5 Ways Decluttering Boosts Mental Health

Have you ever experienced the frustration of searching for an item in your cluttered closet or felt distracted from your work due to a pile of disarray? Clutter can be a significant source of stress, affecting both your physical environment and mental well-being. Consider the impact of walking into a professionally staged home—harmonious, attractive, and notably clutter-free, creating a sense of calmness.

Here are five ways to enhance mental health through decluttering:

Enhance Focus by Eliminating Distractions

A cluttered environment is a breeding ground for distractions. Clearing away the mess allows you to eliminate visual noise, fostering discipline, and enhancing focus. Tackling clutter now makes future organization more manageable, preventing overwhelming feelings when deciding where to start.

Reduce Stress with Minimalism

Excess clutter is a leading cause of stress. Your living space reflects your mental state, and a crowded, cluttered home can contribute to mental clutter. Streamlining and decluttering create a sense of peace, alleviating stress related to unfinished tasks and fostering a serene atmosphere.

Minimize Frustration by Decluttering

Too much clutter leads to disorganization and the frustration of searching for essential items. This frustration can permeate negative thoughts, impacting overall well-being. Decluttering and organizing reduce unnecessary frustration, enabling easy access to belongings without the hassle of searching through piles.

Reclaim Time for Yourself

Consider the time spent cleaning and reorganizing clutter. Getting rid of unnecessary items not only declutters your space but also frees up valuable time. Whether you donate, sell, or use a self storage unit, decluttering provides more time for activities you truly enjoy.

Enjoy Extra Living Space

Rather than feeling the need for a bigger house, consider decluttering to create more living space. Cleaning out closets and drawers not only eliminates unnecessary belongings but also results in a more open and enjoyable living environment. Enjoy the added benefit of easily locating items when needed.

Embrace the transformative power of decluttering, not only for a cleaner living space but for the positive impact it can have on your mental health.

4 Tips for Cleaning Your Home

When we want to purchase other items for our homes, it’s usually because we think we need those items to make our lives better. That said, If we take an honest look, these extra items end up being the cause of additional clutter and stress in our lives. It’s become almost second nature in our culture to think we are going to enhance our life with something new when inadvertently we have made it more complicated.

If you are looking for ways to clean your home, here are four simple tips you can use.

  1. Avoid impulse purchases

When you can, don’t go to places that will cause you to buy more stuff to deal with or tempt you with more decisions to make. Try consolidating shopping lists and trips so you don’t make multiple visits in a week. It’s amazing how much less you buy and how much easier your subsequent decisions are when you spend less time going into stores.

  1. Rent a storage unit

If you have some items or belonging laying around your home and occupying space, consider booking a storage unit to store these items for short-term or long-term. For example, if you have some outdoor sports gear or outfits that  you use or wear once in a while, you can store them in a storage unit (e.g. 5×5 storage unit or 5×6 storage unit), and gain access and use them when you need these outfits or sports gear. There are a variety of storage unit sizes you can choose from. If you’re looking to store clothing items, you can go with a 5×5 storage unit which is approximately the size of a walk-in closet.

At U-Lock Mini Storage, we offer storage units across Greater Vancouver and Greater Vancouver Island. We offer self storage Burnaby, self storage South Surrey and White Rock, self storage Chilliwack, self storage Nanaimo, self storage Parksville, and self storage Victoria. Book a storage unit today! Contact us if you have any questions.

  1. Clean your home on a weekly basis

It’s easy to keep you home tidy if you clean it on a weekly basis. Every week, you can clean up your home by assuring that laundry is done, all your belongings are in the right places (e.g. clean cups are in the cabinet and your clothes are hanging in the closet). Doing this weekly limits the amount of cleaning you have to do each week and helps keeping your home clean and organized at all times!

  1. When in doubt, donate it

If you have random belongings laying around your home and you aren’t sure if you want to keep them or not, you can donate to local charities. For example, if you have some older electronic devices or clothing that you most likely won’t use again, you can contact your local charities and ask if they would find these useful. If these charities find these items of us, donate these items to the charities! Doing this helps you achieve an excellent good deed as well as declutter your home!

