Cleaner Home, Healthier Home: 7 Steps to a Tidier Living Space
When spring blooms to replace a cozy winter, you may find your home needs to be freshened up. That’s normal after what may have been several months spent mostly indoors! Instead of a dreaded chore, frame your spring cleaning as an opportunity to welcome the fresh feeling that comes with spring into your living environment. Cleaning and decluttering don’t just leave your space looking nice, they’re also good forms of physical activity that result in a healthier, happier home.
Here’s how to get started with spring cleaning:
Spread out your spring cleaning into several sessions. That way, you’re not adding unnecessary stress to your experience. Rushing makes things stressful. If you can afford to take your time, start small and go at your own pace.
Commit to working on the space that feels the least stressful first. Set a timer for anywhere from 5-30 minutes, depending on your energy level, and do what you can in that timeframe.
Allow yourself to leave your work unfinished when the time is up and decide when to return to it. You may choose to take a short break or come back the next day. The point is to give yourself proof that you can handle what may feel like a huge project, and that it doesn’t have to be a dreadful experience.
As you make progress across your home, you may find that you’re missing some cleaning supplies you need. Have a notepad or a note on your phone available during your clean-up sessions to jot down any cleaning supplies you’ll want for next time.
You may also find that much of what clutters your space would be best removed altogether. A good way to identify clutter is to ask whether it served a purpose (making you happy counts!) within the last six months.
Create two small sections of your home: “donate” and “trash/recycle.” When you come across items that don’t have practical or emotional value, place them in either the “donate” or “trash/recycle” section. Include your pantry in this part of the process, too! Giving gently used items or shelf-stable food to a local charity will add the warmth of generosity to your spring cleaning. It feels good to help others, especially when those actions also help you.
If you begin your cleaning project and find yourself overwhelmed to the point of wanting to quit — consider who in your life may be happy to lend a hand. Some people genuinely enjoy tidying up. If a friend, family member, or neighbor knows that their tidying skills are making a difference in your life, then they may benefit, too.
A clean, clutter-free home isn’t just easier to live in – it can help you feel calmer, healthier, and more in control. Take it one step at a time and remember that each small effort brings you closer to a healthier you! [1]
The dark side of home: Assessing possession ‘clutter’ on subjective well-being. Journal of Environmental Psychology.