12 cleaning motivation tricks
Let’s face it… Nobody likes cleaning… But it just needs to be done unless you want to sink in piles of clutter. What to do? Trick yourself out! These cleaning inspiration ideas will remove the burden from your shoulders and at the same time will save you from living in filth.
1. Set a timer
Turn it into a competition! Once you have limited time to do something, you appear to be much more productive than ever! Give yourself 15 minutes and see how much you can accomplish in that time. You can also apply the Pomodoro technique – spend 25 minutes cleaning and then take a 5 minute break. But don’t cheat – set another timer for 5 minutes if you want to eventually get back to cleaning. There is no doubt that 25 minutes is just enough for cleaning the kitchen, bathroom and maybe putting away some laundry.
2. Start small
The more you demand from yourself, the more likely you will be to procrastinate. Therefore, don’t aim for big changes right away – promise yourself to do just one task at a time. For example, empty and reload the dishwasher. It will be rather simple but once you start doing it, you might decide to a couple of other things quickly. If you do it several times a day, you will see that your house starts staying clean.
3. Reward yourself
You know yourself best. If you do something you don’t really like (e.g. cleaning), then be sure to do something you really enjoy afterwards. Ask yourself what makes you happy and take up doing it without feeling guilty. Grab a coffee, watch your favorite TV show or go visit your friends. If you just tell yourself that all these little pleasures start being available for you only after you clean, you might get inspired to beat this mess!
4. Watch a Youtube video
There are a lot of examples on youtube where people turn their messy houses into unrecognizable polished dream houses. Watching such kind of a video might be really motivating! Try these channels: How Jen Does It, Beauty and the Beastons, Love Meg. But please don’t spend too much time on it as you might forget the reason you started watching the video in the first place…
5. Invite someone over
When you know someone is going to come visit, you will be left with no other choice as to clean your mess since you want to save yourself from embracement. Simple but efficient! Even if you don’t plan a huge party, you can still invite one person for a cup of coffee or tea – this will still ensure you sort out your things before you open the door.
6. Use new cleaning products
Something about cleaning with products that make your house smell fresh and clean is especially inspiring. You can even go as far as to light a candle or use an essential oil diffuser. Also, make sure to keep your products handy because this way you will be more likely to reach out for them.
7. Eliminate distractions
Nothing terrible will happen if you resist from checking Facebook or Instagram for an hour or two. Turn off the TV as well as even muted it might attract your attention and invite you to join in. Once you are done with cleaning, you will feel proud of yourself and scrolling the social media sites, etc. will feel well deserved.
8. Some distractions might be beneficial
When it comes to cleaning, music is not a distraction. It will make you more energetic and happy so cleaning will no longer be seen as a big deal. You can choose to listen to an audio book or podcast – then you will be killing two rabbits with one shot. Even better if you have a small portable speaker so that not to carry your phone with you all the time. Believe me, you will even forget that you are cleaning!
9. Remind yourself WHY you are cleaning
There is no secret that once your living space is tidy, it shows that your mind is at piece. Clutter and messy surroundings affect you in a very negative way – you can’t truly get relaxed and calm back home when it is untidy. The joy of kicking back in a tidy home just can’t be beat! So, remind yourself from time to time that cleaning has a much deeper sense than just a disgusting physical activity – when done properly, it protects your mental health.
10. Create a routine
You can just make a simple list of the areas of your home that need regular attention. If you enjoy making plans and creating to-do lists, it might be worth having a planner or a calendar then where you will be marking your cleaning aims and achievements. You can link some chores to other daily things you do to create a habit. For example, every day before you go to bed you can get yourself used to running the dishwasher and empty it in the morning while your coffee brews.
11. Do something daily
You can go this way: assign a task for each day of the week. On Mondays you might decide to do vacuum cleaning, on Tuesdays – dusting, on Wednesdays – watering plants and so on. You get the idea. This may eventually save your Saturdays for more pleasant activities!
12. Take before and after pictures
Have you ever noticed that on pictures a lot of things look worse than in reality? The same applies to your mess! If nothing else works, just take a picture of it! If not immediately, it will still make you do something about it soon. Then, when you have cleaned, take another picture that will make you feel proud. Send it to someone you trust – it might be the cleaning motivation they need, too!
Hopefully, these tips and tricks will get help you to get started! Most important, give yourself grace! Don’t blame yourself for anything, don’t call yourself lazy or a slob. We all are not perfect but we all are free to change our habits to the better anytime!
