An important and sometimes overlooked aspect of overall wellness is the environments we’re in. You can’t always do much about your geographic location or your work or school locations or building conditions. One place you do have some control over, though, is your home. A study found that some people “who described their living spaces as ‘cluttered’ or full of ‘unfinished projects’ were more likely to be depressed and fatigued.” So, yes, we’re telling you to clean your room!
Cleaning can sometimes feel like an overwhelming task, so here are some tips your grandma would probably give you about spring cleaning your home.
Open windows
If at all possible, physically open your windows and let some fresh air into your space. It’s best if you can open windows on opposite sides of your room, or house, and create a cross-breeze. Allow the air to sweep through for a couple of hours and clean out the musty, stale air that’s been sitting in your space for months. Trust us, it will help!
Rearrange your furniture
This tip works in a number of ways. First of all, if you move your furniture, you can clean and sweep or vacuum under and around the space where it was and really get rid of some of the clutter, dust, and debris that can hide under and around the edges of furniture. A quick furniture rearrangement can also make your space feel different and new. It gives the place a refreshed image in your mind. Try it!
Dust your light fixtures
This is the cleaning task you may want to tackle first, as you won’t want to rain dust and lint down on a freshly cleaned space. And be sure to cover any furniture or items that could become dirty. Often we overlook the dust that builds up on our light fixtures or ceiling fans, but you’ll definitely notice the difference once you clean them. If your place has an overall dingy feel, this is a must-do!
Sell, discard, and donate
Find two good-sized boxes and make a commitment to yourself to fill them with items you can sell, donate, or throw away. Nothing makes your space feel cramped and stressed like too much clutter. Release the items you don’t really need and leave some empty space in which to breathe. And make sure you take a whole-house approach with this. That means clearing out that bottle of conditioner that’s sitting in your shower that never really worked, or going through the spice cupboards in your kitchen and removing anything old, or out-of-date. Think of de-cluttering as making room for yourself inside your home.
Wash throw blankets and pillows
Yes, we know that the sofa pillow you lay on for your Netflix marathons hasn’t been washed since last year. This is your moment to correct that mistake! Upholstered and cloth items can hold a lot of dust and be a source of unpleasant aromas, so giving them a good cleaning every few months (or more if they get heavy use) can make a huge difference in both the look and scent of your space.
