Is It Time to De-clutter? How Cleaning Your Physical Space May Help Improve Mental Health by Jaya Jaya Myra

When your physical and mental space is cluttered, stress takes over. May 10 was National Clean Your Room Day. Even though it has passed, now is the perfect time to declutter that messy room of yours! But wait, did you know that cleaning your physical space can also improve your overall mind-body wellness as well?

Physical clutter equals mental clutter: it’s impossible to have a clear head when your space is dirty or unorganized. When someone comes to me to learn meditation or mindfulness, one of the first things I have people do is clean their house and keep their primary living space organized and clutter free. Eliminating external clutter makes it much easier to meditate and be mindful, and it will also improve your mood, reduce stress and anxiety and more.

Here are my top four tips to help reduce stress and anxiety brought on by clutter:

1. Start Small: Pick the room you spend the most time in. Commit to keeping your it clean and clutter free. Once you do this it will become easier to tackle those other places that need more work.
2. Identify How Stuff Makes You Feel: Take time to feel how things in your space make you feel. If something you have doesn't make you feel good, for any reason, get rid of it to make space for something that does. This could be a piece or art, furniture, clothes, dishes or just about anything. The stuff we have becomes a trigger for different emotional states, so when you choose to only have things around that evoke happiness or contentment, you create that in your life.
3. Breathe: Even cleaning your space can be daunting, so take a moment to breathe deeply and focus on the space you want to create for yourself. Breathing is connected to good mental health and lowering stress levels, so take a deep breath or 10 before you start. It will help you focus and get motivated.
4. Create Beauty: Committing to creating beauty in your space is a powerful way to ensure you focus on feeling good and keeping your mood up. Maybe this is a bouquet of flowers or potted plants, a beautiful piece of art or something handmade. Whatever you find beautiful, add it to your space. This will help you create what you want and be willing to let go of things no longer serving you.

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