There's nothing quite as overwhelming as the prospect of deep-cleaning your entire home. This year, I decided waiting for spring wasn't an option. After months of quiet accumulation, my space felt overrun with clutter, so I decided that the Lunar New Year presented the perfect opportunity for a refresh.
Why? Well, I've long admired Japanese design principles for their calm aesthetic, so I began looking to Eastern rituals for guidance elsewhere in my home. That's when I discovered Oosouji. Translating to "big cleaning," this is a traditional end-of-year ritual where homes, schools, and offices are thoroughly cleaned and decluttered ahead of January 1. Rooted in Shinto philosophy, Oosouji is about more than tidiness alone — it symbolizes purging the past year's negative energy to welcome an era of renewal in the New Year.
