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softscrub.com
article
https://www.softscrub.com/your-house-your-home/house-cleaning-as-a-stress-red…
If you think about it, housework can help de-stress. Cleaning combines simple repetitive motions, gentle exercise, and a feeling of satisfaction when you’re done. Even if the workout is mild, your brain produces feel-good chemicals called endorphins which improve your mood and reduce anxiety. In fact, a study in Great Britain showed that even 20 minutes of housecleaning a week reduced stress and worries in test subjects. [...] When I come home from a crazy day at the office, nothing helps me unwind faster than an hour of housecleaning. Seriously! High levels of stress are unhealthy and can lead to sickness and disease. And if you have a positive attitude towards house cleaning you benefit in three ways: Obviously, your house is clean, and you lower your stress levels, and get exercise at the same time. This is especially important if you’re deskbound at work all day! [...] A clean, organized house sends a message that you’re feeling good about yourself and the world around you. And you can’t avoid the fact that dirt happens. From the moment you wake up until you turn out the light at night, you’re producing dust, dirty dishes, and other unavoidable clutter. So crank up the dance music or turn on some relaxing new age sounds, get out the sponge, bucket, and vacuum, and get busy cleaning your house. Your place will sparkle and so will your outlook on life.
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apartmenttherapy.com
article
https://www.apartmenttherapy.com/stress-cleaning-solutions-37396967
Decluttering is a good way to improve your overall mental health. A clean environment can make you feel less anxious, which can help reduce your desire to stress clean.
Rosado advises utilizing the “one in, one out” method. The strategy is simple: for every one thing you bring into your home, one thing must go. So if you buy a new centerpiece, you can get rid of the one gathering dust in storage. [...] Alternatively, you can refocus your energy on more productive tasks. “Engaging in creative pursuits, pursuing personal or professional goals, and focusing on activities that bring a sense of fulfillment and accomplishment can shift the focus away from cleaning and towards more meaningful endeavors,” says Rosado. [...] When it comes to stress cleaning, I’d argue that the first step is to develop more awareness around it, such as knowing the difference between productive vs. obsessive cleaning (and the signs to look for) and your triggers. “Pay attention to when the need to clean seems more pressing,” advises Goldberg. By recognizing your triggers, you can understand your anxiety better.
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healthpartners.com
article
https://www.healthpartners.com/blog/tips-for-reducing-stress-at-home
Regular cleaning is important to remove germs in your home, and decrease the chance that someone gets a cold or flu. You can make it easy by keeping disinfecting wipes in the germiest areas of your house – such as the kitchen and bathroom. [...] On the other hand, if a cluttered kitchen cabinet bugs you, it’s important to organize it. The challenge is to find a way to squeeze in decluttering and still have time for other valuable activities that help keep stress under control, such as family time, exercise and sleep. Creating a schedule can be an effective way to manage home cleanup and decluttering.
#### Sample home organization schedule [...] Of course, it’s easy to stop seeing things that are right in front of you. So, when you’re feeling stress at home, be mindful of the items around you and seek out the ones that bring you joy.
### 3. Use essential oils for your home and self-care
Smells matter! For example, fresh-baked cookies can remind you of good times with your family – plus they can cover up any funky smells like your son’s super-stinky socks.
