cleaning to lift your Blue Monday mood!
The third Monday in January is known as “Blue Monday”. After the highs of Christmas and New Year, the overspending, failed New Year’s Resolutions and over-indulging, it’s easy to see why the day is dubbed the most depressing of the year.
BUT… there are ways to beat the doldrums.
the cleaning link to Blue Monday.
Experts agree that untidy homes can make us feel stressed, anxious and depressed.
In fact, there is a link between a lack of cleaning and poor mental health. One study* found that women who felt their homes were messy had higher levels of the stress hormone cortisol and felt more depressed during the day and more tired at night compared to women who found their homes more restful.
And in another study,** it was discovered that living in cluttered spaces (think shoes all over the floor, sinks full of unwashed dishes, papers all over the table) makes it hard for our brains to focus and process information. And a lot of us find that mindset stressful.
So… if we want to feel more relaxed, more productive, have greater concentration and lower levels of stress…
so… let’s get cleaning this Blue Monday!
Get your favourite music on, or listen to a great podcast but remember, YOU decide what you do. Choose one task, or all 5 from our list below. Anything you can do will be a bonus.
1. make your bed.
Apparently, those of us who make our beds each morning are 19% more likely to get a good night’s sleep! And clean sheets are also linked to better rest, so try to regularly change your bedding. Good sleep is vital to maintaining better mental and physical health.
2. pick a cupboard.
Or a drawer! You know the ones… full of stuff you probably don’t need and the shelves could do with a good wash down! Picking a small task like a single drawer or cupboard helps if you are feeling overwhelmed and you’ll still get that feeling of accomplishment when the job’s done. Using our multi purpose spray on a job like this gives an uplifting orange citrus fragrance which can’t help to invigorate your mood. And with a FREE TRIAL on offer, what could be better? When you’re done, admire your work (helps those feel-good hormones) and reward yourself with a cup of tea and a show that makes you laugh.
3. set a timer.
Pick a room and just give yourself 20 minutes… no more, so set a timer. Maybe it’s the kitchen and you just do the dishes. Maybe it’s the bathroom and you just tackle the toilet. Maybe it’s the living room and you give it a thorough vacuum. Whatever you choose, just clean for 20 minutes and see what you can achieve… it’s not an overwhelming amount of time and you’ll be surprised by what you can get done.
4. take to the floor.
Cluttered floors can make an entire room feel messier, so pick a room and start tidying from the bottom up. Pick up any rubbish to be thrown out and put anything else that doesn’t belong on the floor into a basket/bag. You can then redistribute the items to their rightful places! Finish the floors with a sweep or a vacuum.
5. wash one load.
No need to feel like you’ve got to empty the laundry baskets… but doing just one load (a full one) is always a good idea. Keeping on top of the dirty washing is one thing that is worthwhile because it doesn’t take long for the mountains to build. And what could be simpler than quickly throwing in a laundry capsule before the clothes? No measuring, no mess, just pop it in and off you go.
smol things make a big difference.
Our 5 quick cleans above are easy to take on and should give you a real feeling of achievement. And that’s a good way to feel better. So when your house is cleaner and you’ve banished those Blue Monday vibes, give yourself a pat on the back for getting up and doing some tasks.
And if it’s sparked a cleaning bug… remember - if you want to dip your toe into the world of more sustainable cleaning for your home, you can’t get better than smol.
Head over to our FREE TRIALS and start your New Year off with some easy sustainable swaps.
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*DE Saxbe 2010
** 2011 Princeton University Neuroscience Institute
