Drew Barrymore shares the mantra that helps her and her kids feel calmer at home

For Drew Barrymore, tidying up is all about clearing her head.

In an interview with Real Simple published on Wednesday, Barrymore spoke about the lessons she hopes to pass on to her two daughters, whom she shares with her ex-husband, Will Kopelman.

In addition to teaching them the importance of being kind to others, Barrymore says she encourages them to see the value of caring for their environment.

“And I’ve taught them that if you clean up after yourself, you’re going to have more calmness in your space. Your head is as messy as your room is. Someone said that to me, and it changed my life forever,” Barrymore told Real Simple.

Although mess “can be cute and charming,” they have to be tidied up eventually, she said.

“I have one daughter who’s neater than I will ever be, and one daughter who is beyond messy. But someone reminded me that I was messy when I was young. And I was like, Oh my God, I’m expecting her to have my 50-year-old woman’s standards of cleanliness!” Barrymore said.

Along with teaching the value of a tidy space, the talk show host says she wants to normalize therapy for her daughters.

“And I do try to show them that the more you work on yourself, the happier you’re going to be, the more your friendships will thrive. We all need tools to navigate the world, and asking for help is everything,” she said.

Barrymore added that she thinks of therapy the way that people think about exercise.

“I treat therapy as if it’s the most basic, normal, welcomed thing,” she said. “Nobody questions if someone wants to go to the gym, but somehow, therapy can have a stigma. Yeah, I have a lot of cellulite, but my brain is functioning in a way that I’m not devastated about.”

A representative for Barrymore did not immediately respond to a request for comment sent by Business Insider.

Decluttering can be a good tool for destressing since it helps restore a sense of control, clinical psychologist Dawn Potter said, per the Cleveland Clinic. Not only that, decluttering can also provide a sense of accomplishment.

However, doing a major declutter, like with the viral KonMari method, can actually create anxiety for some people, Dr. Daniel Levitin, a neuroscientist, told Business Insider in 2019.

“Some people take comfort in knowing ‘I have a hammer I haven’t used in five years and have a handyman, but if I ever do need that hammer, it’s there,'” Levitin said.

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