A Spring Cleaning Guide for Mental Health

Each year when winter blossoms into spring, we sense some magic in the air. Our environment transforms into warmer weather, replenishing rainfall, brighter sunshine, and budding plants. As spring continues to bloom, we also feel something blooming in our minds and bodies. When I watch the brown grass grow green, baby buds flower into petals, and the sun smile wider than it has in months, it inspires me to experience some personal growth, too! Maybe this is why we all partake in spring cleaning for mental health.

Spring cleaning can be so much more than scrubbing the sink and dusting the shelves. Why not allow springtime to be a reminder to improve every area of our lives? As we watch nature transform outside our windows, we can also watch our living space, body, and minds transform into refreshing, clean, and simplified versions.

I’ve developed a new and improved version of spring cleaning, one that will improve your mental health! In this spring cleaning guide, you’ll find a wholesome list of ideas for improving your health through simplifying, cleaning, scheduling, minimalism, sustainability, and practicing healthy habits.

Cleaning

The act of cleaning dirt and toxins from your living space is a hands-on activity that allows you to practice mindfulness and achieve a sense of accomplishment. Improve your mental health with these cleaning activities.

• Deep clean your entire living space.

• Wash, vacuum, and clean out your car. 

• Do some landscaping in your yard or tidy up the outside of your home.

• Create a new weekly or monthly cleaning schedule for the year.

Caregiving

Nurturing others is a selfless act that offers a connection to a support system and a sense of purpose.

• Repot all of your plants. Consider transferring your plants from soil to Leca. Watch this video to learn about the benefits of semi-hydroponics!

• Clean or organize something for a loved one, be it a human, pet, or plant!

Materials

Minimizing our materials diminishes the urgency of wanting more and more things. Materialism can lead to greed, jealousy, and never feeling satisfied. We can instead focus more on relationships and experiences. Minimalism connects us to nature and simplifies our lives.

• Go through your clothes and accessories and donate or sell anything you haven’t worn in the past year.

• Go through your storage units - pantry, cabinets, bookshelves, closets - and donate or sell anything that no longer serves you. Then, organize everything that remains.

• Rearrange your decorations and furniture for a new, refreshing look instead of buying new ones.

Electronics

Increased screen time is linked to mental illness, such as depression. Reducing our screen time and the amount of information stuffed into our software systems improves our mental health by simplifying our lives and allowing us to spend more time doing healthy activities. Practice these healthy habits to limit your usage of screens.

• Set a low screen time goal on your phone and hold yourself accountable. You might be unpleasantly surprised at the average screen time you use. Check your usage in your phone's settings, then try to cut it in half!

• Delete the apps from your phone that you no longer use.

• Delete any pictures and videos that are duplicates or unnecessary. Bonus points if you can reform the habit of not taking too many in the first place!

• Clean out old files on your computer.

• Go through all of your emails and clean out your inbox.

Social

Unhealthy social interactions can lead to a worsened mental state and loneliness. If you can minimize those interactions, you can significantly improve your mental health.

• Remove toxic accounts from your social media feed by unfollowing them.

• Delete old text messages to free up storage space. 

• Go on a social media detox for a week or month.

• Set a goal to stop talking to, or slowly ease away from, any people in your life who weigh you down.

Mind

Thoughts control emotions, so ensure your brain is stimulated by acts of self care and filled with positive and peaceful thoughts.

• Meditate to cleanse the mind of all thoughts.

• Practice accepting negative emotions and letting negative thoughts go.

• Build a morning routine that involves starting your day doing something that calms or inspires you. I like to start my mornings by hiking outside or reading a book while sipping on some tea.

Body

Our physical health affects our mental health. Planning healthy routines for our body will also benefit our mind.

• Create a workout schedule that will hold you accountable to move your body every week. 

• Build a meal plan that involves cutting out unhealthy food and drinks.

• Stick to a sleep schedule that allows you enough rest to feel refreshed and energized the next day.

Sustainability

Spring cleaning for mental health can extend to cleaning up the environment. Being in nature improves mental health, so protecting nature and the environment boosts the mood, as well! 

• Go zero waste in one category in your life by swapping single-use plastics for reusable items. Some of the first swaps I made included trading plastic silverware for a reusable utensil set and trading plastic grocery and produce bags for reusable bags.

• Build a compost bin to turn your carbon- and nitrogen-rich food scraps into soil. I repurposed wood from an old swingset into the frame of my compost bin and then purchased chicken wire to nail it inside of the frame. 

• Start making your own recipes for beauty and cleaning products to minimize waste and eliminate parabens and other toxic chemicals. Check out some recipe tips from my zero waste role model, Lauren Singer, on her blog Trash is for Tossers to learn! Here are the ingredients I bought in bulk and used in my homemade deodorant recipe: arrowroot powder, coconut oil, baking soda, shea butter, and essential oil.

Mental Health Blog Disclaimer

I am not a medical professional, therapist, or mental healthcare professional. The information provided on this website is for informational purposes only, comes from my own personal experiences, and may be read, interpreted, and practiced at your own risk. Do not rely on this information as a substitute to medical advice or treatment from a healthcare professional.

My homemade compost bin repurposed from an old swing set!

Happy spring cleaning for mental health, everyone!