Spring Cleaning for Lent

Elena LaVictoire explains her plan to make deep-cleaning her home an essential part of her Lenten discipline.

Lent is one of my favorite times of the year. It forces me to prioritize the things I would otherwise put aside, and it makes me slow down and focus on building a better prayer life and renewing my faith practices.

This year, I am going to combine my spiritual Lenten practices with one of my least favorite things—deep cleaning my home! But it’s just not cleaning for the sake of crossing things off of my to-do list. It’s cleaning as part of a Lenten discipline.

Here’s the plan. Each week I will fixate on one project in my home that needs some attention. Everybody has them: A junk drawer or two in the kitchen, a closet that’s so stuffed and unorganized that the doors don’t close, or a messy garage.

I have something special in mind for this first week of Lent. I have one drawer that is just stuffed with old photos and mementos. I will take one week to go through these things, organize them, scan them digitally, and put things into memory albums. But as I work through this big box of clutter, I will thank God for the beautiful memories, pray for the people represented in the pictures and paperwork, and then repent for my slothfulness that led to such a condition in the first place!

But just now Timothy has returned to us from you, bringing us the good news of your faith and love, and that you always think kindly of us and long to see us as we long to see you. (1 Thessalonians 3:6)

For my personal closet, I will donate all the clothing I’ve been saving for “someday.” Those jeans I’ve been saving for years, I’ll offer thanks for the good times they saw me through and be grateful for the six little babies that took me out of them! That vintage dress I’ve held on to since 1989? Maybe it’s time to repurpose it or just give it away.

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“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and decay destroy, and thieves break in and steal." (Matthew 6:19)

My bookshelf? Well, I don’t believe in throwing books away, but I have a nice library that I should be grateful for, and I’m going to organize them so that when one of my kids or their spouses want to borrow something, I’ll be able to see if I have it or not. And I’ll say special prayers for my mother, who inspired my love of reading and even left me some of these books.

He is not the God of disorder but of peace. (1 Corinthians 14:33)

Maybe the hardest part will be our front porch, which has a mishmash of things that have accumulated on it. And some of those things belong to Mr. Pete. So, it will be a negotiation and a plea to turn this area into something we could entertain and relax in instead of hurrying people through so they overlook the clutter! In fact, the entrance of our home should be warm and inviting; that is what I will pray for when I’m working on it.

Do not neglect hospitality, for through it some have unknowingly entertained angels. (Hebrews 13:2)

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Part of living Lent is looking at ourselves and trying to see our sins, repent, and live better lives to grow closer to God. Since the Lord is the creator of order and not chaos, what makes it easy for me to have these little pockets of disorder? Is it sloth? Is it procrastination? Or have I allowed other things to take priority instead of concentrating on these little hot spots when they develop? This is part of a bigger examination of conscience that I hope will help me grow spiritually and enrich my home for my husband, family, and friends.

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Part of living Lent is looking at ourselves and trying to see our sins, repent, and live better lives to grow closer to God. #CatholicMom

Do you have any spring-cleaning plans for this Lent?

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