March & April 2023 Challenge: Spring Clean Your Mind and Home

Two places that can give you peace and refuge is your mind and your home.  Your wellness challenge for March and April is to declutter your mind and home.  Get your donation boxes filled with things you don't need or use anymore and be ready for our church yard sale in March and see below on how to do your challenge.  When we declutter our mind and home, we should be thinking of focusing on the present moment and not the past or the future.

Clear your mind/head (take or keep things out of your mind):
1. Find a place (e.g. book, white board, sticky notes) where you can write all your to dos.  Designate a spot on your desk or wall for this to do list so you are not looking all over the place for it.
2. Journal or write down concerns or intrusive thoughts in your head or what you’d like to remember later.
3. If you have to make a decision but feels conflicted or unsure– write it down on your to do list and think about it later.
4. Emails, YouTube, Social Media – all the subscriptions and feeds - minimize them or just don’t log into them (don’t have the app on your phone for easy access).  
5. Reading too much news or social media? – get your head out of the internet and look around you and pay attention to people, places, and things.  To clear your mind sometimes requires you to get out of your head and just enjoy your surroundings.  This works for when you have too much concerns or intrusive thoughts on your mind.

Take a brain or mind break: It is inevitable sometimes not to have things in your head, therefore, let your head rest a bit by taking a break (stop doing and thinking about the concern or project for 10 to 60 minutes) and do one or more of the following:
1. Go for a walk- enjoy the nature around you and feel nature with your five senses.
2. Exercise.
3. Listen to music that calms you.
4. Watch movies that calms you.
5. Spend time with others.
6. Play - sports, games, etc.
7. Meditate or do mindfulness breathing.
8. Declutter/clean your house- one space or room at a time.  When your room is clean, your mind feels less tensed.

Decluttering = better mental health 
Decluttering your head and letting your mind be free of overwhelming thoughts and duties can help you feel more focused and less stressed.  Decluttering your mind will also prevent you from cluttering other people’s mind– when you are stressed, you might say or do something negative that will impact another person, cluttering their mind with something that they have to deal with to bring their emotional equilibrium back.  Research is also finding that a clean or decluttered  room is better for one's mental health.  Therefore, when you declutter your mind and home, you are helping yourself and all those around you.  Again, each person finds peace and maintains wellness in ways that's relevant to them.  Try decluttering to see if it'll help you.

Read more on summary of what research is saying about decluttering: https://bewell.stanford.edu/a-clean-well-lighted-place/

In April, focus on decluttering your home. Focus on today and not yesterday or tomorrow to help with decluttering.
Read more on decluttering and tips to declutter your house: https://www.amadaseniorcare.com/2022/04/letting-go-of-clutter-why-many-seniors-struggle/
Have your boxes of donations ready for the church yard sale in April.

Disclaimer: Always consult with your medical doctors and counselors.  Information on this blog is for educational purposes only.