Spring cleaning is something funny to someone that comes from a country (Brazil) where people usually do a thorough cleaning on a weekly to daily basis (by themselves or hiring cleaning maids in the case of the upper classes).
The idea of "spring cleaning" is much more thorough than anyone would do week to week. For example taking everything out of every pantry and storage area, washing the backs of cupboards and storage, throwing expired things out, polishing metals, varnishing, etc.
It does probably have more currency in climates where the weather would keep you cooped in for months over winter, and thus happen on the first chance to give everthing a good airing and bry properly.
Recently I was watching a TV show about some guys living in the woods in Alaska and they really mean spring cleaning. In their case, their farm animals' feces had spent the winter frozen to the coop and barn floor boards, so at the first thaw they scrambled to clean the place up quickly!