Monday

Welcome to Monday! We’re beginning another week full of self-care with:

• The impacts clutter can have on your mental health

• A one-week guide to clean your home

• Toilet paper without trees

• Ideas to reset your life for fall

Is Clutter Negatively Impacting Your Mental Health?

Is your home neat or “lived-in”? For many of us, it often falls somewhere in between.

According to science, however, we may want to rethink clutter in our homes.

On the whole, research shows that clutter may be linked with anxiety, increased cortisol (stress hormone) levels, and depression.

One study found that clutter can cause difficulty in focusing on tasks, as our brains become overwhelmed by the other items around us.

Another study found that women who had tidier homes were more likely to describe their spaces as “restful” and “restorative,” highlighting the positive impacts of a clean space!

There is absolutely nothing wrong with having what some may perceive as “clutter.” What’s decoration for some may be a bit much for others who prefer a more minimal environment. And regardless if your home is tidy or has some items strewn about, don’t be hard on yourself.

However, if you feel overwhelmed in your space, consider if tidying up and getting organized could help you feel a bit better!

A One-Week Guide to Cleaning Your Home

Cleaning the house can feel like an immense task — and sometimes, it is.

However, dedicating a little time to it each day over a week-long period can have a huge impact in making it feel manageable!

Plus, when you incorporate this into your week, it makes cleaning as a whole feel much less daunting.

To tackle your house in a week:

1. Divide the days by rooms: Maybe one day you tackle your bedroom, another is dedicated to the kitchen, the following is for the living room, and so forth.

2. Set a timer, and stick to it: When we get in the throes of cleaning, we may get caught up in everything else that needs to get done around us. However, diving into a 6-hour deep-cleaning spree of one room can leave us feeling burned out and put off tidying the rest of the home. Set a timer for a set period, like 30 minutes to 1 hour, and tackle what you can during that period.

3. Focus on clutter and essential messes, then dive in deeper: Focus on clutter and things that have to get done. Pick up items that aren’t in their homes. Then, tidy up messes — scrub the toilet, sweep the kitchen, and change your bedsheets. Then, use the time you have left over to dive into those deeper cleaning tasks.

While it can definitely feel like a big job to clean your entire home, making a plan and following a guide can make it much more enjoyable!

Bonus tip: Throw on a fun playlist or podcast in the background to help the time pass by!

This New Toilet Paper Just Might Save the Planet

Every 24 hours, 27,000 trees are cut down to make toilet paper. To us, that feels like way too many — and Honeycomb agrees. That’s why this small, female-founded brand created luxury, three-ply toilet tissue made from bamboo. It feels just like regular high-end toilet paper, but doesn’t harm trees.

So why bamboo? It’s the fastest-growing plant in the world — growing 100 times faster than the average tree — which means thousands of rolls can be produced in the time it takes for a single tree to grow back.

Even better? Code NTS30 will give new customers 30% off their first order for the next 24 hours.

Get started here.

Thank you to Honeycomb for sponsoring Note To Self. 

Ideas to Reset Your Life for Fall

Many people choose to do monthly or weekly resets. However, a seasonal reset is the perfect opportunity to do those less frequent tasks and re-center your life.

As we’re in the midst of the fall season, this can be a helpful time to get organized, reflect, and set goals for the coming months.

Here are a few ideas to reset your life in this fall season:

• Refresh your routine: Think through your day and then through your week. How does your routine feel? Is there something missing or any areas where you’d like to take a step back and simplify?

• Declutter the less thought-about spaces: This can include your pantry, bathroom cabinets, your car, and more. Taking some time to tidy these spaces can help us feel much less stressed as we move through the day.

• Embrace seasonality: Make a warm cider or drink, break out the cozy sweaters and candles, and think about what you need to set yourself up comfortably in the next couple of months.

• Care for your mental health: Even if you don’t struggle with seasonal affective disorder (more commonly referred to as “seasonal depression”), many of us get a case of the blues as daylight savings time kicked in earlier this month and the sunlight hours get shorter. Embrace the sun when you can, and prioritize self-care in this season.

A Note From Us

Parting Thoughts

• ✅ Did You Know: Pumpkins are the most craved food during the fall!

• 🙋🏼‍♀️ Snapshot Of The Day: We'd love to see moments from our readers lives that they are proud of! If you recently accomplished an achievement, experienced a joyful moment, or are proud of a picture you have taken, be sure to capture it on camera and send it to us for a chance to be featured next week! 

• 💭 Final Self-Care Thoughts for Today: While many people emphasize spring cleaning, a fall tidy-up can be a great way to freshen up your home and feel more at peace!

Enjoying Note to Self?

Know of a great self-care tip or article you'd love to share with the community? Want to send us pictures of you completing one of your self-care rituals? Email us at [email protected]!