A Walk on the Child Side: Spring Cleaning a la Maggie and the Ferocious Beast

It’s spring cleaning theme week here at Her Campus Simmons, which means A Walk on the Child Side has the perfect opportunity to overanalyze the best cleaning-themed episode of any form of children’s media ever: “Spring Cleaning,” from Maggie and the Ferocious Beast.

I’ve mentioned previously that Maggie and the Ferocious Beast is easily my favorite childhood television show, and for good reason: I definitely grew up to be Hamilton. (And I’m not throwing away my shot. Wait, wrong Hamilton?)

In this all-too-brief episode, Hamilton tries to teach Maggie and Beast how to spring clean — it’s his favorite thing ever! They don’t like it, however, at all. But they try, and then, Hamilton goes to have fun with them in their way (the beach!) because friends do things that make their friends happy.

I feel pretty strongly that the only moral argument in this story is “please clean sometimes even though it’s boring.” But I also think there’s a slightly deeper message: for some people, cleaning is good for the soul.

If you’re like me and Hamilton, sometimes taking the time to wipe down your desk, take out your trash, or even just make your bed can feel totally rejuvenating. Think of it like a mind reset: clear your area, clear your mind.

But I think there could even be more to it: what about spring cleaning for the brain? In researching this column, I got to watch some good old Maggie and the Ferocious Beast for research purposes (and obviously not because it’s the best show ever made ever). And I cannot emphasize enough just how much I NEEDED that break–that time to zone out, watch easily-consumable media designed for children, and think about how I always wanted to be Maggie but instead became Hamilton (Lin-Manuel Miranda could NEVER).

So here’s my spring cleaning advice: watch your old favorite show. Let yourself refresh. It’s good for you.

• a walk on the child side
• theme week