtime is a time of rebirth, rejuvenation and regrowth. Animals come out of hibernation and flowers out of the ground. The sweet aroma of the flowers and the earthy smell of dirt they grow in just scream spring. Speaking of dirt, spring is also a time to clean, clean, clean.
When is the First Day of Spring?
Waiting for spring to begin can be nerve wrecking. On one hand most non-Swiss want to know how long they have before they must start the detestable chore of spring cleaning. On the other hand a lot of Swiss are getting nervous waiting for spring so they can finally start deep cleaning their homes. It’s like they’re revving their engines at the start line so they can get off to a solid start.
Technically when spring begins depends on which hemisphere you are talking about. When it’s spring in the northern hemisphere, it’s autumn in the southern and vice versa. Secondly it depends on whom you ask.
Meteorologists usually define the seasons by their temperatures. The three months with the warmest temperatures are summer, the coldest three months are winter. The intervals between are spring and fall. The meteorological spring always begins on March 1st. This is for statistical purposes. That way the climate can be compared statistically for the exact same time periods.
Astrologists define the seasons by the sun. Spring equinox is when both days and nights are 12 hours long with the daytime increasing as the season progresses. In the northern hemisphere that happens between March 19th and 21st. This year and many years to come spring will begin on March 20th . The last time it was on March 21st was in 2011, the next time it will be on March 19th will be in 2048.
So for all of you Swiss waiting at the starting line, ready… start your engines…
Spring Cleaning in Switzerland
Okay, the Swiss are known for the cleanliness. The streets, buses, trams, and trains are immaculate. The Swiss clean all year round but spring cleaning is a special, deep cleaning. I saw this Swiss Tourism TV commercial from 2014. It shows many things Swiss do before visitors arrive for their summer holidays in Switzerland. Starting with being on their knees to cut the grass. Now that is exact. Okay, they may have exaggerated a little, maybe.
Spring cleaning has been around for a while and was certainly a lot harder 150 years ago than today. That was because the housekeepers back then had to do all the work by hand. They washed all the heavy drapes and beat the dust out of the carpets by hand with something that looks like a huge fly swatter. The soot from the fireplace had to be whitewashed away from the ceilings, and the floors all scrubbed. All the furniture had to be moved outside to air or covered to keep clean from the stirred dust. This was not an undertaking for the weak hearted.
It’s strange, but in spite of all the advances and gadgets that there are to help us do the dirty work, it’s still a chore to be avoided at all costs for many.
Moving
Some of those who hate spring cleaning fantasize avoiding it by moving. The idea is doable at first glance but it won’t work in Switzerland. That’s because you have to hand over the apartment you’re moving out of so clean that the next person can move right in. It’s unbelievable all the things that have to be cleaned or fixed before you can hand an apartment over and move out.
So believe me, a little spring cleaning is lots easier than moving.
Why Spring Clean
Even if you are a cleaning grouch but live in Switzerland there are some reasons to clean anyway. One is that your neighbors tend to get annoyed if you leave things laying around. It’s important to the Swiss what their neighbors think of them. We have a neighbor who obviously knows her Swiss cleaning rules. She did her best to stay ahead of the game and not to annoy her neighbors shortly after moving in. One morning when I was getting in the car to go somewhere she stopped me to say she was sorry for the mess in front of their house. It was only because they had just moved in. They were going to clean it up as fast as possible. Nipping any problems in the bud.
10 Easy Steps on How to Spring Clean Like a Swiss
We’re not talking about dusting down a couple of shelves here. The Swiss version of spring cleaning is similar to a military operation. I found the following plan on how to spring clean from a Swiss house and garden information website. I didn’t make any of the steps up, but I added some comments here and there.
1. Plan what you are going to do and when. That way you’ll (hopefully) know when you’ve finished.
2. In case you haven’t cleared out all the useless things that are clogging up your home in the last couple of years, now is the time. Sort out the things you no longer want or use and throw them out or give them away. Luckily most Swiss do this regularly so they can skip this point.
3. Before starting, gather all your cleaning materials. If you are a beginner, sorry, but you’ve got to go out and buy cleaners, sponges, dusters and a swarm of other cleaning material. The more ecological products you buy, the more Swiss it is. By the way, no one said this endeavor was going to be fast or cheap.
4. Now it’s time to start. Your first stop is the kitchen. It’ll probably need the most thorough cleaning. Clean everything inside and out until it looks new. Remember don’t skimp.
5. If you thought the kitchen was a tough job, wait until you get to the bathroom(s). They’re next on your cleaning list. Green and fuzzy is never good in a bathroom (or anywhere in the house for that matter). Clean that green and fuzzy stuff away and go for that new, shinny look.
6. Next on the cleaning list are the windows. This is one of the few things I sort of do regularly. I always get such a sense of accomplishment looking out a freshly cleaned window and actually being able to see what’s outside.
7. After the windows, it’s time to wash down and vacuum the couch cushions and polish any wooden or leather furniture.
8. Now air out all bed mattresses and comforters or quilts. If you have a balcony put them out there to air out, otherwise into the back yard. Scrub the bedroom floors, especially under the beds.
9. While your mattresses are airing it’s time to dust and clean all of the stuff that you haven’t gotten to yet. That would be lampshades, computers, doorways, books, put your plants in the bath to wash off the dust, you know, things like that.
10. The last thing to do is to clean all the floors and rugs. If you happen to have wall-to-wall carpets, now’s the time for a shampoo. If you have runner rugs or throw rugs hang them over a laundry line (be sure the line’s sturdy enough) and basically beat the dirt out of them with a carpet beater. If you have any pent up anger, this will help you get rid of it and keep you in shape at the same time.
A special tip from yours truly, thrown in for good measure: if, in the very unlikely case, you should happen to find a spider somewhere while cleaning, don’t kill it. That’s not the Swiss thing to do. Trap it in a glass and set it free outside.
That’s it. 10 easy steps to spring clean like a Swiss. Hmmm, what was I thinking when I wrote that compared to 150 years ago, cleaning today is easy. Just reading the list makes me want to crawl back in bed to wait until spring springs into summer. Then it’ll be too hot to deep clean anything or maybe just I’ll just reschedule spring cleaning for next year.
You can use the 10 easy steps as a test to see how Swiss you really are. If you are able to finish 8-10 of the above points every year congratulations, you are Swiss born and raised. You possess that special Swiss ‘clean-gene’. If you can finish 5-7, not bad, you’re an average Swiss or possibly a wanna-be Swiss. Anything less than 5, I would suggest you start saving your money so you can hire some professional cleaners to do the work. You’ll be surprised how nice everything looks after they leave.
No matter how you do it, once spring cleaning is over you’ve earned a treat. So do something Swiss and invite your neighbors over for some Rivella you bought at Migros and Swiss snacks you made from a Betty Bossi recipe.
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