As the weather warms up, do you find yourself itching to get your home scrubbed and shined up? You’re not alone. For centuries, people have used the warming spring months to sweep out the cobwebs and dust from the previous year.
Spring cleaning began as way to clear out the soot and grime that accumulated in homes heated with kerosene, coal, or wood each winter. As warm weather returned, windows were opened and the accumulated dirt and grime was swept up and out.
Of course, today most homes are not heated this way. But over the course of a year, many spots in our homes can get a bit grimy.
Moreover, even our biology leads us to want a good spring clean. During the short winter months, the extra darkness causes our bodies to produce more melatonin, which causes us to feel sleepier longer.
As the days lengthen in spring, increased sunlight reduces that melatonin. This increases our energy and is a natural push to get more active. Thorough spring cleaning involves housecleaning, organizing, decluttering, and straightening home spaces both inside and out.
While we clean our homes throughout the year, spring cleaning is more than just everyday tidying. It is deep cleaning and organization of each area of the home. Spring cleaning focuses your cleaning efforts and gets each space fully organized and cleaned.
In fact, spring cleaning is not just a way to tidy up your living spaces. Doing this cleaning and tidying work can boost your mood, promote a healthier lifestyle, save you time and money, and help keep your home in repair. Consider these ways that spring cleaning imparts health benefits and can improve your life.
When your springtime seasonal allergies flare up, take it as a reminder to give your home a good cleaning and dusting. Removing allergens from your home living spaces can avoid allergy symptoms and hay fever. Get some fresh air into your home by getting rid of as much dust as possible.
After a long winter, there is an accumulation of dust, pet dander, mildew, and mold in many spaces of your home. A deep cleaning will take care of these issues. Dust all surfaces, vacuum every carpet, shake out and wash area rugs, and do a deep clean of your carpet.
You should also wash blankets, curtains, and furniture cushions and coverings. This will eliminate as much dust and allergens as possible.
Besides reducing allergies, a good cleaning of your home will get rid of lingering bacteria and viruses on surfaces. This, of course, improves respiratory health and helps build a strong immune system. Use an antibacterial cleaner to disinfect the inside of your refrigerators and freezers, countertops, sinks, cutting boards, and food storage items.
Other places that can harbor harmful bacteria include computer keyboards, door knobs, bedding, towels, cellphone, and pet beds and bowls. A deep clean of these items will sanitize them and eliminate any unpleasant odors, making your living spaces cleaner and more pleasant.
Having a clean and decluttered environment can boost your self-esteem, as you spark joy in your space. You will also find yourself having improved energy levels. Many people avoid having family and friends over if their house is untidy or dirty. To avoid this, many health coaches emphasize the importance of cleaning and household chores.
A good spring cleaning can set that right and give you the opportunity to enjoy your own space and share it with friends and loved ones. In addition, when our living space is untidy and cluttered, we may find it hard to focus, which can limit our creativity and productivity.
Having lots of clutter in your environment reduces the ability of your brain to process information and pay attention to the tasks you’re trying to complete. Spring cleaning gives you the opportunity to refresh both your physical space and your mind.
Research has found that a messy home can increase stress and anxiety. A study by researchers at the University of California-Los Angeles revealed that women who described their living spaces as full of clutter or unfinished projects had increased depressed mood, had higher levels of cortisol, and reported more stress. A proper mental space is important to one's overall health.
A poll conducted by HuffPost found that one of the top five stress triggers for Americans is “worrying my home isn’t clean or organized enough.” Spring cleaning is a positive way to lower stress levels at home.
Trips and falls are a common cause of injury in the home, especially among the elderly. When spring cleaning, you can reduce the risk of tripping and falls in several ways. Tidy up old newspapers and magazines, clear hallways, remove clutter from staircases, and secure trip hazards such as loose electrical cords, throw rugs, loose carpeting, and damaged flooring. A clean home is a safe home.
Constantly cleaning the same areas over and over is a time sink. You can gain back more free time by doing a thorough organization of problem clutter areas.
This can help give you more time to improve other life tasks such as physical fitness, one of many heart-healthy benefits. Physical activity is important, among the many health benefits of spring cleaning every year.
You may have an area of your home that is a clutter magnet, where family members toss mail, sports equipment, shoes, purses, backpacks, and coats. To tackle this problem, reduce the clutter, add some organizers, and break the habit of tossing items there when you come home.
When you organize and declutter your home, you will finally find those missing items that you’ve been looking for over the year. It may be the broom you use in the garage, your second crockpot, the extra bags of cotton balls you’ve bought, or all those phone chargers you can’t ever seen to find. Organize all those things, and you won’t have to run to the store when you can’t find what you need.
Giving your home a good once-over in the spring is a great way to detect any repairs that need to be made. While doing your spring cleaning, check for evidence of leaks, mold, or peeling paint. When you clean out your gutters, check for cracks or leaks. Inspect your roof, chimney, siding, and foundation for any cracks, broken material, or damage. Doing paint touchups, rust removal, and repairs will help keep your home in tip-top shape.
Jumping into spring cleaning without a plan can end up being frustrating. Larger tasks benefit from setting aside a day or two to tackle them. But even with just small blocks of time, you can work through all your spring cleaning chores if you have a good plan. By writing down tasks and organizing them, you won’t miss anything and can organize your tasks in a logical order.
Start with a list of supplies. It is easier to make progress if you don’t have to stop and buy supplies for each step. Then jot down a plan for each room and the outside of your home. You can work through your list to ensure nothing is forgotten.
Putting cleaning tasks in a logical order means you won’t have to repeat work. So do your dusting before vacuuming, clean your gutters out before sweeping your porch, and clean out your refrigerator before mopping your kitchen floors.
If you have a lot of clutter to sort through, you will end up with a lot of items to discard. Instead of letting it all pile up waiting on your weekly residential trash pickup, consider renting a dumpster container and having it delivered to your home. This allows you to toss your trash as you work and is the easiest way to handle lots of household trash and clutter.
Spring cleaning is a lot of work. When it’s all completed, the last thing you’ll want to do is make dinner or clean up after eating. Instead, celebrate with a takeout order or head out for a restaurant meal. You’ll return to a clean and tidy home and can enjoy the fruits of your hard work for months to come.
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