The phrase “spring cleaning” might sound daunting and scary, and probably for a good reason, but it’s worth every ounce of energy you put into it! Before I went to college, I hated cleaning and would avoid it at all costs. But now, I find that it can be relaxing and it makes me feel productive and happier. Cleaning up the place you live, whether it be a dorm, apartment, or house, is great for your mental health and can help relieve stress, anxiety and depression.
According to verywellminded.com, being surrounded by clutter and mess is a big cause of household stress. While cleaning it up might sound more stressful than just leaving it there to pile up, cleaning up the clutter will reduce your overall stress amount. Personally, clutter makes me feel overwhelmed and defeated. Whenever I just bite the bullet and clean up, it always makes me feel a lot better and less stressed out *cue twenty-one pilots.* If your stress is triggered by a huge project, like a messy closet, break it up into manageable sections and take it one section at a time. This will help stop you from getting overwhelmed and giving up.
Cleaning can also help improve depression. According to hellogiggles.com, people who suffer from depression are prone to struggling with organization and avoiding clutter. Small messes from laundry, school papers and dishes can quickly become big disasters when they are avoided. When you finally decide to clean up these messes, your depression symptoms may begin to improve. Having an organized home leads to having an organized mind, which then leads to reduced depression. It may sound impossible to break your depression habits and clean up. While taking that first step is tough, improving your mental health is always worth it!
Lastly, cleaning also helps relieve anxiety. Just like having an organized home and mind help relieve depression, the same goes for anxiety. For me, things like dishes and laundry pile-ups are huge triggers for my anxiety. When those triggers are taken away, my anxiety symptoms start to be relieved. According to maids.com, having a messy home can cause you to feel unproductive and therefore feel symptoms of anxiety. Cleaning up those messes fuels productivity and reduces anxiety. Being surrounded by a clean home can help you relax and let your mind rest. So clean up that mess, light a candle or turn on the diffuser and kick back and give your mind a rest!
A great way to start the spring cleaning process is to set manageable, daily goals, and stick to them. Start with something small, like make the bed and then go up from there. Once you are all cleaned up, the best way to avoid another huge mess is to clean as you go. If you wash the dishes as you use them and wipe up the spills as you create them, the mess does not pile up or become overwhelming.
Washing that first dish or load of laundry may take all the strength that you have at the moment, but I promise that the end result will be totally worth it. Sometimes it’s the smallest things that trigger our mental health struggles, but if we find the motivation to take that first step, it can lead to loads of improvement! Stress, anxiety and depression are all common, and you are not alone.