Cleaning Motivation: Where and How Can I Find Some?
It’s difficult enough to motivate ourselves to exercise daily, make healthier food choices, not spend hours on Netflix just watching one episode after another. Still, when it comes to cleaning motivation, most of us lose our way.
Motivation for cleaning does not come easily to all of us, especially for something as mundane and cumbersome as dusting and cleaning your house. Let’s face it - it’s a chore, and it will always be a chore.
But just because something is boring does not mean that it doesn’t have to be done. No one wants a pile of dirty laundry or a sink filled with unwashed dishes left aside from last week. It’s not only gross but also highly unhygienic.
What’s wrong with leaving my dirty dishes out?
Harmful bacteria builds in your kitchen when you leave dirty dishes overnight itself. Leaving them for a few days will result in that bacteria growing even more, making it more challenging to get rid of. If you have pets especially, they can spread this harmful bacteria around, leading to diseases and infections like E. coli, Salmonella and Listeriosis. The primary cause of infections like these is improper handling of food and slacking off on cleaning up.
And that’s just your kitchen sink. Now take a deep breath and think about the rest of your house. It’s a lot of germs, isn’t it?
We don’t mean to scare you into cleaning. We just want to emphasize what an essential part of maintaining physical well-being cleaning is.
That doesn’t solve the laziness and lack of cleaning motivation factor, though. While cleaning may always be a chore for all of us, there are some ways in which you can stay on top of it regularly without losing your entire day to it and giving up halfway through (it’s happened to the best of us, don’t worry).
“Cleaning Motivation, Where Are You Hiding?”
It’s easy to get all corny and say that all motivation comes from within. We’re not going to tell you to muster up the will and energy to do your daily chores.
Why, you ask?
Well, you should be using your own intrinsic motivation and willpower to achieve your goals and do what you want to do in life. Don’t waste it on doing your laundry! It seems a bit silly, doesn’t it?
“So then what do I do? How do I motivate myself to clean?”
If that’s the question that bugs your mind regularly, you have come to the right place. We have some tips and tricks that will help you build the motivation for cleaning you have been looking for all along without tapping into your reserve willpower for the rest of the day.
Cleaning Motivation - Hacks to Trick Yourself Into Cleaning
Let’s break down the entire cleaning process into three main categories:
- Getting started with cleaning
- Making cleaning fun
- Sticking to cleaning regularly
The motivation for cleaning should include ways in which you can actually start your cleaning process. Then you can move on to making it as enjoyable as you can. And finally, you can create a routine so that you don’t slip up and find yourself accidentally sleeping on a pile of unwashed clothes instead of your bed two weeks later.
Let’s begin at the beginning.
How do I get started with building the motivation for cleaning?
Photo created by Hyper Lychee
Visualize yourself living in a spectacularly clean house
Close your eyes and think of what your house looks like now. Then think about how it would look like in an ideal scenario. How would you like your home to smell? Is the furniture polished? Are the floors shining? Is your bathroom squeaky clean? Does your bedroom look like a Pinterest board?
Take this vision you have of your home and create a plan to make it a reality. It’s not that difficult; it just takes time. So keep that mental picture in mind for cleaning motivation as you pull yourself out of your bed and start your chores.
Get an accountability buddy
You are not the only one in the world who has trouble cleaning up regularly. You can find an accountability buddy in your friend circle too. You and your accountability buddy can work together to meet your cleaning goals and keep each other in check. Having someone to report to can really make a world of difference to maintaining a habit.
YouTube
YouTube is filled with content that you can watch to get started. It is filled with cleaning tips and tricks, organizational hacks, and, most importantly, motivation. Find the inspiration online that you cannot find within.
Extrinsic motivation works as well as intrinsic motivation because it helps you get started. Another advantage is that you feel less drained after so you can still find it in yourself to do other tasks. Your accountability partner, rewards, and platforms like YouTube will help you build external cleaning motivation to get you through the mundane task. Remember that external motivators are only helpful for short periods, so use them until you make cleaning into a habit.
