{"id":65584,"date":"2026-03-24T07:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-03-24T11:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/?p=65584"},"modified":"2026-04-17T07:54:47","modified_gmt":"2026-04-17T11:54:47","slug":"14-songs-to-ignite-a-spring-cleaning-spark","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/14-songs-to-ignite-a-spring-cleaning-spark\/","title":{"rendered":"14 Songs to Ignite a Spring-Cleaning Spark"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\u201cYou Learn\u201d by Alanis Morissette is one way to approach all of life\u2019s goodbyes, big and small. (Credit: Youtube)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Spring has sprung \u2013 which means spring cleaning<\/a> season is upon us. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019re not sure where to begin, there are plenty of women experts to turn to. Influencers like Chantel Mila<\/a> have plenty of general cleanliness tips to offer. When diving into organizing, maybe Kayleen Kelly\u2019s 4-pronged method<\/a> of eliminating clutter appeals to you. Perhaps GoCleanCo\u2019s Sarah McAllister<\/a> and her hacks will best assist you with your overloaded home. Or, there\u2019s always Marie Kondo<\/a>\u2019s world-renowned KonMari method of getting and keeping tidy \u2013 though even the clean queen herself admits to paying less attention to such matters now that she\u2019s a mom. (Relatable.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whenever this time of year rolls around, I find myself wondering what gurus like them \u2013 and others in general \u2013 would make of Bro.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bro, pronounced “Brah,” is a toy dog I acquired over 25 years ago. (Calculating the time difference between Bro’s purchase and my writing of this introduction is an exercise in what I like to call “hurtful math.”) I bought him while strolling the Atlantic City boardwalk as a senior in high school. It was a windy November evening \u2013 hardly beach weather, but these walks were customary following All-State Chorus rehearsals, like the one I’d just finished on this particular evening. I\u2019d taken many of them with my friends in years prior, all freezing cold and full of laughs and singing through our favorite pieces from rehearsal as the sun set … but that stroll stands out (and not just because we accompanied it by singing James Erb’s arrangement of “Shenandoah<\/a>“).<\/p>\n\n\n

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Keep or toss? (Don’t worry, I’m keeping Bro.) Our spring-cleaning playlist will help you sort that out. (Credit: Candice Helfand-Rogers)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

My younger self was on the precipice of starting a new chapter \u2013 I gabbed louder and swore far more than necessary while carrying this fuzzy, frivolous purchase made with money I\u2019d earned as a part-time grocery clerk. The excitement of “maybe” and “possibly” \u2013 and “hopefully” \u2013 was so thick, I swore I could reach through one of those frigid ocean breezes and grab hold.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over the years that followed, I\u2019d undergo numerous sea changes, navigate several moves, and take on numerous spring cleaning projects \u2013 but Bro remained a surprising constant. Through every job switch; every new love and subsequent heartbreak; every hard lesson learned; every title acquired and lost, from “understudy” and “cub” to “featured soloist” and “editor.” And yes, through becoming “wife” and “mom,” too.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\n \n A Fun Feminist Playlist to Cure Your Political and Patriarchal Blues\n <\/a>\n <\/h3>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n\n

Every time my life shifted, Bro found his stubby-legged way into joining me. Repeatedly grounding me, by mere sight, with his constant presence \u2013 while at the same time whisking me back to that crisp, clear late fall sunset and the breadth of possibility that was laid out before our respective sea-green and ink-black gazes. He reminds me that “maybe” and “possibly” and “hopefully” aren’t relics of my past, but rather, treasures still on offer to me now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here’s the thing: Scientifically speaking, Bro shouldn\u2019t have made it this far. His mechanized movements stopped ages ago. His \u201cbark\u201d is now a degraded yelp; his synthetic fur is patchy and, frankly, pathetic. The amorphous mystery stain near his battery cartridge might actually be atrophied acid, but I’m too scared to investigate the matter. He is, if I’m being honest, somewhat offensive to all five senses \u2013 nevertheless, Bro persists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And when spring cleaning season arrives, I annually wonder: How does one part ways with something that is so beautifully, indelibly connected to a life \u2013 yet is, objectively speaking, crap?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don\u2019t ask me, because as of publication, Bro remains in my home. And part of me thinks that\u2019s all right. Maybe it\u2019s even good<\/em> to hold on to our own individual Bros sometimes \u2013 these nonsense knick-knacks that, when found and held once more, bring us back to times and places whose recollection feels good and warm and sweet. Objects that serve as reminders of our ongoing growth, and maybe even make us smirk with pride at how far we’ve come.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But for most everything else whose time has come and gone, as I’m sure the women experts I cited above would remind me, it’s probably time to purge. To shed that which no longer fits us; that which brings pain through remembrance; that which we can and should let go of to make room for light and newness. So sure, keep your personal “Bro.” But in other cases, it’s likely time to let go. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

To help rid yourself, I’ve put together a playlist of songs that examine goodbyes and guide us through the process of lamenting, accepting and perhaps even celebrating necessary departures. (As well tunes that might encourage you to actually keep that trinket or t-shirt after all. I’m not a monster<\/em>.)<\/p>\n\n\n

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