Spring Cleaning: The Mental Health Benefits Of Decluttering

AD

As we approach the end of winter we can start to look forward to brighter days, longer evenings and warmer temperatures. Most of us have bunkered down through the frosty season, using our homes as safe havens from the outside world but also as places of work with 30% of the workforce working remotely at least once per week in 2022.

With so much time spent indoors over recent months, it’s safe to say that our homes could do with a clearout to breathe life and vibrancy back into them. But not only can spring cleaning make our homes look and feel nicer, but decluttering can also provide mental health benefits for us and our families.

Why does clutter affect our mental health?

Clutter can act as visual noise that removes focus from what we are doing impacting our productivity, happiness and well-being. It may also be a physical representation of our feelings of depression, anxiety and lack of control in our lives.

Having clutter and mess begin to pile up can indicate that we aren’t giving ourselves the attention we need, and the act of removing it can symbolise a change in attitude that improves our anxiety levels.

What is decluttering?

Decluttering is the act of removing unnecessary items from a particular space, room or home. Whether it be clearing up a walkway or window, freeing up a surface at home to claim as your desk or creating a peaceful and serene living room to relax in, decluttering can be transformative for our homes. 

Take the garage as an example, for many it becomes a dumping ground but spring cleaning your garage allows it to function properly as a storage space, carport or additional room in your home for activities or productivity.

Similarly, removing clutter from your kitchen worktops or going through your cupboards and larder to tidy and organise, allows you to cook whenever you want without the distraction of moving stuff around or rummaging for a particular spice jar.

Regain a sense of control

Whether it’s just you and your partner, or your children and your pets have taken over, there often comes a time when we let our cleaning routine slide, especially during the winter when we spend longer at home. Procrastination is closely linked to clutter and with stuff surrounding you, it can become difficult to focus. 

Your brain may be overstimulated, making it hard to narrow your thoughts to one direction, pattern or subject. By decluttering your home you can regain a level of control over your thoughts and attention. Clutter can also lead to frustration, as completing daily tasks is made more difficult or inefficient and can quickly snowball.

Reducing anxiety, stress and feelings of depression

When our home feels like it is controlled by chaos it can often create feelings of anxiety or stress about the situation. As the clutter won’t go anywhere by itself you may become stressed that more will accumulate and that your home will never find peace again.

Research in 2020 discovered a link between keeping a messy room and depression, likely brought about by a lack of motivation which results in a cluttered space. Spring arriving is a great catalyst to declutter your home, rid yourself of negative feelings and start enjoying your living space once more.

Higher self-esteem

A cluttered home can play on your mind even when you aren’t expecting it to. For instance, have you ever been out to meet friends and the opportunity to invite them over has presented itself, only for you to avoid bringing it up because your home is a mess? Your cluttered home can be the reason for a lack of self-esteem, and when you have trouble staying organised you may continue to feel like your home is out of control.

Improving your living space, and finding ways to stay on top of it can restore pride in your home and a sense of accomplishment. This can lead to better relationships as you know your home is once more a welcoming environment for loved ones, rather than a collection of junk piles that need to be carefully avoided.

Decluttering tips

No matter if the laundry pile has grown too large or your home has become overrun with clutter, the most effective way to begin decluttering is to simply make a start, of any kind. That might be five minutes once per day or rolling your sleeves up and getting stuck in, but as with many things in our lives, the first step is the most difficult one.

Start small

Rather than setting an unrealistic goal such as cleaning the house top to bottom in an entire weekend, setting smaller, more achievable goals is the key to decluttering success. If you are experiencing feelings of depression, a lack of control, anxiety or low self-esteem, then it can be discouraging to feel like you aren’t getting anywhere with one big goal.

Smaller goals allow for quick wins and tangible progress to help keep you on track. Plus it’s a great way to avoid putting things off by saying you don’t have the time, when only dedicating short periods towards your cleaning goal.

Ask for help

There is no reason you have to declutter all by yourself and it’s perfectly reasonable to ask for some help. Be that a family member or friend, most people are only too happy to help out in times of need. Asking a friend or family member is also a great way to help you get started, either as another pair of hands or some moral support to keep you motivated.

Start positive

We all have differing levels of clutter in our homes, and as such, there are different ways to view your decluttering mission as a success. For some, it will be to put everything in its place, while for others it’s about making their space more enjoyable and easier to live in. It’s important to shift from trying to achieve perfection and instead defining what is good enough for your home and stopping when you get there.

This is a collaborative post.

Pin It!