How to Motivate Yourself to Clean Your House!

Cleaning – that’s everyone’s least favorite word, isn’t it? It is mine! Frankly, it doesn’t seem like I have a lot of time to clean, or there are more fun things to do, so the house chores just kind of pile up. And I used to think my house was messy with one kid! Ha! What I would give to have that back!

I try to at least stay on top of the dishes every night, but It finally gets to the point where it starts stressing me (and my family) out and the house needs an overhaul. Whether it is the nightly dishes or a top to bottom spring clean, I have to motivate myself to get started. Here’s how!

My Very Un-Clean Kitchen! — Some days everything just piles up and it becomes a job to do!

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Cleaning Checklist - Printable PDF Cleaning Checklist Link

Put on Tennis Shoes

Step 1 – put on my tennis shoes. If I am 100% NOT in the mood to do anything, putting on my tennis shoes is the surest way that I will get at least one small thing done. Paige Killian at www.everythingwithstyle.com introduced me to the 1% rule. If a task seems too big, just try to do 1%. The tennis shoes are my 1%. Something about tennis shoes put my feet in the mood to move and at least do 1 small thing. It is also the first step to cleaning in the Flylady system.

GoGo Juice

This might be a personal preference, but I like to have something around to drink while I clean. Something cool and refreshing because running around can get hot and tiring. Sometimes it is something with little more of a caffeine kick to get me going (like iced coffee that I make in my Ninja Coffee Bar). Other times it is iced water with a bit of fruit.

Turn on the Tunes

Turn on some tunes. Or a podcast. Or an audiobook. For me, its definitely about the tunes. Then I can dance my way around the house as I pick up and clean. Also, did you know that if you have Amazon Prime, you have free access to Amazon music? You can make your own playlists and download music without ads. It is all I ever use.

Set the Diffuser or Light a Candle

Making the house smell better is one quick step to make it feel cleaner without actually doing anything. If I am using my diffuser, I like to use clean smells like Lemon, Orange, and Mint. Now that I’ve already accomplished something, it is easier to move on to the rest of the mess.

Distract the Kids

Yes, my kids need to help clean and learn to take care of their space, and they do! But, when I have a project to tackle, I won’t fight them on helping. The goal is to get done. I will ask if they will do one thing or another, but if they aren’t in the mood to help, I won’t fight it. Fighting them to help when my goal is to get the house clean just takes more time. So, if they say no, I try to find something to keep them entertained that isn’t messy. Here are some outside activities that have kept the kids entertained. Else Cody takes them or we resort to screen time. Then I can focus on the job at hand. Getting them to clean is a battle for a different day.

11 Outdoor Toddler Activities to Do At Home

Happy Cleaning!

Let’s face it, we are never motivated to clean, so we have to put ourselves in the right place with the right tools to get the job done. Hopefully with these tips, you can find some motivation to tackle a few jobs this week! What are some things that help you tackle that to do list??