Our living space has a tremendous impact on our physical health and mental wellbeing. With the change in season, often comes an unconscious urge to clean, organize and downsize. For many, an outer sense of order and control contributes to an inner calm. We spend a great deal of time in our homes, our cars and our offices and when things are cluttered and chaotic, we often internalize those feelings of disorganization and dysregulation in our mind and body. During the month of April, create a feeling of calm and clarity and give yourself boost of energy and creativity by implementing these “spring cleaning” steps:
Have a Plan
Spring cleaning can be extremely overwhelming, no matter the size of your home. Having a plan is both calming and effective. You can make a checklist that will help you with deciding how to clean, what room to tackle first, and the vision you have for your space.
Let It Go
We hold on to things for many reasons, sometimes we can’t even explain why. When you are spring cleaning, re-asses everything in your home. It is pretty simple, if you don’t need it or LOVE it, and I mean LOVE it, let it go! Start by asking yourself:
1. Have I worn or used it in the past year? 2. Am I keeping it for sentimental value? 3. Do I have something else that serves the same purpose?
4. Would I buy this same thing today? 5. Does this item have a specific place in my home? (Remember, if you’re feeling bad because you have spent money on the item, you can always sell or give it away to a charity of choice)
Re-arrange and Re-organize
Re-arranging your space can inspire creativity and bring a positive vibe to your home. Also, when you move things around, you can find areas that you need to clean a little better or even items that you thought were “lost”.
Spruce Up The Place (Pun Intended!)
1. Celebrate after all of your hard work and treat yourself and your home to some beautiful flowers, you deserve it!
2. Purchase some plants. House plants can give you a sense of responsibility and they have been proven to promote wellbeing and lower stress. If you have fur babies, find plants that are safe for cats and dogs. You can find some good ones here. is a link to safe plants for animals here.
3. Create a wellness sanctuary in your home. You can implement a few healthy items throughout your home or make a small, designated space for you to just be. You can purchase a meditation pillow (you can find some good ones here or here, use a yoga mat, or something soft you already have in your home to create mindful moments on. To improve the life and mood of the space, surround it with candles, sage, essential oils, and plants.
Clean Up and Clean Out Your Technology
Our devices are one of the “spaces” where we spend much of our time (especially now). Technology occupies much of our time and mental space and oftentimes can be responsible for our inner chaos and over stimulation. There are SO many ways to clean up technology for your mental health. Delete those unread emails, unsubscribe from the countless marketing campaigns you signed up for when you wanted that new customer 10% discount, sort through your text messages, clear out your voicemail, clean up your desktop and mind your social media (deleting any accounts that evoke negative feelings/don’t bring you joy), unfriend, unfollow…And maybe decrease social media and technology use overall.
