Soon the first official day of spring will be upon us, but you do not have to wait until then to start decluttering your life. For some people, spring cleaning sounds like a daunting task. Years of accumulating gifts, entertaining hobbies, and collecting items you’ve forgotten you even have can add up quickly.

Cleaning your home does not have to be a thing you dread. Princeton University conducted a study on how our environment affects us. Researchers discovered that having a messy and cluttered space will negatively affect our energy and mood and create more stress.

There are things you can do to make this not only a goal but a fun task. Stop now and decide when you will dedicate 1-2 hours per week to organizing your home. Create a list of the rooms you want to clean up, and write a percentage next to the room. This percentage is the number of items you will toss. The secret here is to commit no matter what.

You can invite friends to help you, and you could listen to music while you work. Place items you no longer want in a box to donate to a local non-profit or second-hand store, where they will pass them along to people who could use them.

Start with the area that’ll be the easiest to organize. This will allow you to get a taste of how rewarding the process is. Wipe down shelves and counters as you go. You’d be surprised how much dust can collect due to clutter. Be sure to organize the things you are keeping to avoid future cluttering.

Commit to your decisions. Don’t talk yourself into keeping something you will only forget about or never use. If possible, and when done correctly, you’ll only have to declutter your home once.

A decluttered office or home allows us to complete tasks. It will also positively impact our overall mental health. By removing clutter, we can directly reduce the stress that stems from the mess, which can help us to feel happier, less anxious, and more confident in ourselves, according to the University of Connecticut.

To learn more about the benefits of decluttering, visit https://extension.usu.edu/mentalhealth/articles/the-mentalbenefits of-decluttering.

For more inspiration and ideas, visit https://www.becomingminimalist.com/ declutter-large-spaces/.