Spring Cleaning Your Stress Away!
Living in a cluttered house can increase your stress and anxiety. You might feel anxious each time you have company coming to visit, or when you walk in the house to dirty dishes and baskets full of laundry after a long day at work.
There are many things you can do in your home to help relieve stress and anxiety naturally, and get started on spring cleaning. If you've watched shows like “Hoarders” or the new “Tidying Up,” you know some of the steps that will make you happier in your home. If you haven't, this post will help.
Get Rid of Clutter
How cluttered is your home? Unless you're a minimalist and/or you always put stuff away immediately after you use it, you probably have some clutter. Clutter is the stuff that always seems to get in the way – collections that have no use, items that you no longer need, things that have no “home” in your home.
Getting rid of clutter comes in a few steps. First, you should go through everything. Then, you need to separate things into categories. Finally, you deal with the categories/piles.
Make a sell or donate pile (or both), a keep pile, and have a trash can ready for the “garbage.” Anything that can no longer be used should go to the garbage or recycling bin. If you don't want something, but someone else could use it, donate it (or sell it if it's worth anything). If you are keeping it, put it away!
Starting spring off with a clutter-free home will take a weight off your shoulders, and it will let you spend more time doing other fun things – like getting outside and enjoying the sunshine and fresh air.
Find a Home for Everything
Putting things away requires that you have a place for those things in your home. Don't just throw stuff in storage containers – gives things a place where they can be seen and used. Organize cupboards and drawers.
There are some excellent tips for storing items in your home on the show “Tidying Up,” which is streaming on Netflix right now. Use small boxes inside drawers to organize things, from kitchen utensils to socks. Fold your clothing and place each item into the drawers in a way that allows you to see all the contents. When you do put items in storage containers, invest in see-through ones so that you can see what's inside.
Clean Your Home Efficiently
Cleaning the house can be overwhelming, especially if you've allowed things to get under control. A clean home is a natural stress reliever – and this includes a home that smells clean.
Put the clothes away as soon as they're washed and dried. Wash your clothing as soon as the laundry basket is full. Do the dishes after every meal. Teach your kids to put their toys away as soon as they're done playing.
Schedule other things, like cleaning the bathroom or vacuuming the living room. Have the days marked on a calendar so that you don't forget! Use incense or air mist to keep your home smelling fresh.
Once spring weather does arrive, take some time to let the fresh air in. Nothing beats fresh air inside a home that has been stale and stagnant all winter. It is recommended to those living in relatively mild weather to occasionally aerate the house during winter as well.
Life Is Happier When It's Clutter-Free
Don't let the cleaning and organizing ahead of you overwhelm you. Just get to it, and before you know it, you'll be relaxing in your clean and clutter-free home, enjoying the fresh spring breeze coming through your window.
