How do you get motivated to clean? These cleaning inspiration tricks will help you get motivated to clean when you’re overwhelmed by the mess.
Note: Just because you have no motivation to clean or do anything does NOT mean that you’re lazy or a slob. You may be depressed (in which case, please seek help HERE), feeling overwhelmed, or just in need of a few helpful tricks.
1. Set a timer
Even when overwhelmed by the mess, you can do anything for 15 minutes.
If you want some quick motivation, set the timer on your phone or stove and see how much you can accomplish in that time.
We tend to over-exaggerate how long tasks we don’t want to do will take.
The Pomodoro technique suggests setting a timer for 25 minutes, then taking a 5 minute break. Be sure to set another timer for that 5 minutes too, if you plan to get back to cleaning.
If you’re like me, you might get distracted and forget!
25 minutes might be more than enough time to make a sizable dent in your cleaning duties. I’d think you could clean the kitchen, bathroom, and put away some laundry in that time.
If you want to get people you live with to help, split the duties and have a little race to see who can get the most done. Some friendly competition never hurts!
If you have kids, try calling it a ‘pick up party’ and give them age-appropriate tasks to do. Many hands make light work.
If four people each clean for 10 minutes, that’s 40 minutes of cleaning accomplished in a quarter of the time.
2. Start small
If you keep finding random other things to do instead of cleaning, realize that you’re just procrastinating!
Unfortunately, avoiding chores doesn’t make them go away. And having undone tasks hanging over your head is a crappy feeling.
So what’s the solution? Start small.
Just commit to doing one thing. Empty and reload the dishwasher. Or put away one basket of clean clothes.
Once you get to tidying, you’ll probably find a couple of other things you can do quickly. Even if there are only 10 minutes before you have another commitment, squeeze in a small task or two.
If you do that several times a day, your house will start staying clean. That sure beats spending 3 hours every Saturday tidying up!
3. Reward yourself
If cleaning feels like a punishment, promise yourself a reward at the end. Watch your favorite show, paint your nails, or go grab a coffee.
If you tell yourself you can’t have that little thing you want until you’ve cleaned, you may just feel inspired to take care of that annoying task faster.
4. Wath a youtube
This one’s a bit unconventional… You may be wondering how that’s going to get your house clean.
Well, there are actually a lot of videos that offer excellent cleaning motivation.
Something about watching a person take their house from messy to clean is actually quite motivating! When you just need the energy to clean your house, these inspiring videos really do help.
A few of my favorite YourTube channels for cleaning motivation are:
- Beauty and the Beastons
- Love Meg
- How Jen Does It
Just be sure not to fall down the YouTube rabbit hole! Watch one cleaning video and then get to work.
5. Invite someone over
You could have your parents over for dinner, or a movie night with friends.
The idea that others are going to come over and see your mess can serve as a great motivator to get cleaning.
Even if you don’t want to plan a whole big gathering, just having one person over can do the trick. Especially if she’s the judgy type. : )
6. Use new cleaning products
Especially ones that smell good! Something about cleaning with products that make your house smell fresh and clean is especially inspiring.
This all-purpose cleaning spray smells amazing. As does this kitchen set. And they’re non-toxic!
It’s also good to keep all your cleaning products together so they’re readily available. This handy caddy is a great place to store your supplies. You can just grab it and go.
If you want to really help your house smell great, light a candle or use an essential oil diffuser.
7. Turn off distractions
Tuck your cell phone away so you’re not tempted to check it every time you get a notification. If the TV is on, make sure it’s not tuned to something that will draw you in.
The fewer distractions pulling you away from cleaning, the faster you’ll get your tasks accomplished.
Know that you get back to checking Instagram or continue your Netflix binge as soon as you’re done.
8. Turn on some distractions
Yes, I know this conflicts with what I just said, but hear me out.
Just like during a workout, it’s hard to get pumped up without music!
Something about loud music always makes me clean faster and allows me to forget that I’m even cleaning.
If you prefer, turn on an audiobook, podcast, or YouTube video that doesn’t need to be watched (like a TED Talk).
Pandora has some stand-up comedy stations that are a fun way to pass the time, too. I like to use a small portable speaker, so I don’t have to carry my phone around with me.
The idea is just to be distracted enough to forget you’re cleaning, but not so much that you forget to clean at all.
If you have a hands-free earpiece, talk on the phone to a friend or your mom while you’re tidying. You’ll get caught up with each other, and be productive!
9. Remind yourself why you’re cleaning
If you think cleaning is just a giant pain, because no one appreciates it, or pointless because it will just get dirty again, you’re looking at it all wrong.
When your living space is tidy, your mind and soul are more at peace.
When you start keeping your living space clean, you will have pride of ownership in your belongings.
You’ll enjoy spending time at home, and feel relaxed when you’re there. The joy of kicking back in a tidy home just can’t be beaten!
If you stop looking at cleaning as a ‘chore’ and instead think of it as treating you (and your future self) with kindness, it takes on a whole new meaning.
10. Create a routine
Don’t get scared! You don’t need some fancy and complicated system. You could try making a simple list of the areas of your home that need regular attention.
Don’t overthink it. If you’re a daily to-do list maker, add your cleaning tasks to your planner or calendar.
Pretty soon it will become a habit and you won’t even think about it.
If dishes and laundry pile up, commit to doing a load of each every day.
Just run the dishwasher before bed each night (even if it’s not packed full) and empty it in the morning while your coffee brews.
Making your bed takes about a minute, and goes a long way in making your bedroom look nice.
Creating habits is an integral part of your home staying clean.
If you don’t change your habits, nothing in your life will change!
11. Do something daily
This goes hand in hand with the cleaning routine. But for the bigger tasks.
Assign each day a task of the week. Mondays could be a dusting day. On Tuesdays, you could tackle vacuuming. Wednesdays and Saturdays could be bathroom cleaning days. You get the idea.
If you just do one ‘bigger’ task each day, you won’t have to dread spending all Saturday afternoon cleaning your house. It’ll already be done!
12. Take before and after pictures
If all else fails, take a picture of your mess.
It always looks even worse in pictures. Then, when you’ve cleaned, take another picture.
Post it on social media or send it to someone who will be proud of you. (It just might be the cleaning inspiration they need, too!)
Seeing your progress in picture form can be highly motivating.
That’s why people who are losing weight take pictures of their evolution. It’s easy to forget where you started.
Next time you’re having a hard time working up some cleaning motivation, refer back to the ‘after’ picture of your glistening clean home.
You’ll feel inspired all over again!
