Don't sweep after sunset
Sweeping after sunset, and especially sweeping dust out of the front door after dark, is discouraged in a great many Desi homes.
What's said
That Lakshmi — the goddess of wealth — enters homes in the evening, and sweeping her out is exactly what it sounds like. In some households you may sweep, but the dust must be gathered and kept until morning rather than pushed over the threshold.
Where it almost certainly comes from
Small valuable things get dropped: a coin, an earring, a ring, a bead from a mangalsutra. In daylight you see them in the pile. By the light of one lamp you sweep them straight out into the yard and they are gone. Making the rule about the goddess of wealth rather than about carelessness is both memorable and, in a sense, entirely accurate — you really were sweeping out your money.
The related rule about not throwing rubbish out after dark has the same shape, plus a practical edge in a country where what you put outside at night attracts animals.
Where it shows up now
Most strongly around Diwali, when the house is cleaned thoroughly before the lamps are lit and Lakshmi is invited in — and when nobody sweeps for the following day or two. See why we light lamps at Diwali.
More: grandmother's warnings.
Last updated: 2026-08-11
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