The 'Therapy' of Cleaning

Isabella Parker

Have you ever awoken at 3 am with the sudden urge to rearrange your entire room? Have you ever had a day where you were meant to be ‘productive’ but ended up rampaging through your entire house cleaning out every nook and cranny?

Yeah, so have I More than once actually

Living in a room where you cannot see the floor leaves some people unfazed However, for others, the sight of one object out of place; one item of clothing left on the floor is enough to drive them insane and send their life into chaos.

Now I’m not calling myself a “clean freak”, I’ll leave that title to my grandmother, who can be found vacuuming the house at least 5 times a day. I’m merely stating that I clean as therapy. From what you might ask? From anything: My studies, people, and the chaos of the world outside. I clean as a distraction from my responsibilities in life.

I believe it is important to stop here and express that I am not writing this to promote obsessive cleaning And if you find yourself falling down that rabbit hole then maybe you should stop reading and seek help instead However, if you are wanting to begin your journey of cleanliness or want to find new tips and tricks for organisation, I encourage you to read on

I like to think of this concept of what I call ‘therapy cleaning’ as something similar to the term “Spring cleaning”, however with cleaning therapy, you are not held to the restraint of cleaning in spring. Therapy cleaning does not have a limit on when it can be done, just as long as it is for therapy, because if it is not for therapy then I'm sorry to say, but you are just cleaning, and that is a totally different and boring task

Now for my therapy cleaning newbies, this is your introduction to cleaning, or as I like to call it, “A Dummies Guide to Therapy Cleaning”.

My number 1 tip for introducing yourself to cleaning and organisation is to do your research, I promise it’s not as boring as it sounds All you need to do is find a comfy spot in your lounge, grab some snacks and open Netflix, YouTube, Instagram or TikTok, bonus points if you do this as a way of procrastination from your assignments or jobs around the house. Next, I want you to open up the search bar and type in something along the lines of “cleaning” or “organisation” and then press enter. Welcome to your life for the next 4 hours

If you find all of this overwhelming and you aren't quite sure where to start, I recommend the queen of cleaning and organisation herself, Marie Kondo (@konmari co on Instagram) Marie rose to fame by sharing her tips and tricks on how to organise your house on her numerous Netflix series’ including Tidying Up and Sparking Joy Her tips are super easy to follow and are sure to get you started on your therapy cleaning journey

And now, my super easy tips and tricks for therapy cleaning:

1. My first tip is to start small. If you attempt a big task straight away, you will only create more stress I recommend starting out with something small like a bathroom cupboard, throwing away anything expired and then putting everything back in an organised manner

2. Next, you have to let your space get messy I know this goes against everything I have said so far but hear me out. Therapy cleaning can not be done if all of your space is clean. You need to make sure that you always have something to clean for when the time arises.

3. And last, Storage. Storage is key when trying to organise your space. For bathroom cupboards and drawers, I recommend going to Kmart or Target and buying some cheap baskets. These are great for keeping items like skincare or hair accessories in one place For makeup, Target is my go-to. Head to the cosmetics section and you will find clear, stackable drawers where you can store all of your makeup. Each tray comes with compartments made to fit all of your makeup and looks super tidy and is 100% effortless.

And there you have it Some super easy ways to hide away from the stress of the outside world a begin your journey of therapy cleaning