New Year house fitness is about getting your home in shape for 2019. Now that the festive season is over, you are likely to have set some new year’s resolutions – yet, achieving these resolutions can be a lot easier to attain when you are operating from a  calm and ordered home.

Many of us are looking to get our bodies in shape. However, it can pay to get your house in shape too, with some New Year house fitness rules. As the saying goes “tidy house tidy mind”.

So if you’re looking to achieve some major goals, it can be really helpful to have an environment that supports you.

Traditionally, deep cleaning your home and getting your home in shape is something we do in Spring.  

Indeed, the notion of a “Spring Clean” is a prominent landmark associated with the winter turning into summer. Yet the benefits of deep cleaning your home and sorting out your house are not limited to this time of year.  In fact, what better time than the New Year to get your house in shape.

New Rules for New Year House Fitness

All too often, people set unrealistic deadlines of things they want to achieve prior to the New Year. One of which is often associated with getting their house in shape, having a deep clean, or sorting through all of their belongings.  

Then, the stroke of midnight comes and they feel like they have failed because they didn’t achieve their goal.  If this sounds familiar, then it’s time to jump into action. Understand that just because you didn’t achieve it prior to the New Year, doesn’t mean you can’t take control of your home now.

The benefits of having a brighter, cleaner and fresher living space are huge in practical terms, but also there are many emotional benefits to having a deep clean that can add value to all members of your family.  For instance, decluttering your home can lead to having a much better night’s sleep.

PHASE ONE: SORT THROUGH THINGS

Firstly, there’s something deeply cathartic about going through your belongings and getting rid of what you no longer need.  We attach to items and it can be hard to let go of certain things.

Nobody is suggesting you need to let go of precious memories or items you feel particularly attached to – but there’s a fine line between having a few memory boxes and hoarding.  

It can be very good for your emotional health to declutter and get rid of items from the past, particularly if certain items have a painful association attached to them.

PHASE TWO: CLEAN YOUR HOME

Secondly, the process of cleaning your home makes you feel better about yourself in terms of your self-esteem.  

No-one likes to live in a dirty home, and most of us don’t. Yet going through the house in rigorous detail to ensure every nook and cranny is cleaned can be uplifting for your emotional wellbeing.

PHASE THREE: ORGANISE

Thirdly, the process of organising your belongings and getting things in order helps you to feel more organised, calm and grounded on the inside.  

After all, that feeling of desperately searching for your car keys or your passport is not conducive to the state of calm and tranquility most of us require in our homes.

THE OVERARCHING PRINCIPLE: DECLUTTER

In that sense, the most important aspect of a deep clean is not the clean itself – cleaning is a relatively simple task that doesn’t tend to feel overwhelming.  

The overwhelming part is decluttering your home and getting organised.

See, a cluttered house can lead to a cluttered mind and it’s vital you take the time to sort through the clutter, take out the trash and then get a waste management company to come and remove the rubbish, or this website has a range of choices when it comes to backyard bins.

As mentioned above, once you have decluttered and taken away the junk, you want to organise your home. For instance, go through your wardrobe and arrange your clothes in a logical way, and ensure your documents are organised in a sensible way too.  

If you have memory boxes, put them into one strong container and store them in a safe place – rather than multiple boxes dotted around the home.

Then, now that your home is decluttered and more organised, the final step in the process is to clean – and it’s this step that has the most significant emotional benefits.

Moving forward, there are three things you can do to get your house in better shape for the new year, now that you have a decluttered, organised and clean canvas.  

Here are three aspects to consider with regards New Year house fitness.

1. MINIMALISM

We’ve all seen the TV shows that reveal what hoarders homes look like… cluttered from top to bottom.  That said, we’ve probably all seen pictures of homes that are so minimalist and uncluttered they feel more like a New York gallery rather than somewhere that’s lived in.

You therefore need to find the right balance of minimalism that suits your taste.  The last thing you want is to create a feeling of the space not being lived in, and that is the danger when people focus too much on minimalism.

A good balance is to think of an art gallery with white washed walls and prominent pieces hung in prime places, so that the room feels neither empty or cluttered –  there is balance – and this is the balance you need to find when it comes to cultivating a cool home.

2.  CREATE THE RIGHT ATMOSPHERE

In this sense, you want to put up artwork, photographs, and cosy fabrics that you associate with a feeling of “home”.

Candles and warm mood lighting can be particularly helpful when it comes to creating  a more warm and cosy ambience within your home. It’s important to make sure you don’t end up leaking money on buying things for your house though, as there often isn’t any need.

3. FILL YOUR HOME WITH HAPPINESS

Home is much more than the bricks and mortar that hold the roof – home is a feeling, and it should be a place of warmth, fun, laughter and fond memories.

Header Image: Photo by Logan Nolin on Unsplash