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BATON ROUGE, LA (BRPROUD) – Stress can be caused by a number of things like unfinished projects around the house or an unorganized life style, and according to YMCA Operations Director Laura O’Brien these stress triggers can have a big impact on our mental health, especially for women.

“Women who describe their homes as cluttered or unorganized, usually experience a little more depression than most people, and also leads to increased levels of cortisol, which leads to weight gain,” said O’Brien. “I think it’s important for moms to have structure and overall declutter for the health of the family,” she said.

O’Brien says right now we have lots of free time to get to those things we’ve been putting off on the to do list.

“Now is the time to tackle those drawers and little areas in the closet that you keep throwing stuff in, so when it’s time to get back to work our brains and life will go back with a little less stress,” O’Brien said.

If you’re not sure where to start, O’Brien says pick a small task or new behavior and start there.

“I think start small. For some people you may want to create a new habit that you’re going to continue once we go back to whatever our new normal is. Start with one room. Maybe start with the bathroom and every day clean the sink. Once you get in that routine, then you can start with the kitchen. Maybe not go to bed with any dirty dishes in the sink. Make your bed every day. Once you start creating new habits it will snowball, next thing you know you’re used to keeping your house a little cleaner,” O’Brien said.

In addition to a clean space, O’Brien says decluttering your life can also help ease the mind.

“Clutter clutters your brain as well, so it’s good to start cleaning out and have a fresh area. For most women we work better when our space is cleaner and not cluttered and we get a lot more things done that way and that can translate into how productive your family can be,” said O’Brien.

And as always stay active.

“This will help clear the mind. And especially now that we can get outside having a fresh, clean space and lots of movement with vitamin D,” said O’Brien.