8 Secrets Why Women Love to Clean

It Calms Your Mind

Many readers said that cleaning helped them feel more at peace, which is one of the reasons Rebecca Beaton, Ph.D., founder and director of The Anxiety & Stress Management Institute in Atlanta, Georgia, encourages her clients to use cleaning as a therapeutic task. “Cleaning up our external environment can make us feel like we’re cleaning up our psyche,” says Beaton.

A good scrub on the weekend makes Stone “feel more peaceful, like I am starting my week fresh.” So she typically tackles the laundry, sweeps floors, wipes down kitchen and bathroom surfaces, and tidies up all toys, books, and clothes on Saturday and Sunday. With those tasks under her belt, she feels “like things will go smoothly” during the week.