Will you be having fun on Sunday 20th March 2022? After all, it’s the UN International Day of Happiness. With everything the world has gone through lately, and is still going through, this year’s theme is ‘Build Back Happier’. It’s a chance for all of us to focus on the things that make us feel good. And for quite a few of us it seems, one of the things that really helps to lift our mood is cleaning.
If you spend any kind of time on social media, you may well have spotted that cleaning is ‘in’. Forget influencers, we now have ‘Cleanfluencers’, social media celebrities who have amassed hundreds of thousands of followers by preaching the mental health benefits of keeping your home clean and tidy. But is there anything in it, or are these ‘Cleanfluencers’ just messing with our heads?
Science says cleaning is good for you
There is actually proper scientific evidence which says cleaning your home is good for your mental wellbeing.
For example, back in 2020, researchers at the University of California studied the language 30 co-habiting couples used when talking about the state of their homes. What they found was that the couples who used more negative words like ‘cluttered’ were significantly more likely to be suffering from tiredness, or even depression, than couples who described their home as ‘restful’. What’s more, the couples living in cluttered homes were more likely to produce high levels of cortisol, the stress hormone.
Then there was the 2014 study into mindfulness, which showed that doing housework ‘mindfully’ had a positive effect on a person’s mood. So, for example, if when washing the dishes, you pay attention to the fragrance of the washing up liquid, or the feel of the suds on your skin, you were more likely to feel better within yourself. The study was even able to quantify its findings: People who washed up mindfully were found to be 27% less nervous than those who did the dishes on autopilot.
3 more ways cleaning your home makes you feel better
Energetic cleaning helps release endorphins
If cleaning isn’t your favourite job in the world, it can be hard to find the motivation to get going. But like exercising, once you start, you’ll quickly feel better for it – especially if you put your back into it. That’s because any form of vigorous physical activity will get your body releasing endorphins, the chemicals inside your brain that make you feel good. So, not only do you get the satisfaction of transforming your home from messy to tidy, you get a bit of an exercise high, too.
Decluttering helps you concentrate
If you had to work from home during the pandemic, you might have noticed this yourself. The fact is that if your work environment is untidy, it’s actually quite hard to concentrate. This is because the clutter and mess are always there in your peripheral vision. In other words, even when you’re trying to get on with your work, you can’t help but notice the clutter around you, and this stops you from being able to focus properly. So, if you’ve got a lot on, it’s worth spending a bit of time sorting your workspace out first.
Clean smells make everything feel fresher
It’s well known that aromatherapy can help lessen the effects of depression and anxiety. Nice smells make us feel nice. But the reverse is also true. If your house smells a bit fusty, or you’ve left the bin a bit too long and it’s starting to pong, it can really dampen your mood. One quick fix is to throw your windows open every day for 15-20 minutes or so. The clean air will do you good and your home will get a good freshening up at the same time.
Try these Thane H20 super-cleaners
If you want to enjoy the satisfying feeling you get when you keep your home beautifully clean, check out the Thane H20 range of cleaners.
There’s the Thane H20 HD steam cleaner, which keeps your home clean top to bottom using nothing but super-hot steam. It’s basically 5 machines in 1, doubling up as a steam mop, carpet steamer, handheld steamer, window cleaner and garment steamer – all in one lightweight yet powerful device. It’s cleverly designed to help you get into even the tightest spots of your home. The triangular head will get right into the most hard-to-reach corners. Plus, you can switch quickly to handheld spot-cleaning when you want to tackle tougher grime. And the best bit is, all you need is simple tap water to stay on top of your chores – so it’s super cost-effective too.
Another device our customers tell us they can’t live without is the Thane H20 e3 system. Most of us have come to realise just how important it is to keep our homes not just clean but free from viruses, germs and bacteria, too. And the Thane H20 e3 system is designed to help you do just that – with a bit of clever science. The eActivator passes low-level electricity through tap water and table salt. This electrolyzes the solution, creating what we call S-Water. This is made up of sodium hydroxide (a degreaser) and hypochlorous acid (a sanitiser). Together this dual-power solution not only breaks down grease and grime, but kills germs and cuts out odours, too. And again, because it uses nothing but tap water and salt, it’s super economical. Plus, it’s 100% safe to use around your family and pets.
Find out why millions of people feel glad they chose a Thane H20 cleaning device here.