Aahh. Winter holidays. Nothing but eating, drinking, sleeping and relaxing.Yeah, right.I love Christmas, but there is a lot of work to be done to make the holiday go smoothly. Baking goodies takes weeks to prepare (no complaining, as there is lots of 'testing' the baked cookies, slices, cakes, sweets, etc. to make sure everything is up to snuff).And Christmas dinner is a marathon event for me. Again, I don't mind because we can enjoy the food for a couple of days and so I do less cooking after Christmas.Gift shopping is fun for me if I space it out and slowly plan all the gifts.After all the Christmas-y things, what else is left to do? Cleaning.One of the traditions I learned when I came to Japan was that before New Year's Day, families like to clean their house so that the new year starts with a nice, clean house. The event is called 大掃除 / O-sou-ji / the big end of year cleaning.For us, cleaning generally involves cleaning the kitchen: all the cabinets, inside and out, same with the refrigerator, throwing out old foods/spices, and cleaning the overhead vent/fan. Closets and rooms are cleaned out, windows are washed, floors are washed, and drapes/curtains are washed.This year we also got rid of old clothes and objects that are never used again.Space is precious in Japan. We don't have a garage to put things in. We don't have an attic to store things. Our yard is small with little room to walk around in and grow some vegetables, never mind storing odds and ends.It can be tiring, but it is also refreshing. It's nice to get rid of that layer of dust, the piece of clothing I never wear anymore, the grime in the kitchen, and the spots on the windows.Later in the spring, when the weather's warmer, we'll go through the routine again.But for now, cleaning's done and it's time to relax.Bring on the New Year.