How spring-cleaning contributes to your spiritual health

Are you in a rush to leave home and frazzled because you can’t find your car keys? Have you noticed that your thoughts are scattered when your home is messy? Would you like to feel better at home and experience greater mental clarity, emotional balance and spiritual harmony? Research indicates that having a clear and clean home increases your health and happiness. Read how below…

1. A clean and clear home reduces mental stress

Where are my car keys? Where are my favourite jeans? Where did I put my new book? Does this sound familiar? Would you rather focus on your spiritual practice or make time to receive a Reiki treatment, instead of frantically looking for household items as you head out the door?

Research indicates that having a clear and tidy home reduces stress. Cortisol levels (a stress hormone) increase when you’re rushed to leave home and can’t find your car keys or wallet. A study of 60 couples from dual-income homes revealed that people who described their home as restful and uncluttered had lower cortisol levels than those who described their home as messy and unfinished. A higher sample, over a longer time period, would be ideal, but it’s a start.

Tips:

– Find a common place for household items so you know where they are. Then put them back in the same place each time. This minimises thoughts such as “Where are my keys?” and time pressure.

– If possible, tidy your home in the evening. This promotes a smoother morning so you have more time to prepare for the day ahead.

2. A clear and clean home regulates your emotions

The process of cleaning and clearing your home can provide you with an opportunity to slow down and take refuge from our overly stimulating world. Spending time clearing and cleaning regulates your emotions and is an occasion to practice mindfulness. How?

– Gentle, physical activity brings you back into your body and creates an opportunity for presence
– It’s also an opportunity to clear your mind of unhelpful thought patterns and replace them with thoughts that benefit others and yourself.

What are your thought processes when you’re in the middle of cleaning compared to after you’ve cleaned? I notice that as I clean, my mind, as well as my home, becomes clearer.  A study conducted in 2015 at Florida State University found that students who were mindful when they washed the dishes by focusing on the smell of the soap, the warmth of the water, and the feel of the dishes beneath their hands—experienced a 27% decrease in nervousness and a 25% increase in mental inspiration, while the control group received no benefits.

Tips:

– When you clean your belongings connect with the shape, size and feel of them. How do they feel to touch? Connect with the surfaces you’re cleaning and your cleaning tools. How do they feel to touch? When you connect with your belongings experience gratitude for them.

3. A clean and clear home supports your immune system

Achoo! Are you sneezing because of a seasonal allergy or a cold? Or, are you sneezing due to dust and damp build-up in your home? If it’s due to dust and dampness, like Reiki, cleaning your home helps you to breathe better and supports your immune function. Maintaining a low-dust home can also prevent respiratory conditions such as dust-induced asthma.

Tips:

– When cleaning your home, clean from the top down so that dirt and dust are efficiently removed. Consider beginning with your ceilings, then dust your blinds, clean your furniture, and then your floor.

4. A clear and clean home creates mental clarity

As we know, receiving and practising Reiki enhances mental functioning. Your mind becomes clearer and more peaceful. According to research, so does having a clear home. Our outer world affects our inner world and vice versa. So, when you’re stressed and emotionally unbalanced your home may be messier. Similarly, a cluttered and disorganised home can contribute to you feeling overwhelmed. The good news is that cleaning and clearing your home promotes mental focus, productivity and a better mood. A study found that people are more mentally and emotionally balanced, and better able to process information when their environment is free from clutter.

Tips:

– Periodically go through household items and donate or sell items that you don’t need.  If this is overwhelming, consider creating three piles of household items. One pile is for items you want to keep, one pile is for items you want to part with, and one pile is for items you’re unsure about. Leave the items that you’re unsure about in a pile and revisit that pile in a week. By then it may be easier to decide on which items you want to keep or let go of.

5. A clear and clean home increases your physical fitness

Cleaning your home is good exercise. As you clean you stretch and strengthen your muscles. Stretching encourages the smooth flow of ki (energy) throughout your system. Plus, vacuuming and mopping can increase your heart rate and promote muscle tone. A study that took place between 2003 and 2010, that included 130,000 participants spanning 17 countries, revealed that going to the gym, walking to work or doing household chores all produced the same health benefits, including a reduction in the risk of heart disease.

Tips:

– Cleaning your home all at once can be strenuous. So consider dividing household activities into manageable tasks with breaks in between. Is it possible for you to spread out household tasks over a fortnight? One week could be allocated to floors, the next week could be allocated to bathrooms and bedrooms.

– Ask for help from family members or external resources when you need to, especially if cleaning your home involves heavy lifting.

Interested to learn how you can spiritually clear your home? Enrol in a Reiki Level One or Reiki Level Two course today.