CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Spring has sprung!
This usually means a turn of a season and a new beginning. Many people will clear out their homes and closets, doing a bit of spring cleaning.
According to an American Cleaning Institute study in 2022, nearly 78% of Americans did at least one spring cleaning last year.
A less-cluttered home can make you feel good, but does spring cleaning actually improve your mental health?
THE SOURCES
WHAT WE FOUND
“Spring cleaning can be beneficial for a number of different reasons. in general, cleaning can restore a sense of control," Potter said.
A 2010 study in the National Library of Medicine shows that people who described their homes as cluttered or full of unfinished projects were also more likely to suffer from depression than those who considered their homes to be restful and restorative.
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"It can also be beneficial because a lot of people find clutter distracting, so engaging in some spring cleaning can help you kind of refocus on your other goals," Potter said.
Princeton University compared the impact of living in cluttered versus organized spaces and found people living in cluttered spaces had too many visual stimuli like shoes on staircases, dishes in the sink, wrinkled clothes, etc.
That overload, they found, caused more stress.
Potter said the best thing to do to get a good start is to write down a list of tasks you need to tackle and cross it off as you go along.
"When you're taking this on, do it for you," Potter said. "Don't necessarily do it to meet other people’s expectations."
If cleaning feels overwhelming, you can set a timer for 20 min and tackle just one cleaning task during that time. You can also listen to a podcast or music to feel more energized while cleaning.
Contact Meghan Bragg at mbragg@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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