10 Mental Health Benefits of a Clean Kitchen

Last updated on December 18th, 2023 at 09:29 am

Our homes at the moment have become our offices, our hang out spots, our entertaining sources, our playgrounds and much more. But how is it affecting us mentally? Can you spot the mental health benefits to keeping this new found isolation spot clean? 

I don’t know about you but I feel the difference between when my house is messy and cluttered than I do once I have had a major clear out and cleaned it top to bottom. Don’t you? 

In some ways we all feel the effects of a cluttered home. Did you know it limits the ability of the brain to process information, and can take a drastic toll on our mental and physical health if we leave it turned upside down for long.

I think everyone should have a good kitchen cleaning routine. You might not have the time or energy to clean the house top to bottom every single day but the kitchen should always be taken care of. It’s usually the heart of the home and the place that gets used the most and gets the messiest, the quickest on a daily basis. When it’s clean I know I feel so much better. No one likes to wake up to messy dishes or cluttered counter to start there day.

10 Mental Health Benefits of a Clean Kitchen:

1. Boost Energy –

Cleaning can be the best form of boosting your energy levels. Not just because you are moving around and getting the blood flowing but the sense of getting something accomplished can spike positivity no matter how small the task, like cleaning the dishes. 

2. Releases Stress –

There is nothing better than a good clean and organize session in your kitchen. My kitchen always starts off clean and organized but through the weeks, dishes get thrown in haste into the cupboards and food gets shifted around and spilt by the kids. I know when I get frustrated with something or someone in the house, scrubbing my cupboard releases all that tension and stress. When it’s all clean, I promise you will feel better for it.

3. Minimise Family Feuds –

Does your family play the blame game? Who made the mess? Who’s job is it this time to clean it up? We started assigning chores to the kids now that they are older and helping out around the house equally. There is no more, you made it, you clean it up. We call it family contributions. My eldest son does the trash and recycle and my daughter the dishes each day. With a good routine and assigned tasks there are less family feuds and better on the stress levels for your mental health.

4. Keep You Active Physically –

If you think cleaning isn’t exercise for the mind and body, you have never cleaned in my house after the five of us ram-sacked it. Scrubbing, mopping, vacuuming, dusting, dishes, cupboards, handles, drawers, and more all need a daily attention. It is easy to work up a sweat and therefore help you keep active physically. Who knew keeping a tidy kitchen could help you so much?

5. Keep You Active Mentally –

It is proven that a clean and organized environment triggers positive vibes in our brains. Think of how you feel when you walk into a spotless kitchen v.s. a messy and cluttered kitchen? Even just thinking about the kitchen being tidying gets you thinking happier thoughts. Thinking about all the different ways to organize the kitchen cupboard challenges and keeps your brain active too. Even looking out the window, washing your dish, makes you stop, take deeper breathes, smell the soap and turns on all your senses. This is vital for a healthy and active mind.

6. Avoid Unnecessary Frustrations & Stress-

Sometimes when you don’t feel like cleaning or getting organized it can have a knock on effect. You soon feel frustrated with the mess, then anxious about the mess, then you feel like you can’t find the strength to even know where to begin. It can quickly become a vicious circle. Having a smooth, calm routine to keep things tidy and organized even in just one room in the house like your kitchen gives you a place that you can go to stay clear of these circles of frustrations that only harm your mental state.

7. Simplifies Your Life –

I once read somewhere cleaning is a form of self respect. It we don’t keep a clean home we can often feel like we don’t want to welcome unscheduled visitors into our home. We can even feel ashamed of our home. None of these are good for your mental health. But don’t put pressure on yourself to have a show home and a spotless house all the time. Start smaller and feel the positive energy from having one tiny room. It gives you a sense of motivation to then move onto the next if you wish. Either way, each step of taking control and taking action leads to simplifying your life. If our brains are full of challenges, why make what we are looking at around us another challenge? Our brains look at clutter and see just another overwhelming task on the to do list.

8. Sleep Better –

I always sleep better knowing the kitchen is tidy. That for me means the dishes are clean and put away so I can wake up to the sun shining in the windows and the counters are empty of clutter. This doesn’t mean they will stay that way for long with five of us at home but it does mean I sleep better. When I mention cleaning I am talking about the normal session of it as much as the de-cluttering side of it.

Keeping your kitchen clean may feel like a lot of work to stay on top of. With so many things to do around the house, your kitchen is just another thing on your checklist. Having a cleaning schedule around the house will help to minimize stress and give you a helping hand too. You may also want to look into useful design features such as Kitchen Splashbacks. They are a brilliant addition to help protect the wall behind your sink or stove from any water or food splashes. They are also extremely easy to wipe clean and maintain, making it a firm favorite for busy parents. Looking into design features that will help to keep your kitchen tidy, neat and clean will be a good investment for years to come!

9. Give You a Sense or Accomplishments –

I always sleep better after a deep clean. Whether that’s from an exhausting day of scrubbing floor boards to curtains and blinds to the clean bedsheets you climb into before you snooze. Recently, I took everything out of my kitchen and scrubbed it all down and only put back the things I needed and used often, in a neat orderly fashion. I wouldn’t’ do this often but I felt like I accomplished something huge. Every time I opened the cupboards, I got a rush of that positive accomplishment having wished I did it sooner. I think it’s a combination of accomplishing something you feel you never have time for and taking something big off the stressful to do list that always sits on the back burner. My “to do” lists can keep me up at night. How about you?

10. Feeling in Control –

Cleaning is a control action. You are taking control of the mess that you or something else created. You are turning something that can cause anxiety and health issues from dust and grime to something that you can be proud of and want to show off or just enjoy being present in. If you clean the kitchen regularly, you will also be aware of any deeper issues in there that need more extensive action, such as calling out experts from www.xtreamclean.se to deal with a blocked drain, or getting a floor-laying professional in to deal with cracked tiles. Feeling a sense of control is a huge mental boost.

See just by cleaning your kitchen and keeping to a tidy routine for the main room in your house you can reap the mental benefits. During lockdown I have had the family join in the cleaning routine and pick one room in the house that they keep clean and tidy on a daily basis. We love the feeling of a clean home and a sense of accomplishments when it’s all finished.

Spares2You has you covered for even bigger cleaning projects like pressure washing the driveway or vacuuming all those windows! Like most people, I cringe when Spring cleaning comes around but oh, I reap the benefits of it mentally and physically when I am done. 

Doesn’t matter if you don’t like to clean, some do and some don’t, I am the latter but I know how much I gain from it.

What about you?

I hope you can find the mental health benefits of keeping your house tidy and clean. I hope my list of things to look out for will bring attention to the positiveness that comes from cleaning the next time you clean your kitchen. Maybe this time you will not just subconsciously benefit but you will notice the smell of the soap from the dishes or fresh air coming in the window and take a moment to appreciate the small things that help keep us sane.

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