There are two types of people in this world: Those who look forward to spring cleaning, and those who don’t. Personally, I can relate to both of these types. On the one hand, by the time Spring comes around, my house is itching for a good scrub-down. The forgotten socks collecting dust underneath my bed are screaming, “Find me!”, not to be outdone by the cries from the dirt in the back of my kitchen cabinets. But then on the other hand, I know that I’m gonna have to devote at least a day or two to the job, and finding time for that ain’t easy. But after doing some research into why this seasonal cleaning is oh-so-important, my tune quickly changed and I lunged straight for the Lysol. Maybe you will too.
Read on to see what I’m talking about:
- Air quality: Winter months are cold months. Yes you already knew that before reading this article. But what you may not have thought about is what that means for your home. When the weather outside is frightful, people’s windows stay shut. That means closed windows and almost no fresh circulation for the entire season. When there is no fresh air flow throughout a home, dust settles and the air becomes stagnant and stale. Gross, I know. This means that those little nooks and crannies in your home may become dustier and potentially moldier where there is moisture. These things make air quality very poor, resulting in effects on respiration, mental health, and even your home itself. The only real form of prevention for this is to open some windows and let dry, fresh air do its job. Due to lack of window-opening in winter months, spring cleaning becomes a necessity. This is the time to clean any existing dust and mildew that were festering during the winter. And for preventative measures, keeping the windows open as often as you can is just about the best thing you can do for your home.
- Finding Lost Items: The child inside of me likes to think of spring cleaning as a treasure hunt. The adult likes it too. Having to stick my nose into every corner and hiding spot in my house lets me find a whole lot of those things I’ve been looking for all this time. We simply don’t realize how much we have because things are in spots that we don’t naturally look at. Exhibit A: Those cans of who-knows-what in the back of your pantry. Exhibit B: The amazing pack of pens you bought once but then placed into the Drawer of Doom, or, the junk drawer, and never even opened. When you empty out all drawers and cabinets and move your furniture around as you clean, you’d be surprised at how much was never actually “stolen”, but just rolled under the couch.
- Decluttering: Ahh, my favorite reason of all. Purging! As the winter months creep on and we live our lives, we gather more and more… stuff. Stuff can be good. Stuff can even be fun. But too much stuff is, well, too much stuff! Research actually shows that a cluttered space leads to increased anxiety and stress, and decreased ability to focus. There have been many times in my life that I felt like I had a lot going on and not enough time or headspace to deal with it all. Then, before attempting to get to any of it, I would clean my desk, make my bed, and fold my laundry. The moment I sat down after doing these things, my mind was instantly freed and I felt like I had renewed energy, focus, and ability to get things done. After you declutter your entire house, I guarantee that you feel like a new person. Organization/cleanliness and mental health are very much related. This is a great reason to prioritize your spring cleaning and get to it BEFORE all the other stuff on your to-do list. Because once you knock this one off, you’ll notice that the rest of the list gets done a heck of a lot faster.
Spring cleaning offers too many benefits to keep postponing it. There are physical health, mental health, AND home health benefits. What could be better? So, just do it. Find that day in your calendar this week and spring into it! (Sorry for the pun, I just had to.)
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