Spring Clean Your Mind: Decluttering Tips and Mental Resets for the New Season

Spring Clean Your Mind: Decluttering Tips and Mental Resets for 

the New Season

Written by: Jordan Kadish

Reviewed by: Melissa Cammack, LPC

As Spring finally rolls around, you may have already started your Spring cleaning routine: decluttering your room, switching out your duvet covers, planting new flowers in your backyard, and wiping down windows. But, have you ever thought about giving your mind a good Spring cleaning? That’s right—our homes are not the only spaces that could use a reset for the new season. Decluttering your mental space is even more important during this time so that you can enter the new season feeling just as sunny and carefree as the days to come. Keep reading to learn how!

Physical Space and Mental Health

Have you ever noticed that when your workspace is messy, your tasks seem all the more stressful, and you find your mind getting overwhelmed and jumping from worry to worry? This is because there is a connection between the environment you live in and your mental health. Multiple studies have concluded that a messy space = a messy mind. For example, one study found that women who described their space as messy or cluttered with unfinished projects were more likely to feel exhausted and depressed than women who described their space as clean and optimal for resting [1]. A cluttered mess, whether it be unfinished projects or just random things, can cause the mind to become confused, unmotivated, or agitated. It’s like trying to focus on one task, but constantly being bombarded by flashes of others that demand your attention all at the same time. 

On the other hand, a tidy and clean space can be conducive for either getting responsibilities done, or resting. Imagine trying to take a nap on a bed full of other items. Having a cluttered home is the same thing—if you wouldn’t sleep in a bed full of random objects, you shouldn’t work on a cluttered desk, or cook in a messy kitchen, either. 

Mental Clutter

Maybe your physical space is clean, but your mind itself feels messy. This is very possible, and also common. Brain overload happens when your mind takes in way too much information at once. Maybe you are working on a project while reading emails on your phone, thinking of a text you have to respond to, worrying about dinner plans later, hearing the noise of the television in the background, and answering your kids’ cries for attention—all while feeling exhausted because you didn’t get enough sleep last night. This overload of sensory information can cause your brain to become overwhelmed and often leads to indecision on which tasks to prioritize, or a lack of motivation due to burnout [2]. 

Tips for Spring Cleaning Your Mind

1. Declutter your physical environment. Let’s start with the basics—your physical environment. Start small, such as changing your bed sheets or emptying all the trash bins in your home. Then, work your way up to bigger tasks, like going through old files and clearing out your storage spaces. Throw away or donate anything that you don’t need—this includes clothing, expired products, and even pieces of furniture if they are cluttering your space. Breaking down decluttering into manageable chunks can help make the task less daunting. Remember, you likely won’t be able to clean your entire house in one day on your own. Instead, dedicate a week to spring cleaning, and tackle a room a day. Eventually, your space will be nice and clean, and ready for the new season! Give yourself a reward for all your hard work, like a bubble bath in your clean bathroom, or buying yourself a new candle for your home. 

2. Tackle your digital mess. Don’t forget about digital clutter when decluttering your space. Most of us are on digital devices every day, which means that we have a mess of emails, texts, and photos taking up precious storage space. Take some time to go through your emails and reply to any you may have missed, as well as trash ones you don’t need. Unsubscribe from email lists that you are not interested in anymore. Go through your desktop and place files in organized folders. Sift through your camera roll and delete all repeats or screenshots that you don’t need. Delete old text messages from years ago. Finally, go through your home screen and organize your apps. This will likely make you feel a lot more organized, and reduce the chance of you missing something important. 

3. Clear parts of your schedule. Schedules can get messy, too. If you find that you have overcommitted yourself to activities, appointments, or get-togethers, try to remove ones that aren’t necessary. Prioritize only important activities and/or ones that bring you joy. You can use the space you have created for rest and self-care. 

4. Practice mindfulness. Pay attention to how you feel in your environment and mind. Is a mess making you stressed? Check in with yourself so that you can reorganize when things get messy again. This way, you can avoid getting into a place where your mind feels burnt out. 

5. Create a check-in schedule. Set a reminder on your phone or calendar to check in with your mental health and physical space at least once a month. Healthy habits will become more natural when you perform them more often! 

Hopefully, these tips will help you spring clean your space and mind, and leave you feeling happy and restored for the new season!