Our Environment and Mental Health

How to stay organized in your environment

In order for me to stay organized I have found ways to organize my school work and supplies my room in order to help me be successful. Staying organized can help reduce yoru stress levels. When you are less stressed you are more likely to be able to focus on your assignments. And when you are able to focus on your assignments, you are more likely to do better in school. 

I stay organized by having all of my school books separated from my for fun books. I also use an iPad to have my school stuff in because it personally helps me to have something that everything is on versus a notebook here and a notebook there. I also think that I am able to stay organized because everything has its place and is color-coded when it comes to my school work. For example, this semester I have my psychology class as purple, statistics as red, women and gender studies as orange, and my PEAK course as teal. This color stays the same on my iPad, laptop, planner, monthly whiteboard, and my weekly whiteboard. 

I also like to make to-do lists but on a notepad. There is nothing more satisfying to me than to have a list where you can cross things off after getting them done. For me this also adds to my environment because I like to have it right where I can see it. This being said because it also not on my iPad or my laptop it can be difficult to remember where I put it or to even fill it out for that matter. I have found however that remembering to fill it out has helped me be more motivated. You can find really cute ones where you are able to match it to your room theme as well. Having three ways to narrow down what I need to get done in certain time period is way easier than not having it at all for me. It also adds to my environment because I can leave little encouraging notes for myself when I do all of things that I need to do. 

How I Use Light to help with productivity and my emotions

I always open my window when I wake up in the morning. It is not only because I have plants, it is also because I will notice that if I don’t open my shades I sit there and I am not motivated at all to do the things that I know I need to do. This can be anything from doing my homework cleaning my room and doing my dishes. 

Living in Minnesota in the wintertime can create a situation where there is not a lot of sunlight during the day. I have combated this by having my big light on during the day instead of having smaller more vibe light on when I need to get things done. I have noticed that that is the best way to help with productivity in the winter. Or even taking my things and going to another place on campus for a different environment since I know sometimes I am unable to separate school from comfort. 

Sometimes however I recognize that I just need to sit in my room and vibe and take a break from everything going on around me. Times like these the productive desk light, and overhead bright light get turned off and the fairy lights (whether purple or yellow) come on. My curtains are closed (sometimes, sometimes it is also just a vibe to sit in the somewhat dark and let the sunset with the purple lights on) and I am just vibing in the dark. Like I have said before dark lights reduce productivity and motivation, so it is helpful in this situation to have a way to separate the appearance of your environment to help match this narrative.

Our dorm rooms are very important to us in college, especially when COVID-19 keeps us locked up in our rooms. Obviously, there are ways that your dorm room can make you feel more at home and more at ease during your time at college. However, there are times where you also need to be more productive in your dorm room and not just feeling comfy. Especially to help with grades and feeling motivated. I looked at the ways that we can help both our productivity and also our comfort.  

Establish a Space for studying and a place for relaxing: I know for me I had already set the boundary that I can not do my homework on my bed because I know I won’t be able to sleep as well that next night. I instead try to do homework on my futon or at my desk. I think my desk is the best place to do my homework, but as we all know college dorm chairs are not the comfiest when it comes to studying and doing homework for hours on end. I do sometimes have troubles establishing that my futon is for studying though because I am used to using it to watch movies after a shift at work. But definitely creating that boundary for yourself can help to be really beneficial. 

Make it easy to stay organized: According to the article keeping your laundry basket open and accessible can make it easier to not drop your clothes on the floor. In the past article posts I talked about how an organized space can help you feel better in your space and not overwhelm you. In order to stay productive it is essential to also not become easily overwhelmed while you are trying to get your stuff done. So also have designated folders for each class and putting class stuff into those designated folders can help to make you feel both more productive and more accomplished. 

Plant Therapy by Katie Cooper

As a plant mom, I can see the benefits to my environment that plants can bring to me and others. I know that plants can help to purify the air, increase humidity, give people something to take care of and also help to add more life and texture to space. So plants can have benefits for both our physical health and our mental health. 

I have 36 plants and have always wondered what they actually help me with. My snake plant, Winston, for example, is known as an air purifier. It can absorb benzene, formaldehyde, and xylene from the air. So while it looks pretty it also helps serve a big purpose. It is also a harder plant to kill, it is basically indestructible and will tolerate any conditions. So, if I am having a stretch where I forget it exists, it loves that. Some of my other plants also help with air purification, like my pothos, heartleaf philodendron, and the philodendron brasil. 

Other plants tend to help us be engaged in nature and our environment. Monstera adansonii, or my plant Carolina, for example, tends to keep us on our toes. They give us something to engage in other than what is happening in our lives. They grow in really spunky ways and it’s fun to look at them and see that they have grown so much in so little time. Begonia Rex also has leaves that can help us escape from our realities. Calatheas are also good for this because they can come in many different varieties and are easy to create a unique pattern in your space. A string of Pearls, or Charlie, are so particular about their environment that they require us to take the time to take care of them and help us to escape our everyday lives. 

So plants can help our environment in many ways. They can help physically by actually creating better environments for us to live in. They can also give us reasons to escape from everyday life because of their care or even just by taking a second to look at them. Plants have been a great way for me to escape from my day-to-day life. They also just help to create a positive and thriving environment in my room. 

College can be a stressful time. When living on campus our dorm room holds a lot of sentiment to us. We like to decorate and make it our own. I took some of the tips from this website to see if I would feel better about my space. 

1. clean one step at a time: I have always in a way done this. Recently however I have found that cleaning a little bit every day was a lot better for my schedule. One night I focuses primarily on my dishes, the next day I wiped down all of the surfaces in my room, and then the next I cleaned my floors. I found this really helpful. 

2. give your items a “home:” the main thing that I got from this section was that I should go out and buy baskets for the open shelves in my room. So that is what I did. I think my shelves look so much more organized and it does not just look like a mess anymore, which I highly appreciate. 

3. Put things back: This used to be a big issue for me, and still is, to put things away after I have used them. This week I have taken 5-10 minutes every night to just clean up and put things away. I have found that I have woken up less overwhelmed by how cluttered my space looks. 10/10 recommend.

4. Use Colors and Scents: I have always been one to use colors while decorating. I also have always used essential oils and wax warmers to help my space feel comfier. I think that using essential oils can be really beneficial when you need to have a night in. 

All together I think this article had a lot of really good points and I also learned a lot from it. For example, that smells that smell clean tend to help boost your motivation to be clean and have a clean space. I will definately keep these tips in mind when it comes to my environment and my space around me.