It’s accepted wisdom that keeping your home, office or study area neat and tidy destroys dirt and helps you feel more focused.
But with Netflix stars like Marie Kondo making headlines, cleanliness is no longer merely a household task — it’s a cathartic cultural movement that attracts millions.
So can clutching a cloth really cleanse your mind and body as well as your cupboards and cornices?
These three reasons to supercharge your spring clean might help you decide.
1. Under the cleanfluence
Marie Kondo might be the domestic guru of the moment, but there are many more ‘cleanfluencers’ who have built loyal online tribes by vlogging about their passion for keeping everything prim and proper.
For instance, Essex-based Mrs Hinch has 1.6 million Instagram followers fascinated by her bin liner recommendations and Toronto native Melissa Maker’s Clean My Space YouTube channel boasts over 1 million subscribers.
So by embracing tidying up, you’re truly joining a global community. And if you develop world-class cleaning and communication skills, you might even go viral with your own vibrant household show.
2. Reclaiming desk disaster zones
It’s worth remembering that the primary reason for keeping your surroundings spick and span is protecting your physical health.
The next time you sit down at a disordered desk to complete coursework, being aware that on average it contains 400 times more germs than a toilet seat might make you bristle.
And if blitzing your workstation with anti-bac wipes to bash bugs isn’t motivation enough, finding long-lost pens and post-its with ease should still leave you feeling flushed.
Further, if you’re working or studying from home, you might want to spruce up the rest of your domestic office by incorporating some feng shui.
For example, there should be as much clear space as possible on the desk surface and the desk should be oriented so you can see everyone entering and leaving — these simple tips ensure you feel calm and in control of your environment.
3. Mind and body benefits
Cleanfluencer fans claim that dedicating themselves to a military-style tidying regime changes their lives for the better, but science also backs up this anecdotal evidence.
For instance, a 2010 study in the Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin which used linguistic analysis software to measure the way people discussed their homes concluded that those who described them as ‘cluttered’ were more likely to be tired, depressed and have higher levels of stress hormone cortisol than those who described them as ‘restful’.
Finally, untidiness also compromises sleep quality, which impacts everything from staying on top of your studies to having healthy personal relationships.
Research from the National Sleep Foundation indicates that people who make their beds each morning are more likely to report getting sufficient sleep, while 75 per cent say that clean sheets improve comfort enough to ensure that hitting the hay fully recharges their batteries.
So there you have it — supercharging your spring clean might help you make friends, influence people and stay healthy in mind and body — all in the deft flick of a feather duster.
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