National Clean Your Room Day - May 10, 2023

With the exception of people who are born organized neat freaks, we can all admit our rooms can get chaotic from time to time. To the delight of parents and more polished family and friends, May 10 is National Clean Your Room Day. Research into the holiday doesn’t reveal who founded it, but for those of us who may need it (or have family, friends, and roommates who do), it’s nice to have a holiday that reminds us to get our act together—starting with our rooms!

National Clean Your Room Day timeline

May 2010

One of the earliest blog posts was written about Clean Your Room Day

Although the creator of this day of cleanliness is unknown, one of the earliest blog posts about May 10 was written on May 2010.

1870s

The feather duster was invented

A farmer in Iowa invented the feather duster by taking turkey feathers to factory and requesting that they make a brush out of this.

1800s

The origins of spring cleaning in America

The predecessor for Clean Your Room Day is spring cleaning. This originated from having to clean homes during spring because using fireplaces and rudimentary heaters during winter would leave homes with a layer of soot.

0 AD

Religious cleaning customs

Various religions practice cleaning rituals before important holidays. It is known that Jews would clean their homes before Passover, and those in the Greek Orthodox church clean their homes before Lent. Now we have another tradition specific to our rooms!

2800 BC

Soap use becomes common

Soap was first used by Babylonians in 2800 BC to clean pots and pans.

National Clean Your Room Day Activities

Make sure your parents also clean their room

Children and teenagers are usually the culprits of messy rooms, but some kids have messy parents. Even if they aren't messy, it's fun watching parents complain about doing chores too. You can even help your parents decide which old items of theirs they should throw out or donate!

Redecorate your room

If you think about cleaning as a boring chore, then make a plan for how you could redecorate your room as you clean it. Maybe you could rearrange furniture, add plants, or posters, or you could decide if there's a theme you'd like for your room. Plus, you can give yourself an incentive to keep your room clean for long after May 10.

Celebrate cleanliness

Once you're finished cleaning, go out and celebrate your clean room. Hey, it's hard for some of us to stay organized and on top of cleanliness, so choose something you'll use to treat yourself once you're done. Maybe you can go to a nice restaurant, buy yourself something nice, or get a new accessory that can shine in your clean space.

Why We Love National Clean Your Room Day

Cleaning your room can make you feel more relaxed!

Having a day to clean your room lets you put things in a particular place, organize, and can help you feel more relaxed because you'll know where everything is. Research actually shows that making your bed every morning can make it easier to keep up with other positive habits.

Cleaning can help you see how fortunate you are.

We often complain about not having enough. By giving your room a deep-clean on a designated day, you can dig up old clothes, shoes, toys, or gadgets you no longer use. These can be given away as gifts, donated to shelters, or given to friends who may use them so they won't take up space or go to waste.

National Clean Your Room Day is great for procrastinators!

May 10 is a great day to catch up on any spring cleaning you may have put off. A designated national day for cleanliness can give you a deadline to work with so that you lead a life with reduced dirt and clutter.

Also on Wed May 10, 2023...