As Spring begins to emerge and flowers beginning to bloom in Rotary Park, sounds of life and new vegitation, may create a desire for clean spaces. Spring cleaning is commonly associated with cultural traditions of reorginization. Some traditions involve mass decluttering, while others focus on fine details and organization.
Lacey Eyberg, owner of Maid in the Ozarks, a house cleaning company, has an idea why spring is favored over summer for cleaning.
“Because [of] the warmer weather, we’re more likely to open the house to allow fresh air,” Eyberg said. “ Also [summer has] an increase in pollen and allergens. So we’re more mindful about keeping our space more clean to help reduce any kind of physical symptoms.”
Some believe that spring cleaning is a crucial first step to developing better habits. One such factor that helps improve one’s health is decreasing the pollen and allergens in the air. According to a 2024 study by Urban Forestry and Urban Greening, higher levels of allergens can cause decreases in one’s mental health.
Licensed social worker Morgan Hanks said certain external factors can affect one’s health.
“Environmental factors are one of the number one things that can affect our mental health,” Hanks said.
An environmental factor that many people are influenced by daily is one’s home. The level of cleanliness of the house can have negative impacts on physical and mental health.
“[Cleaning] can reduce germs and decrease the risks of illnesses,” the owner of Spotless Cleaning Service Daniel Beld said. “[Cleaning] can improve your mental health [by] relieving stress because when you’re cleaning and organizing your home that’s reducing the feelings of being overwhelmed.”
While cleaning can help reduce stress, it can also prove difficult for some due to a lack of motivation and time. One way to keep up with cleaning is by making it a habit.
“Having a very simple little routine that you go through every night, like the bathroom for instance,” Beld said. “Even something like a little checklist for yourself on the mirror-like ‘Wipe the counter and the faucets, check for toothpaste splatters, swish out the toilet really quick and take dirty clothes downstairs.’ Having little reminders and then just kind of building little habits to contribute to the end goal.”
Taking on small parts of the house can contribute to both a small amount of cleaning in one’s home and a large amount. It all depends on how much there is to clean.
“Make a plan [to clean] the place that aggravates you the most because it’s messy,” Eyberg said. “Then start small. A lot of people tear apart the whole room and then spend six hours and it’s a whole mess and other rooms are a mess. Don’t do that. Start small, clean out a drawer, or if you have an hour, clean off your desk. I think that [strategy] sets people up for a sense of accomplishment and from there, we’re willing to go do something else. But if we start it and then we’re not able to finish, because you’re busy, it can be a little daunting to get started on something else. So make a plan and then start small and try to finish it once you start it.”
Small achievements can help boost one’s mental health and motivation.
“A lot of times [cleaning] feels less overwhelming or less of a big task,” Hanks said. “We build things up in our head [saying cleaning is] going to take forever, or it’s going to take us hours and hours, we’ll never get it all done. So by breaking things down, it makes [cleaning] feel a lot easier.”