Big Clean Up (2005-12-30)
One activity Japanese housewives are busy doing at this time of the year is cleaning house which is called Susuharai--soot sweeping. It is a tradition for people to dust, sweep, mop and scrub their homes thoroughly so stains from the previous year will be rubbed out and the family can welcome the New Year with a spotlessly clean house, physically and spiritually too.
Occasionally I will see people hauling carpets and large items into
the front yard to have them hosed and washed. My supermarket has
also put up a table full of repair materials for Shoushi, the Japanese
paper folding doors or windows. Any holes or rickety bits
will most likely be replaced or repaired before next month arrives.
Those women I see climbing on steps trying to clean the curtain rods
or bending down to scrub balcony rails are so motivated! I admire
their studious effort. I can never be that organized, I have a
very low standard of what "clean" is and I feel spiritually okay to
step into 2006 in the current condition of our apartment.
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