Dreams of Cleaning

Cleaning in a dream usually is symbolic of purging whatever is no longer needed; yet, it is also means that you are purifying something in your life. Scenes from a cleansing dream could be in the home, car, work, in the shower, and so forth. Here are three dreams o examples to help illustrate dreams of cleaning, two of them are mine.

Three Dreams of Cleaning

Dream

Tools used during the cleanup give additional dream meaning. For instance, back in 1990 I had the following dream:

I was feeling tired while raking leaves on the front porch of my childhood home. Looking down, I noticed that there was a massive amount of leaves on two sets of stairways, a landing, and the leaves extended past two other houses.

Interpretation

In this dream the rake indicates strenuous work taking into account that is how I feel about raking, which I was using to tidy up the porch. Since the scene is from my childhood home with dead leaves all around, I’m obviously cleaning up childhood issues. What’s interesting about the dead leaves symbolism is how well it goes with the raking of old issues from the family tree. Mega amounts of leaves are symbolic of that this will be an enormous endeavor. And it was, although, so worth it! During the healing of my childhood wounds, I had this dream several more times; however, there were less leaves in each recurring dream.

Dream

Another type of cleansing dream is washing your body, which can have various meanings, due to the fact of: how dirty you are, the part of your body you’re washing, if there are other people in the dream, and how you are feeling. As in the example of my client’s dream:

I was in the shower almost naked except for my underwear. Thinking of how I wanted to take them off, but then my boss came in giving me a bottle of shampoo. I told her that I didn’t like the brand of shampoo. She said to use it. When she walked out, I felt relieved that I had on my underwear because she didn’t see that part of my body.

Interpretation

My client is struggling with a need for independence and to set boundaries with her boss. Her boss giving her shampoo she doesn’t like, represents how she doesn’t like her ideas, nor their effects on her thinking. Keeping her underwear on during her shower is symbolic of the need of protection and safekeeping her personal life private at work. The shower represents how the job is needed to undertake her life lessons.

Dream

Last night, I had a dream where someone else did the cleansing for me:

My childhood friend was working at a diner (in reality she doesn’t), so I went there to eat. At the end of my meal I saw a male worker take several of my boxes that had my business files in to another room. I rushed after him and opened one of the swinging doors to find my boxes. A woman in a business suit told me, “You’re not allowed in here.” I explained how it was imperative that I have my boxes back because they were important for my business. Her response was, “It is too late, and they have already been thrown out.” I felt surprised at my response how relieved I felt those boxes were gone, as I walked out of the diner.

Interpretation  

My first thought as I opened my eyes was there are things in my business I no longer need. This makes sense since it was a childhood friend at the diner, along with the feelings of relief as a part of my business was thrown out. The worker throwing out my business boxes represents my feelings of concern as things are shifting in my career, which I have no control of. Yet, the feelings of relief means to let go trustily, for there are better things coming.

Have you ever had dreams of cleaning something? What was it?