What is ‘closing shift cleaning,’ and why are so many TikTokers doing it?
The hashtag #ClosingShiftCleaning has been popping up all over TikTok lately, and it’s making people rethink how they approach their nightly routines.
Instead of scrolling through their phones or binge-watching a show before bed, they’re playing relaxing music and tidying up their homes, all in an effort to make the mornings easier.
“Whenever I’m really trying to set myself up for success the next day, I will do what I call a ‘closing shift,’ which probably stems from years of trauma as a retail and food service worker,” said Clara Peirce (@clararpeirce), who has posted many viral #ClosingShiftCleaning videos.
According to Peirce, she likes to “close up” her apartment at the end of the day just like she would at work. This routine includes locking the front door — complete with an extra security bar — and putting her shoes away.
“Sometimes my closing shift is cleaning my entire apartment,” explained Peirce. Other times, “it’s just making it like 10 percent better for the morning, so I feel like I did something to set my next day off on the right foot.”
The term “closing shift cleaning” is typically used in the food and retail industries, and refers to the final leg of an end-of-day shift when the customers are gone and workers can put things back in order.
The concept is simple: If things are clean when the morning crew starts, the opening shift will go a whole lot smoother. But as Peirce and now many others are proving, the same practice can be used at home, not just at work.
“I’ve worked retail for 18 years,” commented @a28_013, in response to another one of Peirce’s #ClosingShiftCleaning videos. “SalesFloor, Mgmt, now corporate and I do this to my home almost every night. Closing shift is perfect saying!!”
“‘Closing shift’ is such a unique pov on life,” added @toneretro4. “Definitely gonna start thinking like this ahaha.”
Hundreds of TikTokers are now sharing their own #ClosingShiftCleaning videos. And while some are being shared by fellow retail and service workers, most are not.
In many cases, the daily practice simply makes people feel calm and settled before heading to bed.
Instead of exhaustive deep-cleans, these nightly tidying sessions tend to focus on small, quick tasks that will make a big difference in the morning.
In the process, people on #CleanTok seem to be redefining what cleaning your home has to look like.
A TikToker named Ida (@idahuang_) dims the lights and listens to music on her headphones while doing her closing shift cleaning. She calls it putting her apartment “to bed.”
“i do not do this every night but my morning self appreciates when i do,” Ida wrote in a recent post caption.
For some people, “closing time” has even become a new kind of self-care. In fact, that’s a huge part of what seems to make these videos so popular — to date, they have garnered more than 71 million views.
But for those who simply can’t find the energy to clean at the end of a long, hard day, getting up early for the “morning shift” might be easier.
In “opening shift” cleaning videos, many TikTokers have been highlighting their morning routines, which involve tidying up and getting ready for the day first thing in the A.M. Instead of dimmed lights and calming music, they fly through their to-do lists with the blinds up, windows open and music pumping.
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