March 24, 2024
Why Cleaning Your Home Is Good For Your Health
Raise your hand if ~30% of the reason you invite company over is that it motivates you to deep clean your house. Everyone has their reasons for cleaning. Everyone has different reasons for cleaning. Some do it because they have to, some do it because they want to, some pay others
to do it, and some do it to pay the bills, whether they want to or not. Either way, cleaning is cathartic. It’s work where you get to experience the rewards. There is often an immediate payoff. We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: regular cleaning during peak illness time can significantly reduce the spread of airborne illness. Cleaning (properly) during bouts of illness keeps you and your family healthy. Cleaning with active antibacterial or antimicrobial ingredients can provide added protection against germs, including those that may cause disease. But it turns out, cleaning is beneficial to your health in more ways than one.
A Clean Home Improves Your Mental Health
There are so many reasons a clean home is good for your mental health. And good mental health contributes to your overall health. The mere sight of a clean and organized home may be enough to de-stress and unwind. Very Well Mind reports that people “with messy or cluttered homes had higher levels of cortisol.” Cortisol is the primary stress hormone, too much of which puts your health seriously at risk. Clutter overwhelms a person’s visual cortex, leading to decreased ability to focus, confusion, irritability, difficulty completing projects, and elevated tension. On the flip side, an organized home brings about a sense of calm and well-being.
Routine cleaning keeps clutter in control and keeps you on top of how to keep your home organized, both of which significantly improved your day-to-day functioning and emotional well-being. Routine cleaning encourages the regular assessment of how you store your belongings, allowing you to constantly adjust to your family's needs.
No one enjoys scrambling to find personal belongings while crunched for time. Getting out the door for school and work, preparing meals at the end of a long work day, and weeknight and weekend extracurricular commitments all are easier to manage when our personal belongings are where we expect them to be. Anxiety about missing the bus? No more. Wrestling with a pile of dishes just to access the stove? Never again. Missing the team pre-game warmup because of a misplaced jersey? Not in this house. All of these issues are stress inducers. And stress is bad for you. It’s bad for your mental health. It’s bad for your physical health. Reducing stress in any way is good.
A regular cleaning schedule establishes a predictable rhythm and routine, which is especially good for us when we are not feeling well emotionally or when other things in our lives feel unpredictable. Kids of all ages, as well as adults, thrive on a predictable routine, so creating a family cleaning schedule not only takes the chore burden off parents, but also provides a sense of camaraderie and teamwork, adds extra movement into everyone's day, and teaches kids valuable life skills.
Cleaning helps give you a sense of control and purpose when things are feeling otherwise. The repetitive nature of cleaning tasks is a great way to engage your mind and create a sense of order. Personally putting in the work to create a relaxing environment provides deep satisfaction and feelings of accomplishment that can get anyone out of a rut. Imagine the peace of knowing everything is in its place, the air you are breathing is clean, the dishes are put away. The satisfaction of going to bed with a clean home improves your ability to fall asleep as well as the quality of your sleep.
Cleaning Keeps You Active
The Mayo Clinic recommends that healthy adults aim for at least 30 minutes of moderate physical activity every day. For an overwhelming number of adults, most of our awake hours are taken up by sitting - we sit at our desks for 8 hours a day, during meals, watching tv, and scrolling our phones. Mayo Clinic says reducing sitting time is important. The more hours you sit each day, the higher your risk of metabolic problems. Adding cleaning tasks to your daily schedule is a great way to get those 30 minutes of physical activity in while also improving your living space. It won’t count as a vigorous cardio workout or strength training, but it will certainly get you moving and you may even break a sweat while doing it. Just cleaning in and of itself counts as beneficial movement and will definitely get you closer to your 10,000 steps a day, but why not kill two birds with one stone by turning your cleaning tasks into actual workouts? Ready to put your back into it? Ignite those abs, drop some squats, and throw in a handful of lunges, and don’t forget to pump up the jams and dance while you mop.
Movement is an important part of supporting our mental health. The physical activity cleaning tasks provide the release of mood-boosting endorphins that can relieve symptoms of stress, depression, and anxiety. Add music while you work and your mood will skyrocket. But cleaning benefits our mental health in other ways too.
Your home should be the place where you feel restored and restful, not fatigued and depressed. Adding a cleaning routine can significantly improve your physical and mental health. On The Spot cleaners, owned by Randy Spurling, can take some of the major cleaning tasks off your hands for added peace of mind, from duct cleaning to carpet cleaning to mold remediation. Duct cleaning is a simple process that can make a big difference in the air quality of your home. Our team of experienced professionals will thoroughly clean every nook and cranny of your ductwork, removing dirt, dust, and debris that has built up over time. In addition, we will also treat your ducts with an antimicrobial solution that helps to prevent the growth of mold, mildew, and other harmful contaminants. If you're noticing more coughing, sneezing, or general respiratory discomfort, it could be caused by dirty air ducts. In addition, if you have allergies, they may suddenly become worse if your air ducts are dirty. Find out more about how clean air ducts contribute to the healthfulness of your home.
On The Spot’s staff is professional and leaves no mess behind.
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