According to a study by NiCole Keith, PhD, a research scientist and professor at Indiana University, people with clean houses tend to be healthier than those with messy or cluttered homes. 4 In fact, cleanliness was even more a predictor of good health than the walkability of a neighborhood.
Reduces Anxiety
“Cleaning a home burns calories and is also good for our body because it releases endorphins or feel-good chemicals within the brain. Therefore activities like cleaning, de-cluttering and organising the home reduce anxiety and has a positive effect on our mental health.
If having a perfectly neat and tidy room is what inspires you and helps you feel productive and creative, it might mean that you have what is known as a Type A personality. People with this personality type tend to be perfectionists. Having everything in its place helps fulfill their need for order and control.
'Many studies have found that having a clean and tidy house can help you to feel relaxed, accomplished, stress free and this could in turn help with any mental health conditions and allow you to feel better and happier.
According to Dr. Brown, cleaning your space may help reduce your cortisol levels, turn down the volume on the visual noise, and help you focus on the things you need to, and that could potentially improve your mood.
Additionally, the Anxiety and Depression Association of America indicates that the physical activity of cleaning coupled with the end result of a cleaner home helps reduce stress, feelings of anxiety, and depressive symptoms. 8 Cleaning can also reduce fatigue and improve concentration.
Is obsessive cleaning a symptom of OCD? Sometimes, yes. For many patients, obsessive thoughts revolve around germs, which makes the compulsions manifest as obsessive cleaning. People with OCD may also feel the need to organize everything to make sense of their thoughts.
How Often Does The Average Person Clean Their House? Research by the American Cleaning Institute found that Americans spend 6 hours cleaning every week, while a third wonder if they are cleaning enough and correctly. Most homeowners sweep and mop, vacuum, clean the bathroom, and dust furniture once a week.
28% sweep or vacuum every couple of weeks. 1 in 4 hasn't cleaned their fridge in six-plus months. 37% wear shoes in their homes. 6 in 10 have dirty dishes in the sink at any given moment.
Clutter can be seen in the average house. Many people will keep rooms like their bedrooms more organized since that is the space they use to relax and rest. But rooms that are used frequently, like the kitchen, will be messy or cluttered almost daily.
ISFJs and ISTJs and Cleanliness:
For the ISFJ and ISTJ personality types, having a sense of order and cleanliness gives them peace of mind. They notice the little things and feel satisfaction when their environment is free of dirt, dust, and clutter.
Psychology says that messiness can indeed be a sign that a person is having trouble. Just like someone who is suffering from OCD and has to control everything, being a messy person might show that they are dealing with depression or some other mental illness.
Messiness can actually be a sign of creativity and freedom. Or it may mean a teen is busy with school, hobbies, and socializing, and hasn't made time to clean their messy bedroom. However, a messy room can also be an outward sign of feeling disorganized or overwhelmed.
It's a coping strategy against anxiety
When you feel anxious or struggling with anxiety, it can be a good practice to start cleaning or organizing. One study finds that repetitive and predictable actions– in this instance, cleaning– can help you cope with temporary anxiety.
Researchers theorized that people gravitate toward repetitive behaviors (such as cleaning) during times of stress. Why? It's all about control. "We want to be able to do something when we get anxious, and what we really want is to be in control and take action," says Alicia H.
OCD often centers around certain themes — for example, an excessive fear of getting contaminated by germs. To ease your contamination fears, you may compulsively wash your hands until they're sore and chapped. If you have OCD , you may be ashamed and embarrassed about the condition, but treatment can be effective.
Weekly house cleaning (average: 3–5hrs)
We know every house is different, but as a general rule of thumb: each bedroom you have will mean an extra hour of cleaning. For example a 2 bedroom home will require 2hrs of domestic cleaning, a 3 bedroom home will need 3 hrs and so on.
Based on the size of your house and the severity of the mess, it could be 2 – 3 hours out of your day dedicated to cleaning. That's why most cleaning experts recommend daily cleaning.
Surprisingly, we found that half of American homes are always clean, while just 1% of Americans never lift a finger and do the dirty work. In between these extremes, about 1 in 4 respondents clean once a day and another 23% make at least some effort but let their duties slip on occasion.
How Often You Should Wash Your Sheets (And How to Get Them Really Clean) Experts recommend washing or changing sheets once a week.
Daily: Flush your toilet every day (even if it's not in use) to discourage the growth of bacteria. Weekly: Deep-clean your toilet once a week or biweekly—this includes the toilet bowl, exterior and toilet seat. Yearly: Clean your toilet tank twice a year.
If you don't dust or vacuum, your home will turn into an allergy festival. Pollen will gather in all the nooks in your home, pet hair will lie in wait, and dust mites will come out in force. All the things that make your eyes water and your nose run will be sitting around your home making your allergies worse.
It is a symptom of one of the many subtypes of obsessive compulsive disorder. Sufferers of compulsive cleaning may have a pervasive feeling of contamination by dirt, germs environmental contaminants, or chemical toxins. They may fear getting ill or contracting certain diseases, such as the flu, cancer, or HIV.
Boosts Mood
Not only can cleaning burn calories, but it also "increases endorphins, which are the feel-good chemicals in our brain," says Deibler.