Gone are the low, dark, lethargic days. Spring is the time for optimisation. We feel pulled to drink more water, eat more vegetables, move our bodies, feel the sun on our faces, and get out in the world. We wipe away the cobwebs of the previous month, literally and metaphorically. After all, what feels more ‘spring’ than open windows, fresh linens and clear surfaces?

And so we find ourselves pottering in our evenings and spending weekends itemising our wardrobes or trying out the latest TikTok cleaning hack. For the hard-core among us, we might even dip our toe in döstädning aka Swedish “death cleaning”.

Spring cleaning oddly feels different to the everyday household chores we loathe to make time for. Spring resets bring satisfaction, a sense of calm among the chaos of modern life.

Things get ticked off to-do lists, books get read, notebooks journaled in. We revel in the moments we can steal to do the things we enjoy the most. It’s a re-prioritisation of ourselves as we emerge into the next bright part of the year.

Spring cleaning: the psychology behind why we find ‘spring resets’ so appealing