Dust off the blues: Here’s how cleaning and tidying your home can support your mental health

When I started my first job, I was full of hope and big dreams about it. I imagined a fulfilling and exciting journey of endless possibilities. But the reality was different. The job was nothing like I had pictured. It was extremely demanding and soon turned into a shift-based job. After doing innumerable night shifts, I became mentally tired. Disillusioned and overwhelmed, I knew I could not go on like this for long. So, I decided to leave the job and try to get better.

But what followed was a slump. Since I did not apply for another job right away, I spent all my time at home. While I had just wanted to take a break and breathe, I slowly started slacking instead. I stopped taking care of myself, my home was a mess, and I basically let everything go. At one point, I had no idea of even what day it was.

My home, which was once warm and lively, soon started to look like how I felt inside; heavy, cluttered and low. It wasn’t until my family visited that I saw how much I had let things go. Being compassionate, the only thing my mother asked me to do was clean up my space. While I did not feel like it, I still picked up the broom to clean one of the corners because I felt I owed my parents some sort of semblance. Interestingly,  this little step changed everything.

As I cleared the clutter, I felt a positive shift within. The act of cleaning, sweeping, wiping and organising became more than just a chore. In fact, it became quite therapeutic for me. Slowly but surely, I sorted my home. Soon after, I found a new zeal to start working again.

Indeed, cleaning and tidying may seem like simple tasks, but they can do wonders for our mental health. And  there is actual science behind why cleaning helps us feel better. Research shows that our surroundings have a strong impact on our mood and mental clarity. When our homes are clean and organised, we are more likely to feel calm, focused and in control. A study led by Dr NiCole Keith, professor and scientist at Indiana University School of Medicine, found that people who keep their living spaces clean are physically healthier when compared to those who live in cluttered, untidy spaces. Another 2010 study published in Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin found that women who described their homes as cluttered were more likely to feel fatigued and depressed than those who described it as restful.

This shows that a clean space doesn’t just look good, it can make us feel good too. So, join us as we explore how cleaning and tidying our home can support our mental health better.

Gives a sense of control

There are times in life when everything feels like a losing battle. Maybe the year didn’t go as we had hoped. Maybe we had wished to achieve some goals but faced setbacks instead. While failures can leave us feeling overwhelmed, stuck and anxious, it is the simple tasks like cleaning that can come to the rescue and offer us a sense of stability. Just making the bed, tidying a drawer or wiping down a table can give us a sense of order. It can tell the brain that there are things that it can manage, simply yet effectively. It can tell the brain that while it is hard to change the big things, control over the smaller, material things is actually possible.

Canadian clinical psychologist and author Jordan Peterson famously emphasises on the importance of “cleaning your room” as a step towards personal responsibility and mental clarity. Peterson states that cleaning one’s room is a symbolic act of bringing order to chaos. Further, another study, published  in the journal Mindfulness in 2015, found that people who engaged in mindful dishwashing — focusing on the smell of the soap, water and feel of dishes, experienced a 27% reduction in nervousness and an increase in mental inspiration. The act of cleaning helped participants feel calmer, mentally clear and in control.