Cleaning For The Whole self
A lot of people find that doing a full housecleaning to be a never-ending, tiresome chore that they dread having to do every week. However, this need not be the case. The physical and mental health benefits of cleaning can help you live a happier, more organized, and more fulfilling life.
Although incorporating a cleaning routine into your daily life may appear to be just another item to add to your “to do” list, if you fully commit to it and find fun ways to incorporate it into your schedule, you might find that cleaning your home is more fun than you thought!
Cleaning gives you a sense of accomplishment, can be used as a mindful distraction to reduce stress or anxiety, lowers your risk of contracting diseases and bacteria, and encourages a cleaner, healthier lifestyle.
If you clean once or twice a week, it becomes easier to manage and less overwhelming to approach by reducing the amount you need to do in one “session.”
However, if you put off cleaning, you will probably end up with a lot that needs to be done all at once, making it more difficult to keep things like clothes and bedding clean.
“But I’m busy and cleaning is boring!”
There are numerous ways to make cleaning more engaging and adaptable to your lifestyle.
First, decide what you enjoy doing.
In the event that you like music, paying attention to a melody with a solid beat is an extraordinary method for keeping your energy up and your psyche occupied – this can assist with keeping you from getting exhausted. You could also try engaging your brain by listening to an audiobook or the radio.
To rid your home and body of negative energies, you might want to incorporate cleaning into your spiritual, religious, or meditative practices.
You might also want to use crystals like selenite or tourmaline to help purify your space, light incense while you work, and meditate or pray before you clean. Many religious practices, including Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, and spiritualist and pagan practices, include a ritual cleaning component.
If none of these appeal to you and you would rather take a more practical approach, you have the option of turning on the television, cleaning simultaneously with doing DIY, or cleaning as you normally do!
Next, determine your lifestyle’s constraints and requirements.
If you’re a creative person, you might find that you tend to make a lot of mess. Even though creative people often do this, you might find that getting your house or apartment messy makes it harder to do your usual things and makes you feel stressed when you try to work in a mess.
You will probably have less clutter if you think more in terms of logic or strategy, but working long hours might make it hard to stick to a strict cleaning schedule. Therefore, rather than carrying out a comprehensive clean at the conclusion of the week, why not carry out one or two smaller cleans each day before work?
You’ll be able to enjoy your “down time” while the housework is done. Additionally, if you clean a little bit each day for a week, you won’t have to do it on weekends!
How to Plan and Stick to a Cleaning Schedule If you want to clean your home but find the idea too daunting, the best way to start is by making a list of what needs to be cleaned. This will assist you with recognizing what needs doing, and how and when to do it.
The key is to only complete two or three tasks per cleaning session and not to extend them too much. If you clean for an excessive amount of time, you will likely become stressed or exhausted, which will keep you from doing it again.
Instead, try to schedule two or three longer cleaning sessions each week for specific tasks, such as dishwashing, kitchen cleaning, etc. being done on a daily or biweekly basis.
“But I just don’t want to do it!”
You can use a diary, a phone calendar, or one of the many apps available if you have trouble motivating yourself to clean your home, especially if you suffer from depression or Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD). Alternately, if you have a trustworthy support group, you could ask them to encourage you when it’s hard to keep up a self-care routine.
Allowing yourself a reward for each clean is another effective way to motivate yourself.
When you’ve cleaned for a week, might you be able to eat a bar of chocolate? Or perhaps you could indulge in a few glasses of wine after completing all of your cleaning tasks on your list?
Accept whatever inspires you and make use of it to your advantage!
Clean House, Clean Body There are many ways that cleaning your house helps keep your body in good shape!
First of all, cleaning is a great way to get some exercise into your daily life, especially for older people who might not be able to do more strenuous activities.
Up to 100 calories can be burned in just 30 minutes by moving furniture, mopping, hoovering, and making the bed, among many other common cleaning tasks. Moving furniture and heavy equipment will keep your muscles strong, lean, and defined.
You can also eat healthier when you clean! Living in a dirty and untidy home raises cortisol levels, which in turn increases stress, according to studies. When people are stressed, they consume more unhealthy foods and eat more of them.
