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How doing housework can declutter both your home and your mind. What the experts say

The chores most of us find tedious provide mental health benefits, say psychologists and a Zen monk, who explain how and share cleaning tips

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The thought of mopping and sweeping fills many of us with dread, but doing household chores such as these actually provides health benefits, according to experts. Photo: Shutterstock
Associated Press
Amid spring cleaning season, it can be tempting to dismiss housework as drudgery, so dreaded or anxiety-inducing that it is best delegated to others if at all possible.
But experts from Zen monks to psychologists say there are mental health benefits to be found in such manual chores as sweeping, mopping and clearing away clutter. These tasks can encourage mindfulness or permit the mind to wander, all while producing a sense of achievement in accomplishing the basic tasks of daily life.

As one Zen saying goes: “Before enlightenment, chop wood, carry water. After enlightenment, chop wood, carry water.”

What the monks know

Zen apprentices, or unsui monks, spend much of their time cleaning and tidying.

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“We sweep dust to remove worldly desires. We scrub dirt to free ourselves of attachments,” Shoukei Matsumoto, a Buddhist monk living in Kyoto, Japan, wrote in his book A Monk’s Guide to a Clean House and Mind (2018). “The time we spend carefully cleaning out every nook and cranny of the temple grounds is extremely fulfilling.”

Shoukei Matsumoto is a monk and author of the 2018 book A Monk’s Guide to a Clean House and Mind. Photo: chartwellspeakers.com
Shoukei Matsumoto is a monk and author of the 2018 book A Monk’s Guide to a Clean House and Mind. Photo: chartwellspeakers.com

Holly Schiff, a clinical psychologist based in the US state of Connecticut, confirms that the process of cleaning can be calming and almost meditative.

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