Is it to keep you house healthy? Perhaps it’s to keep you happy? Or do we do it for a sense of accomplishment?
The answer to the above questions is actually... all of the above!!
Health
Keeping a clean house helps keep allergens at bay, which in turn helps keep you and your family healthy. Dust mites are the top cause for indoor allergies that could be detrimental to your families well being and comfort in the home. Regular dusting, vacuuming and cleaning can help minimize these common allergens helping you feel better.
It also keeps pests, like cockroaches and mice, out which can cause other healthy issues. Cockroaches leave behind a dust that can trigger allergy attacks while mice droppings can cause hantavirus (which would make you very ill). So next time you decide to skip doing the dishes after dinner and leaving it for morning, you should rethink that idea to keep pest infestation at bay. Also, make sure you’re not letting the trash pile up!
Cleanliness in the home can also correlates with your physical health. A study by Dr. NiCole R. Keith showed that “Participants who kept their homes clean were healthier and more active than those who didn’t. In fact, house cleanliness was even more of a predictor for physical health than neighborhood walkability.”
Happiness
Cleaning and decluttering your home has been proven to release endorphins making you feel happier. And who doesn’t want to feel happy? Personality and Social Psycholgy Bulletin published a study that showed women who described their homes as “cluttered” or “disorganized” and had unfinished projects were more likely to suffer symptoms of depression And have high levels of cortisol (i.e. stress). While women who described their homes as “neat” or “restful” had low levels of the stress hormone cortisol. Less stress? Sign me up!
Other studies have proven that keeping a clean house, especially a clean and organized bedroom, can improve your quality of sleep which in turn helps you stay happier. This study also ties in with our next category, feeling accomplished.
Accomplishment
Think back to the beginning of quarantine life, most of us thought it was going to be a two week staycation so we all jumped at the opportunity to catch up on binge-worthy shows and do nothing. But doing nothing led to feeling down because we weren’t accomplishing anything!
Now raise your hand if you ended up deep cleaning your home and purging old junk?
Yep, I did this too! Matter of fact, when we started organizing our house and getting rid of old junk that had been collecting everyone in our house felt better! Not only did we feel accomplished for handling this giant task that floated over us, we also felt a sense of relief because our home felt more open and we felt more relaxed.
As humans we need to feel accomplished to stay sane. How many people make lists, even of mundane chores, just to feel good when they check off an item? Thats because we are wired to accomplish and achieve!
Tips
I asked some cleaning guru friends for their tips and got some great feedback to staying on top of keeping your house clean.
”If it takes less than 3 minutes to do, then do it now” -Kelli R.
”Clean the kitchen as you go. Have an empty dishwasher and a sink filled with soap and water to make it easier.” -Amanda B.
“Set a timer for 15 minutes and see how much you can clean in that time. Pretend there are people coming over and you don’t want them to see your mess!”
-Isabelle S.
”Teach your kids to help out from a young age! This helps them learn to clean which transfers into their adults years.” -Steph Q.
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