Hoarding and Sunlight

Hoarding and sunlight are enemies. Sunlight will brighten your mood and cheer up your home. With a bright and cheery home, you’ll be able to find your stuff and a place for your stuff.

Hoarding and Sunlight

Hoarding, the light at the end of the tunnel.  Did you ever know that it started with a flashlight? It’s true. I’m Angela Brown and this is Ask a House Cleaner.  This is a show where you get to ask a house cleaning question and I get to help you find an answer. Now for three decades, I’ve been a professional house cleaner

Hoarding and Sunlight Dusting Shelf

Why House Cleaners Use Flashlights

And before every single job we pull out our flashlight, it goes inside our apron pocket. But before every job we shine a light on every surface. The reason we do this is when we arrive to clean, it might be 10 o’clock in the morning. And the sun is at a particular point in the sky.

Hoarding and Sunlight Cleaning Cluttered Room

What Customers See That House Cleaners Don’t

If this is a biweekly customer, every time we come the sun will be at ten o’clock in the morning.   What the customer sees is either six o’clock in the morning, sunshine or six in the evening sunshine. 

Hoarding and Sunlight Low Sun Through Window

They see their home when they get home from work. Or, before they go to work when the sun is streaming through the windows.

Those sunbeams hit the angle surfaces of their home at a different place than what I see when I’m there. 

So, we’re looking at two different things.  So, when I come in and I say, oh, everything looks fine. It doesn’t look dusty at all. It might be dusty when the sun hits it from a different angle.

So, by using my flashlight, I can see exactly where I need to clean to do the best job. 

Hoarding and Sunlight Man Opening Curtains

Sunlight Is Important for Mental Health

 Now, when I talk about sunlight, Sunlight is super important in our environments. Sunlight triggers serotonin, a natural antidepressant in our brains. Serotonin will lift your moods and help you sleep better at night. 

Hoarders or people with hoarding tendencies often don’t want to open the windows. Afraid of what others might think of the mess, they keep the windows and blinds closed. The darkness creates gloom and triggers anxiety and depression. 

Hoarding and Sunlight Cluttered Room

Hoarding and Sunlight Are Enemies

Sunlight is like using the flashlight. It shines a light on your stuff. And it helps you find the stuff you have. 

One of the first things that we can do to start turning things around is to open our windows. Is there a window in your house that you can open right now? Maybe it’s at the back of your property where no one will see in. Maybe it sits on a second floor where you can open the window and people can’t see inside.

Hoarding and Sunlight Happy Woman in Window

Let Sunlight Back in Your Home

When you feel fantastic and you can see your way around your home, you feel different about the space you live in. 

And when you can find your stuff, and can find a place for your stuff and you feel good – it changes your choices. 

Hoarding and Sunlight Happy Womans Brain Serotonin

Serotonin is 100% free and can get some just by opening your curtains, your blinds, and your shades. 

How many windows can you open today?

Visit us at Hoarding World and tell us how many windows you opened. We’re on your side and we’re pulling for your success. 

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Resources

Home: https://hoardingworld.com

Support Group:  https://www.facebook.com/groups/hoardingworld

Recommended Reading:
Reclaim Your Life From Hoarding: Practical Strategies for Decluttering Your Home – https://amzn.to/35R1zIU
Stuff: Compulsive Hoarding and the Meaning of Things – https://amzn.to/2SXEeme
Buried in Treasures: Help for Compulsive Acquiring, Saving, and Hoarding – https://amzn.to/364zyxT
Treatment for Hoarding Disorder: Therapist Guide – https://amzn.to/3jdbUqn
Treatment for Hoarding Disorder: Workbook – https://amzn.to/3wUQse7

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