Every New Year’s, a curious belief pops up online and in conversations: you shouldn’t wash clothes or clean your home on January 1st because it brings bad luck. This idea isn’t just a casual myth it’s tied to cultural traditions and symbolic thinking about how the year begins.
The Core Idea: Don’t Wash Away Good Fortune
At the heart of this superstition is a simple symbolic fear: doing laundry or housework will “wash away” good luck or blessing for the coming year. Some versions go even further — claiming that washing clothes or cleaning might literally remove good fortune from you or your loved ones, or even symbolically “wash away” someone you care about.* These warnings are popular on social media and in old folk tales.
The belief often shows up like this:
- Laundry on January 1st is bad luck because it could “clean out” prosperity.
- Sweeping, mopping, or taking out trash may “sweep away” benefits that the New Year is meant to bring.
- While few people treat this literally in modern life, it persists as a folk belief in English-speaking countries and beyond.
Where the Belief Comes From
This idea isn’t usually linked to one specific religion, but it does have parallels in traditional customs, especially from Asia:
- In China and other East Asian cultures, cleaning is traditionally done before the New Year to remove bad luck from the old year. Then, cleaning is avoided on New Year’s Day itself so that good fortune won’t be swept away.
- Similar practices appear in other cultures where the transition into a new cycle is seen as sacred — a moment when the house and family should be at rest and open to blessings rather than focused on chores.
- Across many beliefs, therefore, the idea isn’t just “don’t work” — it’s that January 1st is symbolically reserved for welcoming luck, not pushing it out.
What Specific Actions Are Often Mentioned
Depending on where you hear the belief, the following things may be included:
Washing Clothes or Laundry
This is one of the most commonly mentioned “bad luck” activities. Some superstitions claim that doing laundry could wash away good fortune or even negatively affect loved ones.
Cleaning the House
Sweeping, mopping, dusting, and other chores are thought to symbolically remove positive energy that just arrived with the New Year.
Taking Out Trash
Removing rubbish or old items on January 1st is often included in the belief, since it might represent removing luck or prosperity. Because of these, some families do all deep cleaning before December 31st so they won’t have to clean at all on January 1st.
Cultural Symbolism Behind the Belief
Why does cleaning equal bad luck in these traditions? It’s mostly symbolic:
Good Luck Should Stay Inside
If the first day of the year is about calling in blessings, sweeping and washing might be seen as pushing them away.
Rest and Renewal
Many cultures view January 1st as a day of rest and contemplation, not chores. That fits with the idea that your first actions of the year set the tone for the rest.
Deep Cleaning Before, Not During
In traditions like those from China, families clean thoroughly before New Year’s Day to remove negativity, then avoid cleaning on the actual day to ensure the new luck settles in.
How People Interpret It Today
In modern practice, this belief varies widely:
- Some people take it as a real traditional warning and postpone laundry or sweeping until January 2nd or later.
- Others see it as symbolic folklore — fun to know but not something that will truly affect the year.
- Many simply clean as usual, especially if they enjoy starting the year with a tidy home.
- Whether you follow the tradition, adapt it to your own meaning, or ignore it completely is up to your personal belief and lifestyle.
Bottom Line
The idea that washing or cleaning on New Year’s Day brings bad luck comes from traditional beliefs about not “sweeping away” good fortune and welcoming the year with rest and positivity instead of chores. While there’s no scientific evidence behind it, the superstition reflects centuries-old cultural ways of thinking about fresh starts and luck.
