March is upon us, and it’s finally almost time for warmer weather. The first day of spring is March 20th. In honor of spring being right around the corner, now is a great time to do some spring cleaning. Let’s face it, after spending a lot of time indoors during the winter months, our living spaces can become cluttered, messy, and just plain unpleasant. It can be harder to find things, and you might feel yourself getting stressed and overwhelmed just by looking around your home.
A lot of people use this time of year as an opportunity to declutter and get their living spaces back in order. However, you might not realize just how much spring cleaning can improve your mental health. You may be surprised by how much better you feel inside and out upon completing this process.
The Effect of Clutter on Overall Health
From a physical aspect, clutter can be detrimental to your health because slips and falls are more likely to happen. This could be even more of an issue when there are children running around. In addition, when there is clutter all around, it makes it more difficult to properly clean the home. When vacuuming and dusting are not happening regularly, dust can build up, triggering allergies and other problems. Not to mention, when commonly used surfaces are not being wiped down properly, the risk of sickness is even greater.
Perhaps even greater than the risk to physical health is the risk clutter has to your mental health. When you come home from work at the end of a long day, you want to feel calm and at peace. You don’t want to look around and see nothing but mess after mess and wonder how you’ll ever begin to tackle it.
Keeping a clean and organized home is perhaps even more important for those who work from home, where this is the environment they’re going to be in every single day. Many people don’t release that clutter can actually trigger the stress hormone cortisol. When this goes on for too long, people can begin to develop mental health issues such as anxiety and depression. As a result, their motivation can be really detrimentally affected.
Another factor that is important to consider is the pride a person has in their home. If your home is constantly a mess, you’re probably not going to feel comfortable having people over. Over time, this can lead to a sense of social isolation.
However, you can tackle such things by spring cleaning and getting your home back in order.
Tackling Spring Cleaning One Day at a Time
If you’ve put off cleaning for a while and things have gotten really out of control, you might be thinking to yourself: “There is no way I’ll ever get this done.” You might feel overwhelmed and as if you don’t even know where to start. However, getting your home back in order is very possible. You just have to break up the work into manageable parts, spread it out over a course of several weeks if necessary, then chip away at it one day at a time.
You can start by focusing on just one room or area of the home at a time. Maybe you’ll want to start with the smallest or least messy room of the home first because it won’t take long to finish it. Then, once you’ve already got one room under your belt, you might feel more motivated and encouraged to continue on with the rest of the house.
Tips for Decluttering Your Home
As you go about cleaning each room of your house, be considerate about the objects that are filling your home. Are they serving a purpose or bringing you joy in some way? If they don’t, consider getting rid of them or donating them to someone who would enjoy them or get use out of them. Another rule to keep in mind is the “six months rule.” If six months have passed and you haven’t used something, then you probably won’t mind parting with it.
Try to get rid of as many unnecessary or unused items as possible. Not only does it reduce clutter, which is good for your mental health, but it will make it harder for the house to become messy again. The more possessions that you have, the more potential for disorganization there is. Minimizing your possessions also helps to ensure that you have more mental and physical space to truly appreciate your things.
Once you have finished your spring cleaning, try your best to prevent clutter from building back up again. Making sure you tidy up quickly at least once a day can extremely helpful. By doing this, you prevent messes and disorganization from getting out of control. This will have many benefits to your overall mental health.
If you’re feeling stressed and overwhelmed due to the mess and clutter of your home, do some spring cleaning this month. Let go of items that are no longer serving you. You may be surprised by how much better you feel and how motivated you are. When clutter becomes too much, it can take a toll on one’s mental health. Some people may even turn to substance misuse to cope. If you’re struggling with substance use, our team at The Ho Tai Way can help. Don’t wait; give us a call today at (714) 581-3974. A member of our team will be happy to answer any questions you may have.
