When the wintry mix makes going outside unpleasant, the couch and a good book are tempting. But think: if you do your spring cleaning now, you’ll be able to enjoy the first warm days of spring outside smelling flowers instead of inside scrubbing floors. Plus, if you start now, you can leverage the momentum of the new year and the revitalized fervor for the Konmari Method.
A Princeton study found that a junk-covered room amps up stress and frustration by overloading your mind with stimuli. Basically everywhere you look you’re reminded of something you should do. That only intensifies during those long winter evenings when it’s just you, the pile of books you’ve got to alphabetize, and the crusties underneath your stove grates.
Clutter in particular seems to have a deleterious effect on your mood and health. As a 2017 article in Psychology Today noted, “life satisfaction, physical health, and cognition all speak to the value of streamlining.”
Plus, it turns out people who regularly tidy up are getting a fair amount of light physical activity. That’s good for your resolution to fight a growing waistline, sure, but cleaning also offers the benefit of space in your house to do things like rolling out the yoga mat or firing up an exercise video, doubling down on the physical benefits.
And if you do it now, it’ll give you an edge when spring rolls around. Nearly three-quarters of us ring in the new season with a bout of cleaning, during which we tackle time-intensive jobs like cleaning baseboards and dusting ceiling fans.
