cleaning does it for me too! #1 it allows me to put aside every single cause of stress and focus on something else (unless, of course, you're stressed out because the house is dirty!). #2 I can take out all my negative energy on that dang soap scum, or that cat hair covering the arm chair.
I'm not great at handling stress myself. I eat, and when I don't allow myself to do that, I sleep, and when it's not time to do that, I clean. There's my stress-handing heirarchy