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In my post, 5 Apartment Therapy Tips I Use All the Time<\/a>, I noted that keeping fresh flowers around the house inspires me in unexpected ways \u2014 it lifts my mood and<\/em> helps me keep a neater home. Makes sense? Sounds hokey? A little of both? Turns out there\u2019s some science behind this! <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n We\u2019ve included buying flowers<\/a> in the Cure assignments for years. Maxwell has promoted this simple practice as an easy and affordable way to add beauty to our homes and lift our spirits. Turns out, a behavioral study at Harvard<\/a> backs up the positive power of flowers\u2026er, flower power, as their findings indicated: <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n For me, the positive impact of keeping fresh flowers also carries over to my cleaning habits. It\u2019s almost like the flowers are really lovely guests in my home and I want to make sure they\u2019re comfortable. Is that odd? Probably. Alas, it works. For instance, if I set a small pitcher of tulips on my dining table, I\u2019m far more conscientious about keeping the table free of clutter because beautiful tulips shouldn\u2019t be sitting in a pile of lord-knows-what (I have two young kids, so my surfaces are a treasure trove of random sundry items). The same follows for keeping, say, a vase of hydrangeas on my coffee table. The beauty of the flowers tends to impel me to wipe down the table on which the flowers are set, pick up any surrounding junk, fluff the pillows, fold the blankets. If the theory of like follows like holds true, I suppose loveliness and calm begets loveliness and calm. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n So if you\u2019re looking for some tidying up motivation, experiment with picking up fresh cut flowers at the grocery store or local florist. Or, if fresh cut flowers just aren\u2019t your jam, perhaps try a spray of greenery, invest in an orchid, or create a display of pretty succulents. Place your arrangement in an area that tends to collect clutter (kitchen counter, dining or coffee table, work desk) and see if their presence adds a bit more motivation to up your daily cleaning routine. Ah, the sneaky (and sweet smelling!) power of flowers\u2026 <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Re-edited from a post originally published 8.21.2016 \u2013 TW<\/em> <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n