I recently watched the new Marie Kondo show on Netflix, and it inspired me to write something about spring cleaning and organizing (spring is just around the corner, ya know).
If you don't know who Marie Kondo is, she has developed a method to help people declutter and reorganize their living space to help them feel more joyful and relaxed. I am the type of person who LOVES organizing and decluttering, so this show seemed right up my alley. While watching it, I saw how the people Marie visited felt so much better after their experience. It got me thinking about the benefits of organizing and cleaning up your space. Even if you don't care for doing that type of thing - whether you think it's boring or you don't have a whole lot of time to dedicate to it - there are some great benefits you can get from tidying your space.
So, here are some benefits of spring cleaning and tidying up that I learned from the Marie Kondo series:
1. Reduced anxiety.
What I noticed in the show, and what I've found to be true for myself, is that having a clean and organized space works wonders for anxiety. Not only is it easier to move around and find what you need, but you also feel less cramped and cluttered in your head. Cleaning and decluttering can also be relaxing tasks for some people; you get your mind off of what's bugging you and just focus on something else.
2. A house that feels more like a home.
Another comment people kept making on the show was that their house felt much more like a home once it was cleaned up. They could spend more time in their homes and enjoy their space. They could bring people over and not feel embarrassed or afraid of not having enough room to seat guests!
3. Increased joy.
When you declutter, you get rid of a lot of stuff that you don't like or don't need anymore. When you do this, you keep the stuff that means something to you and makes you feel happy. When you reorganize it, you make it more accessible so that you can enjoy and use it more often.
4. Increased gratefulness.
One of my favorite moments from each episode is when the people have to make a huge pile of all their clothing in order to sort through it. This usually makes them feel stressed and guilty for having so much stuff. When I see those scenes, though, I think about how grateful we should all be for being able to even have that much stuff! Yes, a lot of people live in excess that they don't really need, but some people will never have the option of just having enough. When you go through your things that you're thinking about getting rid of, instead of feeling guilty, feel grateful that you could afford those items and that you can have clothes and makeup and different things!
5. Stronger relationships.
This tip is something that you wouldn't expect just from cleaning stuff up, but over and over again in the show, you see couples' relationships get stronger. They start off bickering because they're so stressed about the mess and chaos, but by the end of it, they've learned more about each other and have come to grow together due to their struggle together. When you clean with someone, you see the things that they value and how they organize and think, and you learn more about them. Even if it isn't exactly the same thing you would want to keep or exactly the way you would organize, you can still appreciate them for it.
I don't want you to feel like you have to get rid of everything in your house to feel less stressed or to feel like you did a good job cleaning up. Some people like having only a few possessions, and that's fine. Not everyone has to go full-on minimalist. The point is to make your space feel more inviting to you. If you don't feel happy in your own living space, then something's gotta change.
If you have Netflix, I totally recommend watching this series. It's so satisfying to see how much good a thorough cleanup can do!
I hope this list inspired you to make your space your own. Good luck and happy cleaning!
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