We all know that spring cleaning our homes is good for us, both mentally and physically. The same goes for donating unused and no-longer-wanted items, especially in the age of overconsumption. However, it can be difficult to get started on spring cleaning.
Fortunately, there are many unexpected health benefits that you can reap from spring cleaning, which can motivate you to get up and clean. “Mess and clutter are likely to breed stress and anxiety, but with a neat home comes ease and control,” says Dr. Paul Daidone, medical director at True Self Recovery.
To find out exactly how spring cleaning can benefit our health, we sought the insights of experts.
1. Reduce stress and anxiety
You’re not imagining it. Having stuff strewn across your countertops is stressful.
In fact, a four-year study from 2001 to 2005 by the UCLA Center on the Everyday Lives of Families found that clutter-related stress can actually be measured. The study tested for high levels of diurnal cortisol in participants’ saliva, which can indicate higher levels of stress. Participants — especially mothers — who reported overwhelming clutter were linked to increased diurnal cortisol.
Veronica Calkins, LCSW, clinical director of psychotherapy at Pacific Mind Health, agrees that spring cleaning can inspire more peace of mind. She says, “By reducing clutter, you create a more soothing and manageable environment that helps calm the nervous system. Visual chaos can increase feelings of overwhelm, while an organized space promotes a sense of clarity and control.”
Cleaning up this spring may even be an opportunity to rearrange your space in a more functional and pleasing way. In turn, you may feel less anxious in your home. Rani Gupta, LCSW, a therapist at Therapy with Rani in Portland, explains: “Spring cleaning presents an opportunity to arrange your space in a way that reflects who you are and where you are now.”
If fresh flowers make you happy, you can use spring cleaning as a chance to create a space for a vase, suggests Gupta. She adds that you can also “create more space for items that help you feel more connected to your family or culture, like certain photos, ceramics, prints, spices, foods, beverages, books, textiles or jewelry.”
2. Increase your sense of control
If your surroundings are chaotic, it can be difficult to feel in control of your life. This can affect your mood and more. As Calkins puts it, “Maintaining a sense of control is a major factor in feeling fulfilled, connected and esteemed. Control is significant.”
Some data suggests that stress cleaning is actually a subconscious attempt to experience control. A 2015 study in Current Biology put a group of participants under stress and asked them to clean an object. The participants who were stressed cleaned for longer and with more repeated hand movements than those not put under stress. Martin Lang, the researcher leading the study, told UConn Today, “As humans, our goal is to be able to predict and adapt to what is going on. That’s why we think rituals might be a way to get control over your environment.”
You don’t have to undertake a major reorganization to exercise control over your space. Simply completing small tasks “kickstarts a positive feedback loop,” says Calkins. She states that when you feel capable in one area (like organizing your closet), that small success “can boost confidence and lead to bigger behavioral shifts, improving mood, routines or boundaries.”
3. Feel accomplished
Stress and anxiety aside, spring cleaning may help you concentrate and feel better about yourself. Think about how good you feel when you get to the bottom of the laundry basket — that’s no small thing, as it turns out. Calkins says spring cleaning can significantly improve self-esteem and self-worth by building a sense of accomplishment. She calls this building mastery.
As Calkins explains, the concept of building mastery comes from dialectical behavior therapy, which she calls “a powerful intervention for depression and anxiety.” She goes on to say that spring cleaning is a direct exercise in building mastery and that “overcoming an obstacle, like cleaning and decluttering, can significantly promote internal feelings of importance and worthiness.”
Spring cleaning also gives you a chance to create acts of kindness, which have been linked to short-term boosts in self-esteem and happiness. A 2018 meta-analysis published in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology concluded that “performing acts of kindness improves the well-being of the actor” to a small-to-medium degree.
Gupta suggests creating a “donate” pile when cleaning your closet. She notes, “What I’ve found is that donating old clothing can feel like an act of service. In a time where financial stress is increasing, the act of donating old clothing that is clean and in good condition can contribute to feelings of gratitude and connection.”
4. Improve air quality
There’s a lot more lingering on your carpet and other surfaces than you may realize, which means spring cleaning can also improve your physical health. The American Lung Association warns that carpets and rugs could be holding “dust mites, pet dander, cockroach allergens, particle pollution, lead, mold spores, pesticides, dirt and dust.”
Even if you avoid touching surfaces like carpet with your hands, you’re not in the clear. Walking across the floor may disturb dust and allergens and send them airborne. Daidone advises that deep cleaning of carpets, rugs and upholstery mitigates these dangers, “resulting in cleaner indoor air with reduced allergic or asthma reactions.” An air purifier may help, too.
Daidone says spring cleaning can also help you avoid your next summer cold. He explains that “sanitizing high-traffic zones can reduce the transmission of bacteria and viruses, making your home healthy from colds, flu and other illnesses.”
5. Boost your physical activity
Getting up to clean your space will also boost your energy and burn calories. Gupta tells us, “Deep-cleaning your carpets and other parts of your home is a fantastic way to get your body moving and more regulated, particularly if it’s bilateral movement.” Bilateral movements are those that require using both sides of your body at once, like if you’re squatting to lift and store objects on a shelf.
WebMD reports that the average 150-pound person can burn around 124 calories by vacuuming for just 30 minutes. Stripping and remaking your beds burns even more calories — up to 300 if you weigh around 200 pounds or 187 calories if you weigh closer to 125 pounds.
Need some motivation to get off the couch? Gupta says, “I like to tell clients that if they need motivation to complete their deep-cleaning, imagine that they’re scrubbing away any unpleasant or bothersome thoughts or memories, particularly from the past year. Deep-clean the carpets … and the thoughts of all the times your ex set foot there!”
The bottom line
Spring cleaning has been linked to everything from more self-worth and lower stress to improved lung health. Just a single deep clean could do wonders for you. Given that rituals also bring comfort, maintaining a weekly cleaning schedule may increase the benefits exponentially.
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