Did you clean up for Thanksgiving this year?
The holidays are often a time of year we tend to dive into an extra cleaning project or two as we prepare to put up decorations and reorganize for friends or family that are coming over.
This year, it might not seem as much of a necessity as we find limits imposed on the guests we can have. Although, it could be just the mental health boost you need.
Since one of our roles as cottage care specialists is to be professional cleaners for our clients, it can often be one of the last tasks we want to accomplish when we get home.
We're not dirty people. With a baby and a dog, cleaning is a routine necessity in our house, but the extra deep cleaning and decluttering we often reprioritized below other chores.
This week, as part of our self-care journey, we decided to tackle some much-needed deep cleaning and decluttering projects around the house.
And it does much more for you than just making things look better, as referenced in 6 Benefits of an Uncluttered Space by Alice Boyes, Ph.D. in Psychology Today.
#1 Decluttering creates a sense of confidence and self-efficacy.
As Dr. Boyes so eloquently puts it, "It helps you feel like you're adulting!"
As professional cleaners, we fully agree with this sense of accomplishment. While in the middle of any cleaning project, it's easy to forget how rewarding the results can be until we look back over our work and realize the difference we've made. We embark on many endeavours in any given week, and few are as visually rewarding as seeing the result of a well-delivered cleaning service.
#2 Decluttering is energizing.
It really can be. Even after cleaning 3 or 4 cottages in a day, we can still feel like the energizer bunny is powering us as we're ready to keep going and going. Dr. Boyes explains this is because, "you put yourself into getting-things-done mode. When you do this, you're likely to find that you feel energized enough to start ticking other things off your to-do list."
So maybe you've got a long list of projects you want to accomplish today, starting with a simple bout of cleaning or decluttering could help set a fire within to lead you to a more productive day.
#3 Cleaning and organizing reduce anxiety.
There's a reason we consider our cleaning services less expensive than a spa day. While cleaning does have a temporary aspect to it, unlike the one and done nature of a spa visit, once we've been through to provide cleaning services, the results can linger, making your home a more relaxing environment for days to follow.
Of course, we love the results once we've finished a deep clean around our own home too.
#4 Decluttering allows mind wandering and (sometimes) involves physical activity.
As business owners, we can quickly find ourselves wrapped up in the more brain-draining tasks associated with our business's on-going maintenance in times like those; cleaning helps us take our minds off of things when we get stuck.
As Dr. Boyes puts it, "giving your mind a chance to wander can help you generate further insights into whatever it was you were working on. Physical activity can help supercharge this. Therefore, organizing that involves some physical component (like moving heavy items around) can create ideal conditions for having light-bulb moments and other leaps of insight."
#5 Decluttering can reduce relationship and family tension.
100% decluttering is self-care & relationship-care
Not only does decluttering help to keep us more organized. It helps us to keep on each other's good books. We'd agree that the fewer times, Hunny could you help me find [insert blank], is said the healthier our relationship seems to be that day, week and month.
#6 When you declutter, you often find lost treasures.
Since we're professional cleaners, we frequently feel we're guiding others to treasures we cannot possess. So when we get to do it at home, it's a nice change of pace. Sometimes our finds at home are as simple as finding where the remote disappeared or where the treasure trove of missing soothers is, and other times it's rediscovering long lost keepsakes we've put away in a safe place, only to forget where that safe space is.
Whatever you find, we'd agree with Dr. Boyes assessment, "These finds can create a sense of serendipity and abundance that can boost your mood and increase your energy for tackling bigger issues." So whether the bathroom cupboard needs to be cleaned out, or your wardrobe needs to be organized perhaps you'll have a new reason this week to get it accomplished. If you don't feel like tackling it yourself (in the Haliburton County area) give us a call and we'd be happy to discuss how we can help.