A thorough cleaning of a house or room, typically undertaken in spring.
‘We were supposed to be starting a spring clean of the house last night but Debbie wasn't feeling too well so we had to leave that until tonight.’
‘Clutter may be relative, but it still exists, which means that a good spring clean should be done regularly (regardless of the season).’
‘Further problems were identified with the decor, which needed freshening up with a coat of paint and the whole place would benefit from a spring clean.’
‘The park's rebirth was given a massive boost when a band of 30 volunteers spent the day giving the place a spring clean.’
‘I still have to plan a big spring clean, including getting the carpets shampooed.’
‘The project is worth up to £500m over 15 years and will begin with a spring-clean of the council's internal systems: IT support, HR and payroll.’
‘A major spring cleaning was carried out to welcome them.’
‘If you feel your body could use a spring cleaning of sorts, you may have considered a ‘detoxing’ program.’
‘This week, he had to help his mother to do spring cleaning.’
‘Michaela had decided at the last minute not to go to Four Winds with the rest of the family, choosing instead to stay behind and do the spring cleaning.’
‘In fact, one of the fastest and easiest ways to make the tedious task of spring cleaning less taxing is to pop in a CD while completing your chores.’
‘Now that I'm an adult, however, I'm, slowly but surely learning the value of change - and of a good spring cleaning.’
‘I started my spring cleaning at 4pm and ended at 6 freaking AM.’
‘There is clutter everywhere, no storage space, parts of it are falling apart and broken, and to be totally honest the whole place could do with spring cleaning - even though it is now officially summer!’
‘I'm knee-deep in spring cleaning today.’
‘Vintage is a fashion look that will never disappear, so next time you're doing your spring cleaning, think twice about trashing your favorite '80s suede jacket.’
‘I wanted to do a bit of spring cleaning yesterday, so I thought I would start with the closet.’
‘I didn't get all my spring cleaning done, but I will be off the first week in June, so I can get some summer cleaning done instead.’
‘This morning I was thinking, I'd rather be having an easy Sunday, reading the paper and all, but decided it was essential to get down to some serious spring cleaning.’
‘She's also looking forward to having time to travel and to get her house in order with a bit of spring-cleaning.’
verb
[with object]
Clean (a home or room) thoroughly.
‘it was Veronica who spring-cleaned the flat’
‘Diwali, also considered as the unofficial Indian New Year, is a traditional time for spring-cleaning the home and for wearing new clothes.’
‘In early March of 2002, Miss Natasha Barrow was spring-cleaning her recently purchased flat in Edmonton, North London.’
‘When Lennox Morrison, a journalist, wanted to spring-clean her life - changing her weight, her career and even her name - she realised it was no job for a well-meaning amateur.’
‘The creatures play an important role in the changing shape and composition of the ocean floor, as they sluggishly spring-clean the seabed.’
‘This is a good opportunity to spring-clean rugby's tarnished image.’
‘In Britain, as in India, the festival is a time for thoroughly spring-cleaning the home and for wearing new clothes and most importantly, decorating buildings with fancy lights.’
‘I decided the other day when I was spring cleaning the house that I have accumulated far too many things and that a lot of them really have to go.’
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