A 2013 study also found that when choosing something to eat, people were more likely to choose an apple over a chocolate bar if their workspace was clean and well-organized. As a result, the cleaner your home is, the less stressed you will be, and the better your diet will be!
In addition, a survey conducted by the National Sleep Foundation found that making your bed in the morning could improve your night’s sleep by as much as 20% if you struggle with insomnia.
Routinely cleaning your home likewise implies you won’t get sick with such ease, as it assists with taking out frightful infections, microscopic organisms, dust, residue, and parasites spores which can set off respiratory circumstances like asthma and sensitivities.
Where should I begin? Dish sponges, the kitchen sink, toothbrush holders, pet bowls, and bathroom taps are among the nine germiest places in your home, according to Mymove.com.
The Positive Effects of Keeping Your Home Clean On your mental health, keeping your home clean is an easy way to lower your stress levels.
First, you’ll be able to stay more organized because you’ll know where everything is. There will be no more scrambling in the morning in the last minute to locate those crucial files before work! Your stress hormone cortisol will stay low and under control as a result of this.
Next, the excessive visual stimulation that clutter provides to our brains causes stress. This contributes to what is known as sensory overload, which is particularly problematic for people who suffer from ADD, autism, and other mental health conditions because it can result in high levels of stress from extraneous stimulation.
When you look at things that haven’t been done yet, clutter also makes you feel guilty and anxious. When there is evidence of tasks that have not been completed right in front of you, it is difficult to ignore the feeling of being overwhelmed.
Concentration is another aspect of mental health that is affected by clutter. Our brains work harder to try to process the additional visual information when we are overstimulated. Being unable to concentrate on other activities, such as work, is a direct consequence of this.
Avoidant coping mechanisms, such as bingeing on junk food or watching television, can also be encouraged when overwhelmed by clutter.
As a result of all of this, organizing your home can also help you feel calmer and more organized inside!
For instance, in 2011, researchers discovered, using functional magnetic resonance imaging and other biological measurements, that removing clutter from the immediate environment improved participants’ focus, enhanced their ability to process information, and increased their productivity.
You can help yourself become more productive, have more energy, and live a healthier life by keeping clutter under control.
Benefits for Your Home In addition to keeping your home cleaner and neater, regular cleaning has other advantages for your home.
For instance, if you clean your home on a regular basis, you are less likely to discover serious issues in the future, like black mold and rot. Stains that are cleaned right away stop “setting in” and are easier to get rid of.
Additionally, regular cleaning extends the life of carpets, furniture, and other items, saving money on furniture purchases and upkeep.
Benefits for Friends, Family, Loved Ones, and Pets: Doing your part to clean and organize improves your relationships as well!
According to a recent Yelp study, as many as 80% of households disagree over cleaning, with 20% reporting that it was a frequent source of disagreement. These arguments can be reduced by keeping your home clean, but it’s not as easy as that!
The topic of many arguments is not the cleaning itself but rather how and who should do it. Cleaning is much of the time a way that orientation jobs are communicated, so ladies who do the majority of the cleaning might feel unsupported, while men might feel they are not doing what’s needed to keep their accomplices cheerful.
You can reduce gender-based arguments and improve your communication with your partner by establishing a regular schedule for who does what. After cleaning day, you could even set up a “date night” to reward each other and spend time together at the same time!
Clutter can also present some immediate health risks if you live with young children, animals, or elderly relatives who are at high risk of falling. However, by cleaning and maintaining your living area on a regular basis, you can reduce the likelihood of accidents occurring around the house and keep your family safe.
The environment and society can both benefit from tidying your home. You can donate items to charity shops or list them on websites like Freecycle.com to help you give them to people who need them more than you do. You can declutter your home on a regular basis.
By ensuring that items you no longer require are repurposed rather than discarded, this also helps the environment. Repurposing old things into new, useful household items and decorations might also be something you enjoy!
Why maintain a cleaning schedule?
Cleaning is good for you, your home, the environment, society as a whole, and your relationships with other people. Therefore, it stands to reason that the inquiry ought to be, “Why not get your cleaning routines properly organized so that you can see how much better they can help your life?”
QUAY Magazine’s Alex Belsey wrote this piece.
