Is your life in need of a de-clutter? (p1 of series)

#springcleaning #decluttering #makingspace #capacity #change

The tradition of spring cleaning symbolises cleaning one’s home of bad luck and misfortune before a significant festival/event. The upcoming one is Lunar New year which falls on the 29th day of January 2025 this year. Hence, this is typically the opportune period to be engaged in spring cleaning.

Cleaning, specifically sweeping the dust, is a way of making way for new year’s good luck and prosperity – provided one does it prior to the first day of lunar new year. Should cleaning be done in first few days of lunar new year, it is known to be associated to unfavourable luck or fortune. Somehow, such traditional beliefs inevitably add a layer of time urgency into this act of spring cleaning!

In addition to the belief of good luck, prosperity and all things well, de-cluttering physical spaces or environments is related to some benefits to health and well-being - both mental and physical as we discover below.

It helps to create capacity and freedom.

With the removal of physical item(s) from one’s environment, this can represent the elimination of a past and/or negativity (tangible or not) that can take up space (both in the mental or physical sense of the word). Hence, removing or clearing things up can symbolise the freeing up of space(s),thus creating added capacity to take on new challenges.

It can reduce stress and anxiety.

Clutter can contribute to feelings of overwhelm and anxiety in people.

Research (e.g., Saxbe & Repetti, 2010) has found that the levels of the cortisol (stress hormone)  were higher among mothers whose home environment was cluttered. In the same vein, decluttering can create a more organised living space which can result in alleviation of stress and anxiety,  leading to a favourable shift in one’s well-being and mood.

It burns calories.

Spring cleaning, characterized by act of de-cluttering, organization, as well as deep cleansing of spaces in homes, can require substantial energy exertion like in cardio- and gym workouts. Thus, similar to how one can burn calories through workouts, spring cleaning can translate to calories being burnt in the process too.

It is related to better focus and higher productivity.

Studies (Gaspar et al, 2016) have shown that disorganisation and clutter have a cumulative effect on our brains. Our brains tend to prefer order and organisation and the visual distraction that clutter brings to individuals can increase one’s cognitive load, reducing one’s ability to focus. A well-organised space can save individuals time and energy (e.g., in terms of locating items), allowing them to focus on more important tasks, in turn leading to higher productivity.

It can instil a sense of control for individuals.

There may be aspects of life that one feels are not within one’s control at the moment. Hence, being able to maintain some order and cleanliness in physical spaces can be a way for one to exert some sense of control over one’s life.

As we can see from the above, spring cleaning or decluttering space is  not only to improve physical state of one's home, but it can also support one's mind (mental health), and body (physical health). As more space is freed up, more capacity is created for you to pursue other experiences and activities that spark more joy and meaning in your lives – giving rise to better well-being.

With that, I hope the message above had sparked a contemplative note within you - as to whether spring cleaning is due in your household/life… or not...

From Studio Ghibli exhibition - found this scene particularly provocative and relevant to the subject matter.

As always, rooting for you and stay tune for part 2 of this series.

Cheers,

Jeanice

************************************************************************************************

References

Saxbe, D. E., & Repetti, R. (2010). No Place Like Home: Home Tours Correlate With Daily Patterns of Mood and Cortisol. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 36 (1), 71-81.

McMains, S., & Kastner, S. (2011). Interactions of top-down and bottom-up mechanisms in human visual cortex. J Neurosci. 31(2), 587-97.

J.M. Gaspar, J.M.,  Christie, G., J.,  Prime, D., J.,  Jolicœur, P.,  & McDonald, J. J. (2016). Inability to suppress salient distractors predicts low visual working memory capacity, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A., 113 (13), 3693-3698.