Now that spring is here, we’re enjoying the evening sunshine and the colorful blooms, but there’s one part of the season some of us would rather avoid: spring cleaning. If tidying and organizing your house is the last thing you want to do, you’re in good company. But it turns out taking time to declutter isn’t just good for our homes, it can benefit our mental health as well.
Psychotherapist and wellness coach Kristin M. Papa explains that our mental health is influenced by multiple factors and our physical environment is one of them. She says giving our living space a “reset” by spring cleaning can help give us a fresh outlook in other areas of our life.
- Psychologist Dr. Holly Schiff notes that there’s a “symbolic level” to spring cleaning, when we get rid of things that no longer serve us, we may “brighten and lighten” our psyche as well.
- Once you get rid of all those unused or unwanted items, it can feel like a weight has been lifted off your shoulders and that can put you in the right mindset to tackle other projects in the future.
And one of the biggest mental health perks of spring cleaning? It can directly lower anxiety, partly just because you don’t have laundry draped over your favorite reading chair after you do it. “When we’re able to get rid of the ‘stuff,’ it is liberating and freeing,” explains CodyAnn Eccard, a psychiatric physician assistant. She says reorganizing and deciding what stays and what goes can also give you a sense of control in your life, which also helps keep anxiety at bay.
Source: Very Well Mind