We all need to take a little extra care of our mental health these days. It can be difficult to navigate the stresses and strains of life at present, what with the cost of living crisis and higher levels of conditions such as addiction than ever before.
We all look after our mental health in different ways. It’s what works best for us. In fact, in addiction treatment centres helping people manage and maintain their mental health and overcome addiction, they encourage people to find things that relaxes and destresses them.
For some people that’s DIY, although we’re quite aware it has the opposite effect on others, and there are many DIY tasks around the home that can have a calming impact on people. So, if you need to destress for whatever reason, here are five tasks you can pick up to try and remedy that…
Declutter and Organise Your Space
You know what they say, a tidy home is a tidy mind and there’s certainly truth to that. By dedicating some time to decluttering and organising your home you can gain a real sense of clarity.
Start with one room and move through them one at a time. Using the Marie Kondo method of decluttering can be a good way of doing this, but any kind of systematic method of getting rid of items you no longer need or use alongside organising what you do can be a very therapeutic process, and provide a real sense of accomplisment once complete.
Repurpose Furniture or Decorate a Room
A bigger scale project could be redecorating a room or repurposing furniture. Upcycling is an incredibly popular pastime that many people have taken up specifically to improve their mental health and there’s no reason you can’t use it as part of your home improvements.
A decorating project can be a really enriching experience, again providing that sense of accomplishment, but it’s also something you can get lost in, watching your stresses slowly evaporate. The likes of painting and planning rooms can be really relaxing and inspire further projects for the rest of the home.
Create a Relaxing Outdoor Oasis
We all know that heading into the great outdoors is good for our mental health, and gardening projects can be really powerful in reducing stress and improving mood. In the spring and summer months, getting outside and transforming your garden into a relaxing space can not only be good for mental health while you progress with various DIY tasks, of course once it’s completed you’ve got an area of the garden that’s specifically designed for you to relax in.
Projects such as planting and repotting can be relaxing, while planning and designing a patio and seating area, as well as then producing it can have a similar impact, the end result being a place where we can sit in peace and recharge our batteries.
Tackle Those Niggling Repairs
If you’re feeling like your mental health is suffering, tackling the little tasks that need doing around the house are great for providing a bit of satisfaction and lifting mood. There will always be minor repairs that need undertaking around the house, from filling nail holes to painting over scratches on the wall.
Create a list of small things that need doing and when you’re feeling like you need a sense of satisfaction and something to take your mind off a difficult day, go to your list and check off one or two items. It can make all the difference!
Establish a DIY Indoor Garden
Finally, bring some plants into your home and start an indoor garden. Plants are proven to have a positive impact on our mental health and creating a small project in your home, on the likes of windowsills and shelves can really lift us. Not only will it improve the air quality in your home and create a more calming atmosphere, it’ll give you something that you need to tend to on a regular basis, helping improve your mental health over and over.
Of course, there are many more DIY tasks that can improve mental health, so have a think of what needs doing around your home and throw yourself into a task. There’s no doubt it’ll make you feel better…