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oxfordcbt.co.uk
article
https://www.oxfordcbt.co.uk/stress-management-cleaning
Clutter and mess can be linked to negative emotions like confusion and tension. Whereas a clean and tidy home leads to positive emotions such as a sense of calm and well-being. By sorting and organising the clutter and mess around you, you can reduce any stress or anxiety you may be feeling and this will help you feel like you are taking control of your life. The physical activity of cleaning combined with the result of a cleaner home helps reduce stress, feelings of anxiety, and depressive [...] ## How to Incorporate Cleaning Into Your Life
1 Start small and do a little bit each day. The thought of having to clean your house from top to bottom in one day can be daunting and will only add to any stress or anxiety you are feeling. Don’t make your to-do list bigger than what you can handle mentally. To begin with, choose one thing to do today, and then something else tomorrow and so on. You won’t then be faced with a daunting feeling when you come to cleaning. [...] Can cleaning help you reduce stress? There are lots of different ways that we can manage our stress. We each have our routine that we reach for when we feel overwhelmed. Some may try yoga, or mindfulness exercises, maybe even head to the hairdressers or for a massage. For others, dusting shelves, wiping down the kitchen or organising is their way to deal with stress. Cleaning is just as beneficial for our mental health as mindfulness related activities. For some people, coming home to a clean
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columbiadoctors.org
news
https://www.columbiadoctors.org/news/reduce-stress-through-decluttering
Whether someone is dealing with depression or is simply overwhelmed, we often use a technique called behavioral activation, which involves purposefully engaging in achievable activities to improve mood. This approach has been borne out in research; one study even suggests that cleaning can help alleviate stress, even when the stressor has nothing to do with the clutter. Spring cleaning is a great example of behavioral activation. [...] This doesn’t mean you need to clean out your closet every week. But everyday tidying and maintenance, like making your bed every day, may have surprising dividends. I often suggest engaging in a two-week trial period for any new habit or behavior. This helps people to assess whether the behavior has any real benefits before deciding whether to commit to it. Additionally, it is usually easier to find the motivation to continue a behavior once we fully understand and experience the benefits of [...] When we evaluate someone’s mental health, we typically include appearance within an overall assessment of their ability to perform activities of daily living. If someone presents as noticeably disheveled or does not appear to be engaging in normal grooming, that could indicate the person may be struggling in many areas, including their home environment, driven by depression, anxiety, or some other mental health disorder.
## Where does spring cleaning fit into stress reduction?
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verywellmind.com
article
https://www.verywellmind.com/how-mental-health-and-cleaning-are-connected-509…
Additionally, the Anxiety and Depression Association of America indicates that the physical activity of cleaning coupled with the end result of a cleaner home helps reduce stress, feelings of anxiety, and depressive symptoms. Cleaning can also reduce fatigue and improve concentration.
### Cleanliness and Focus [...] ### Start Small
Most people put off cleaning because the task seems way too big to tackle. But instead of expecting to get the entire house into order in one weekend, start small and do just a little bit each day.
Commit to doing one thing around your house or apartment each day. Before you know it, your environment will be much cleaner and less stressful. [...] The key is that you don't make your to-do list bigger than what you can mentally handle or you will just increase your stress rather than reduce it. To enjoy the benefits of cleanliness and decluttering, start with what you can realistically manage.
### Set a Timer
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pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
official
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11925691
Visually simulated experience of cleaning behavior reduced residual anxiety from a stress-inducing physical scene. The manipulation involved mere visual simulation, with effect sizes (_d_ s = 0.205 and 0.141) in the expected small range by traditional standards (J. Cohen, 1988) and comparable with those in contemporary preregistered between-subjects research (Schäfer & Schwarz, 2019). The effect was observed and replicated on a pictorial measure of anxiety derived from basic emotional [...] ## found that (a) concrete visual simulation of cleaning behavior alleviated residual anxiety from a stress-inducing physical scene, an effect distinct from touch, and (b) actual cleaning behavior enhanced adaptive cardiovascular reactivity to a highly stressful context of social performance/evaluation, which provides the first physiological evidence for the attenuation of stress-related effects by cleaning. Overall, actual cleaning and simulated cleaning attenuate effects of physical or [...] others; Tesser, 2000). Paralleling such mental mechanisms, we observe that cleaning can attenuate the effects of psychological threats to one’s self—as moral (West & Zhong, 2015), as rational (Lee & Schwarz, 2010), as competent (Kaspar, 2012), and as socially accepted (the present findings). This opens up a broad and exciting avenue for future research: Daily cleaning behavior, mundane as it seems, may serve supplementary coping functions that not only attenuate stress but also sustain positive