Stress Cleaning: Why Cleaning Helps Anxiety

We’ve all been watching the Marie Kondo craze of the joy of tidying up. This ongoing trend emphasizes the benefits a clear and organized space has on your mental state and joy.

This is not a new concept and there have been many studies showing the correlation between keeping a clean house and having a calmer mental state. It’s been shown that cleaning and organizing can help both depression and anxiety.

So, why does this help? Here we talk all about stress cleaning and why cleaning helps anxiety.

The Link Between Cleanliness and Anxiety Levels – Why Marie Kondo Might Be Onto Something With That Whole Sparking Joy Thing

Living in a cluttered space and disorganization leads to frustration. You can never find anything, doing anything becomes a struggle. It leads to a lack of productivity which can send you down a shame, guilt, and worry spiral.

This study suggests that women especially those who live in stressful home environments experience more depressed moods that others.

What’s beneficial about a system like the KonMari method is that it takes into account the mindfulness behind sorting your things rather than just getting rid of stuff. It helps you connect with how you feel about your space and your things and really question if it’s all serving you.

There’s no point in having things in your home that make you more stressed, unhappy, and you don’t like.

What Effect Does a Dirty Home Have on Your Mental State?

For most people, being surrounded by filth or squalor is incredibly distressing. This is why stress cleaning can be therapeutic for so many people. By harnessing the control you do have in your home and making your space clean you’re eliminating some of the sources of your worry.

A study out of the UK found that:

• 90% of the respondents surveyed said that a messy house makes them feel unhappy and unproductive
• 54% said they had actually canceled social plans because of a dirty or messy home
• Seven out of 10 frequently argue with housemates about household chores
• Out of those who argue, 50% said that the kitchen was the source of the most volatility

While this wasn’t a widespread study the results seem very common sense. There’s a reason that throughout history it’s been said that the state of your home reflects the state of your mind.

But, Is There Any Proof? Are Cleaning and Anxiety Really Connected?

In addition to the UK study, there has also been research out of Cornell and Princeton, that suggest similar outcomes.

They found that people who live in messy environments are more likely to consume junk food and care less about their own health and well-being. The Princeton study discovered that people who are living in disorganization makes them less productive, more stressed, have higher anxiety levels, and produce less.

Stress Cleaning Makes Sense

So, after all the data, it makes sense that some people clean their homes in response to stress and anxiety.

Is your home the cause of some of your skewed mental state? Maybe you need a better flow and more storage in your home to make better use of your space.

The professionals at Georgia Home Remodeling can help you come up with a renovation plan that puts your space to it’s best use. Contact us today.