Between the continuing pandemic and the onslaught of chilly weather here in Ontario, more families will be forced to spend time indoors over the coming months. And more time indoors means more opportunity for mess, as everyone in the family shares the common space and contributes to the common clutter.

The COVID lockdowns are also a source of stress for many – whether it’s professional stress, emotional anxiety, or a general feeling of mental taxation. The situation affects everyone differently, but the common sentiment among families seems to be this: it’s a lot to manage.

In times of stress and worry, it can be easy to neglect your home, but the amassing clutter can only lead to more stress. Whether you’re working from home and need a clean, blank slate within which to do your job, or you are witnessing accumulating clutter in your home that needs to be managed, NEATSPACES can help.

It is common for clutter to accumulate at the best of times, but the challenge of having everyone working under one roof is particularly challenging. In this article, let’s detail how home organization can be advantageous during COVID – especially during the winter months. We’ll talk about its positive potential effects on your work life, your kids’ academic experience, and your whole family’s day-to-day home life.

Mess Is Stress

Most of us know the feeling intimately. When your kitchen is stacked with dishes, your living room strewn with electronics, or your home office littered with papers, you feel on edge. It is distracting, agitating, and overwhelming.

It’s not just you. “Mess causes stress” is a real psychological phenomenon. The reason why messy homes make us anxious has to do with the way our brains interact with physical space. Clutter in the home bombards our minds with excess stimuli, forcing our senses to work overtime to make sense of everything. Your attention can easily shift from your work tasks to those boxes in the corner of the room because that’s what your brain does – it pays attention to stimuli, no matter how insignificant.

Clutter also makes us feel anxious, especially as the task of clearing and cleaning begins to seem insurmountable. This can lead to feelings of guilt and embarrassment, which further cause stress and personal devaluation.

With the help of a professional home organizing company like NEATSPACES, you can put an end to the clutter once and for all by setting yourself up for success. Whether you want to nip a growing problem in the bud, or you need help clearing and cleaning a very cluttered house, we’re available to help.

 If a less urban environment is part of your Covid plan and you need help moving out of the city then NEATSPACES offers end-to-end move management to make the process easier. We also help people who want to cut down on clutter by downsizing. If you, or an elderly parent, is considering downsizing, our professional downsizing services will help sort, organize, sell, donate and dispose of your possessions, working side-by-side with you to set up a clean, organized new home.

Work Easier with a Clean Home

Because of the pandemic lockdowns, an estimated 40% of Canadians are working from home. Compare that to the less-than-10% that worked from home in 2018 – it’s an unprecedented increase!

Many families are still trying to work out the kinks. How do you stay focused when there are kids shouting in the other room? How do you convert the spare bedroom into a functioning workspace? And what happens when all the clutter that typically gets organized at the office – the papers, work supplies, electronics, and cords – all of a sudden start to pile up?

To convert your home into a work-friendly space, start by decluttering. NEATSPACES’ home organization services can help you implement easy-to-follow organization systems so that your home office feels like a sanctuary, including the following:

• A paper filing system that’s simple and works
• Paper organization system for self-employed individuals, so you don’t have to consult your shoe-box receipt storage come tax time!
• A home office and desk organization system so you can be more productive, focused and stress-free

Your work may pile up, but that doesn’t mean the clutter has to as well.

Set Up a Stress-Free School Zone at Home

The pandemic lockdowns are an ever-changing situation. While some kids are schooling in-person at the time of writing, the situation is liable to change. The situation in your very own household may change as well if you choose to pull your children from in-classroom education.

That’s all to say that it’s a good idea to clear a dedicated space in the home for your kid’s education. Like us, kids get distracted by clutter (even more so, in fact) so it’s important to keep a clear, clean space for them to perform their academic best.

Setting up an organizational system that includes your children’s school supplies, workspace, and daily necessities can help them concentrate. NEATSPACES can help clear the excess clutter from your home and set up an organizational system for your children to follow. The happier and more focused they are, the happier and more focused you can be in your day-to-day tasks.

To learn more about how NEATSPACES can help organize your home office and study spaces, check out the FAQs about our services on our website.

Improve Your Day-to-Day with Organizational Systems

Finally, in addition to work and school, there are the daily tasks and activities that benefit from a clear, clean home. It’s difficult to make dinner for the family when the one spatula you need is buried somewhere in the stacks of packed kitchen drawers. It can be hard to stay on top of the kids for cleaning their rooms when the common areas are overwhelmed by clutter. And family games night just isn’t the same when you can’t figure out where among the attic boxes you stored your Monopoly set.

Contact NEATSPACES and let us help improve your day-to-day with intuitive, easy organizational systems. After a long day of school or work, your family will relish in the opportunity to cook, play, and clean in an organized home.

For more information about NEATSPACES clearing and organizing services and NEATSPACES downsizing services in Toronto, don’t hesitate to contact us. We understand that times are stressful right now, and we want to do everything we can to make the upcoming winter as enjoyable as possible for you and your family.