Spring can be a time of transition and reflection as you emerge from winter hibernation. The warmth of the sun on your face and the freedom of walking out of your home wearing a single layer of clothing can make you feel lighter and more open to change. As the weather warms up, this can be a catalyst for clearing your space- and your mind.

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How does your environment impact your mental health?

Your physical surroundings have a big impact on your mental health. Have you ever noticed that when your laundry basket starts to overflow, or the dishes begin to pile up, your stress levels also rise? You’re not imagining it. A recent study by neuroscientists at Yale University found that visual clutter can disrupt the brain's processing and communication of visual information. This can lead to mental drain, overwhelm, and difficulty focusing. While the study did not focus on clutter specifically, the findings do suggest that environments with a lot of things to visually focus on may overwhelm the brain, resulting in increased feelings of stress.

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How can you participate in spring cleaning without feeling overwhelmed?

It’s not always easy to tackle a big project like spring cleaning, and for some, it can feel like an impossible task when stress is already high. While you may start out with an optimistic plan to deep clean your floors, go through your closets, and donate items all in the same day, realistically, we all know that sometimes we don’t get past the first task. Sometimes you may find it difficult to get started at all.

One way to manage this more effectively is to start small. By shifting your goals to smaller, more manageable tasks, you make it easier on your brain to get started in the first place. Sometimes this can even build momentum to finish the first task and start a second- but it’s okay if it doesn’t! Completing even one task is progress, and it’s okay to give yourself credit for what you accomplished while offering self-compassion. For more insight on how to practice self-compassion, you can check out Dr. Kristin Neff's self compassion resources..

Another way to help yourself get started can be to break tasks down into smaller steps. For example, if you need to clean your bedroom, try breaking the task down like this:

Step 1: Gather dirty clothes and put them in the laundry basket

Step 2:  Declutter one surface

Step 3:  Pick up any trash and put it in the garbage

Step 4: Make your bed

Step 5: Vacuum the floor

These tools can help you build a more sustainable approach to decluttering and cleaning your home as Spring comes around!

​What can it look like to declutter in other areas of your life this Spring?

Spring cleaning doesn’t have to be exclusive to your physical space. Have you ever considered how you might declutter your mind and emotional space?

One way to do this could be to reconsider your routines and habits. Has anything felt especially draining lately? What adjustments could you make to create a routine that fills you up? Spring can be a time to reassess what feels supportive and what doesn’t, so that you can better understand how to respond to your own needs.

A few examples of routines or habits you could adjust are:

• Spend more time with people you didn’t see much during the winter.
• Talk more kindly to yourself.
• Reconnect with hobbies.
• Set boundaries with someone or something that’s been draining you.
• Refresh your sleep routine.

These days, we also have our digital space to consider, and Spring can be a great point to reassess what’s taking up space in our digital world! Do you notice yourself stuck doomscrolling for hours on end or scrolling past pages that make you feel bad about yourself? Here are a few tips for decluttering your digital space:

• Unfollow pages that you no longer get something out of
• Limit the time you spend scrolling (use an actual timer with sound if you need an auditory cue)
• Follow new pages that inspire you or teach you something new.

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When Spring feels heavy instead. 

While Spring is often associated with renewal, for many people it can be difficult to watch others lean into optimism while they are struggling to stay afloat mentally or emotionally. For some this stems from grief or trauma and for others there may be struggles with depression, anxiety or chronic illness. All of these factors might impact your experience of Spring and what it looks like to enter a season symbolic of change. 

Here are a few tips for those who might be struggling during this season: 

• If you can’t bring yourself to change anything right now- that’s okay. You will make the changes you want to make in your own time. 
• Seek support from others- whether that be a therapist, a family member or a trusted friend. You deserve to be heard and supported through difficult times in life. 
• Remember to keep your goals realistic- you can only work with the capacity you have. 
• Try not to compare yourself to others- everyone is operating from a different starting point in terms of energy and circumstances.

Not everyone experiences the seasonal change as an uplifting change and that’s okay! You can still take this opportunity to be gentle with yourself and find small ways to honor your needs. 

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Conclusion

As you move through this new season, don’t put too much pressure on yourself to change everything at once. Change works best when it’s given time and space to happen. Just as the seasons take their time to emerge, we also don’t have to rush ourselves to change everything at once. Next time you’re feeling overwhelmed by your space (digital or physical), remember that you can pause, slow down, and take it one step at a time. You get to choose what to keep, what to let go of, and what gets to take up more space in your life.

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References

• Lindberg, S. (2026, February 12). How your environment affects your mental health. Very Well Mind.
• Locklear, M. (2024, November 11). “Visual clutter” alters information flow in the brain. Yale News. 
• Xu, X., Morton, M., Hudson, N., Nandy, A., & Jadi, M. (2024). Spatial Context Non-Uniformly Modulates Inter-Laminar Communication in the Primary Visual Cortex. 
• Zhang, W., & Li, W. (2025, July 4). How weather conditions affect well-being: An explanation from the perspective of environmental psychology. Frontiers in public health.