11 Summer Cleaning Tips You Can Use for Your Home!

1. Clean Sweep

Stock front porches, decks, and patios with inexpensive brooms that can be quickly grabbed and used for all sorts of cleaning chores. You can use them to brush spider webs from windows, screens, railings, porch ceilings, mailboxes, window boxes and foundation plantings. Sweep porch and deck floors daily to remove debris deposited by wind, rain, incoming traffic and critters.

2. Rent a Storage Unit

Renting a storage unit lets you store your belongings in a safe, secure area while freeing up more room in your home! At U-Lock Mini Storage, we offer a variety of storage unit sizes for you to choose from. You can rent a storage unit that is as big as a walk-in closet or as large as a garage – you can select a storage unit size that best fits your needs!

3. Clean Kitchen Cabinets

Kitchen cabinets, which are opened and closed frequently, often by messy hands, can get grimy and sticky if not properly cared for. 

Dip a cloth into a solution of 1/4 cup of Murphy’s Oil Soap and a gallon of warm water. Wring the cloth and wipe cabinet fronts, paying special attention to areas around the knobs or pulls. Dry with a clean cloth. 

3. Perk Up Patio Furniture

Refresh patio furniture for the summer with a thorough cleaning. Start by rinsing the furniture with a garden hose fitted with a spray nozzle. Gently scrub using a soft cloth and a cleaning product designed for the material (such as a glass cleaner or oil soap for wood), or use a solution of mild dishwashing liquid and water. Avoid using bleach, which can damage patio furniture and nearby plantings. Rinse and let air-dry.

4. Prevent Mold in the Bathroom

First, clean the shower while you are showering, using a Mr. Clean Eraser sponge and a squeegee. Swish a brush around the toilet bowl daily; use a pumice stone to remove rings and stains. For mirrors, use a finely woven microfiber cloth, which will not leave streaks or lint, and then use another cloth sprayed with vinegar to wipe down your countertops. You can clean sinks with an eraser sponge, and then shine sink hardware, such as faucets, with a microfiber cloth. Wipe floors with a damp towel or mop. And, since it is summer, hang wet bath mats and damp towels outside to quick-dry in the sun.

5. Gutter Cleaning

To clean gutters efficiently and safely, equip your lawn blower or hose with a gutter-cleaning attachment so you can blow out debris while your feet are firmly planted on the ground. If you are  using a hose, wear rain gear because you are going to get wet.

Step on a ladder and use a four-prong garden tool in a plowing motion to push leaves out of gutters. Wear latex gloves under work gloves to keep your hands dry and protected from odors. Finally, use a hose with a spray nozzle to flush all remaining dirt from the gutters and to clear downspouts of debris.

6. Ensure ool Air Flows Freely

Have a heating-and-cooling expert check and clean your air-conditioning system before temperatures rise to peak summer levels. A professional will make certain your system is in good enough shape to keep you and yours cool throughout the summer. To make sure your air-conditioning operates well, you can also use your vacuum cleaner and a blower attachment to blow out hard-to-reach dirt. Try using a dusting brush and a vacuum to remove caked-on grime and use your vacuum to clear all interior heating vents of dust and dirt. Wash removable filters with hydrogen peroxide and let them dry before putting them back, or replace an old filter with a new one.

7. Tidy the Garage

With patio and deck furniture, summertime playthings and grilling gear moved outside for the summer, your garage might need a refresh. Throw out or donate unwanted tools, building materials, and other items you no longer use. Wash windows and give the floor, walls and ceiling a good sweeping. Put up racks and shelves to stow practical and recreational trappings.

8. Clean Concrete Patios

Use a push broom or a leaf blower to remove all debris from your patio. You can rent or borrow a pressure washer to give concrete a thorough cleaning. For hard-to-remove stains, pour straight white vinegar on stains and scrub with a stiff brush.

9. Refresh Towels

Towels stored in a closet or left to dry in the bathroom can take on a musty smell during the hot, humid days of summer. For an easy summer cleaning tip,  wash towels in hot water and toss 1/2 cup of baking soda into the rinse cycle to eradicate stale scents. Dry the towels at the highest heat recommended for the fabric.

10. Clear Cracks of Mold

Keep outdoor surfaces mold-free. Findley recommends using a scraper to loosen mold in sidewalk, patio, and driveway cracks and sweep away the debris. Then, directly apply vinegar via a garden sprayer to the cracks to kill remaining mold spores. Repeat a few times a year to prevent new mold from growing.