The 4 Mental Health Benefits of Spring Cleaning
Author: Kelly Edwards
Get ready to clear out the clutter and revamp your rooms; it’s spring cleaning time! As the weather gets warmer, make it a priority to give your home a little TLC. Sort the trash from the treasure, focusing on areas of your home that have been neglected for too long, and put aside time to complete the chores that have spent a while on your to-do list.
Not only does this make for a brighter, cleaner home come summer, but it can also boost your mental health. If you’re ready to get into the spring cleaning spirit, we’ve put together everything you need to know about the mental benefits, alongside lots of actionable tips to get started.
How Spring Cleaning Can Boost Mental Health
Having a clear out or getting rid of long-forgotten, out-of-date tins from the back of your kitchen cupboard is a must for a clean, organised home. But how could a thorough tidying session help your mind?
1. Physical Activity Boosts Endorphins
It’s well known that being active boosts happiness-inducing neurotransmitters in the brain, known as endorphins. Increased levels of these bring about feelings of euphoria and can fight depression, boosting your well-being. Exercise has also been linked to:
- Better sleep
- Reduced stress
- Improved self-esteem
- Reduced anxiety
To experience these benefits, focus on tasks that require more physical activity, like vacuuming, dusting, or rearranging furniture. Choose to do tasks standing up rather than sitting down, and make an effort to move as much as possible as you clean.
2. Organised Spaces Reduce Stress
An organised home is a great stress-buster. Order and calm can soothe, making you feel on top of both your home and your life. Invest in products that make organisation a priority, like drawer organisers, spice racks, storage boxes, and cupboard separators to embrace a calmer state of mind in your home.
3. Less Clutter Helps Focus
Our brains respond to order just as much as they respond to disorder. When you fill your home with clutter and chaos, your brain can become overwhelmed by visual stimuli and struggle to focus on single tasks.To reduce procrastination and think more clearly in daily life, work on reducing items you don’t need in your home. Get rid of at least one item a day, sending it into the trash, recycling, or to goodwill. Get into the habit of tidying items away once they’ve been used, and ensure that everything in your home has a neat place to stay.
4. Reduce Anxiety With Mindful Cleaning
Cleaning can encourage you to be more mindful and meditative. You’re focusing on the task at hand, entirely in the moment, and aren’t thinking about either the past or future. This meditative state of mind is known to help with anxiety, promoting feelings of calm and reducing cortisol levels. Maximise the anxiety-relieving benefits of cleaning by concentrating on one task at a time. With 98% of people unable to multitask, or at least not well, single-tasking, as opposed to multi-tasking, allows you to deeply focus on one thing at a time, rather than hopping from task to task – be mindful of this when tackling your spring clean. Immerse yourself in the sensations you have while cleaning. What does the soap smell like? How does this fabric feel in your hands? These small observations will create the meditative state that’s so beneficial for the mind.
3 Steps to Start Spring Cleaning
Whether you struggle with depression or are just feeling a little blue, spring cleaning is a well-known way to lift your mood. But getting started can feel overwhelming. To make sure you don’t miss out, we’ve put together some tips to get going even when you’re feeling low or unmotivated.
Create a Cleaning Checklist
To-do lists are wonderful for reducing anxiety around a spring clean and providing structure before you begin. When you’re overwhelmed, write down a checklist of everything you need to do. Begin with just one category, like organising your kitchen in 45 Minutes, and break this larger challenge into smaller, more manageable tasks. Tick each task off as you complete it, taking it step-by-step. Soon, without the dread and anxiety of a big clean, you will have completed each small job and created a tidier living space.
Create a Decluttering System
If you don’t have a plan, decluttering can create more mess than you began with. When this happens, it’s normal to feel unmotivated and not want to continue tidying. Fortunately, though, a good system will help you deal with your clutter as you go, keeping your space tidy and organised. Bring along four boxes as you organise: one for items to be thrown away, one for donations, one for things that can be fixed, and one for recycling. If you have a lot to recycle, it’s a good idea to sort waste collection in advance to avoid your rubbish from piling up.
Avoid Procrastination
People with mental illnesses, such as depression, can find it tricky to stay productive. Avoid procrastination as you get cleaning by fighting the urge to stop and reminding yourself to remain mindful. You can make spring cleaning more enjoyable, too, by listening to music or an audiobook as you go, and inviting friends or family over to help.
Final Words
Whether you’re feeling depressed, stressed, or suffering from the winter blues, a spring clean is just the thing to blow away the cobwebs and give yourself a boost! Just remember to break your tasks down and take the job one step at a time.