Start one step at a time
You can’t start until you start, but the first step is often the hardest one. Don’t look at the clutter and the mess and feel overwhelmed by the amount of work you have to do. Instead, break it down into more manageable and smaller tasks that you can accomplish in a shorter span of time. Remember, you don’t have to do everything in one day, and you certainly don’t have to do everything every day.
Take breaks
This seems a little counterproductive, but it is important to take breaks while you work. This will help you feel less tired and more productive while you perform your tasks and help you maintain that cleaning motivation you spent so much time building. Take a short break every 20 to 25 minutes and a long one after completing a big task. Do something you enjoy in this break (but don’t get carried away!).
Now that you have finally managed to break free of the shackles that stopped you from cleaning, you have to do something that will keep you going till the end of time.
It’s time to add the fun element to cleaning.
How do I make cleaning fun?
It’s not an amusement park, but you can make the cleaning process less tedious and more fun in your own way. How do you do that? Trick yourself and distract yourself from the task at hand, so it happens in the background while you go about having a great time.
Listen to music
Make a playlist. Really get into it. Dance around and have fun while you dust your ceiling fan, wipe the kitchen counter, clean out your closet. Music can be your best friend while cleaning. You can also listen to your favorite podcast or audiobook to keep yourself engaged.
Treat yourself
Reward yourself too! If you were looking forward to a nice mani-pedi or a spa day or wanted to check out a restaurant or buy yourself that new pair of jeans, do it as a reward for finishing up your cleaning tasks. There is no cleaning motivation like presents. Scale your rewards based on the level of difficulty of your tasks.
Go shopping
Who doesn’t love shopping? Now, you can shop for cool gadgets and products that will make cleaning a lot more fun and maintain your motivation for cleaning. Maybe get yourself a new Roomba, or buy Skadu for yourself to permanently change the way you do your dishes and clean multiple surfaces. There is no shortage of unique and cool cleaning products you can find.
Invite your friends
Well, why not? Get your friends over and have yourselves a cleaning party. Treat yourself to a pizza or order some good food after you’ve spent the day cleaning up your house. Bribe your friends with food and beverages and keep a happy team of minions to assist you with your tasks.
Take breaks!
Don’t forget to keep taking breaks. Otherwise, you’ll find yourself three hours later surrounded by piles of clothes around you and no motivation to sort through them. That’s why we’re mentioning it again. To maintain your cleaning motivation and keep having fun, you have to keep taking breaks.
How do I maintain the cleaning motivation?
Photo created by Hyper Lychee
Let’s start our own reality show. Instead of Keeping up with the Kardashians, we can name it Keeping up with the Kleaning (yes, we’re calling it that). The show revolves around how you continue to trick yourself into cleaning on a regular basis. Sounds fun, doesn’t it?
We’re only half kidding.
You do need to stay one step ahead of your laziness and make cleaning into a habit. Once it becomes a habit like brushing your teeth, you won’t even notice it, and voila! The cleaning motivation you once needed isn’t necessary anymore.
Set a cleaning schedule based on daily, weekly, and monthly cleaning tasks
This is pretty obvious. When you have a schedule, you don’t have to prioritize and think about all the things you need to do daily. Just follow it. It also helps you break down big tasks into smaller, more manageable ones, so you end up feeling less overwhelmed.
Create a calendar for your cleaning schedule
Set reminders on your phone and add them to your calendar, so you don’t have to keep checking what you need to do every day. Small things like these can make a big difference in your daily life. You want to simplify the process as much as you can to take the least amount of time and effort.
Keep your accountability buddy
Don’t forget your partner in cleaning crime! Keep tabs on your accountability buddy, and make sure they keep tabs on you. Being accountable to someone other than yourself can help you finish your tasks on time and maintain your cleaning motivation. When you can’t, you will have someone you can talk to about it.
Use nice products
Get a nice mop, use a fragrant dishwashing liquid or detergent. Get a cool vacuum cleaner. Invest in cleaning products that will help you make your life a lot easier and keep your motivation for cleaning.
You don’t have to ask yourself the question, “How do I motivate myself to clean?” anymore. Just go through our pointers, and above all, remember why you’re doing it.
And if all else fails…
Invite a large group of friends over to your house, so you feel like you have no choice but to clean!
TL,DR:
Photo created by Hyper Lychee
