10 Tips to Finding the Motivation to Clean Your House
Blog written by Katchy.
Let's face it; cleaning is a chore most of us don't enjoy doing. From scrubbing the toilet to vacuuming carpets, dusting and mopping, removing grease from the oven, washing dishes, doing laundry, and much more, keeping your house clean can be tiring, tedious, and time-consuming. And if you have kids, it's more like a temporary clean space because it will go back to being messy sooner rather than later. Cleaning is like a never-ending task; no wonder people are always avoiding it or looking for shortcuts by cleaning only the essential spots.
Finding the motivation to clean your house is not always easy, but it's necessary. Procrastinating worsens the problem as floors get dirtier, clutter increases, dishes pile up, etc. Before you know it, your house is a bug magnet. While our Katchy Duo: 2-in-1 Automatic Indoor Insect Trap can solve this, a messy house can be overwhelming and doesn't make you want to clean it. The good news is by making a few preparations earlier and taking the first steps, and you'll be on your way to pristine living environments. We've rounded up a few tips and tricks that will get you motivated to clean your house.
How to Motivate Myself to Clean the House
Apart from the hyper-organized people who find joy in cleaning their spaces, most of us would run away from this chore if it were possible. We lose motivation to clean your house for many reasons. For starters, cleaning often seems like a giant pain, not to mention pointless, since it will just get dirty again. Even if that were true, regular cleaning and staying organized has been proven to reduce stress, improve your mood, and boost overall health. These are all benefits that are worth sparing time and effort on.
You may also lose motivation for reasonable reasons. For instance, life gets busy, and you just don't have time to keep your house super clean. The cause can also be out of your control, like an illness or injury strikes, and it's all you can focus on all day. If you're struggling with more critical, life-altering things, we get it. But for the rest who simply don't want to get to cleaning, it's not optional. With little lifehacks that stop your brain from procrastinating, to tips that will save you some time and effort, there are some shortcuts we can use to keep our houses in livable condition.
Check out our blog 'Contain the Clutter and Eliminate Mess Without Wasting Your Time' for more cleaning tips!
Ten Tips to Motivate Yourself to Clean
1. Start Small
The first step is usually the hardest. This is especially true when there's so much cleaning to do that you are just overwhelmed even to begin. Plus, cleaning the entire house at a go can be physically and mentally tiring, thus demotivating you from doing other chores. Therefore, the best way to start a big cleaning job is to break it into more manageable tasks or small areas. Commit to doing one thing every day, and before you know it, your entire house will be sparkling clean. For instance, Mondays could be for dusting, Tuesday for vacuuming, Wednesday for cleaning the bathroom, etc.
2. Visualize A Clean Home
There's nothing like relaxing in a clean space that isn't surrounded by dust, clutter, and bad odor. Sometimes, envisioning the end results will motivate you to get there. Try to be specific in your visualization, and don't just focus on a clean house but on other benefits that come with it as well. For example, sanitizing the bathroom for everyone's health, keeping the floors clean for a crawling baby, organizing your house, so you're not tripping over things or searching through the entire house for something, etc.
3. Set A Timer
Setting a schedule makes your task finite and quantifiable, which can be a strong motivator. Even if you're overwhelmed by the mess in your house, you can still do something for 15 minutes or so. Challenge yourself by setting a time frame for cleaning the house or completing one specific task. Twenty minutes seems manageable; focus entirely on cleaning and see how much you can get done in that timeframe. Once you're accustomed, you can stretch out the time gradually.
4. Invite Someone Over
Honestly, there's nothing that motivates people to get their shit together more than knowing others will be in their home and noticing how they live, especially if they are the judgy type. You know you've done it before, dusting, vacuuming, and scrubbing until everything sparkles. So, pick up the phone, invite friends for dinner or host a party and see how quickly you'll get your house super clean. Just make sure you clean up afterward as well!
5. Avoid Getting Sidetracked
No matter how focused you are on cleaning, there are many times that you'll find other things that need your attention. For example, you start cleaning the living room and find your kid's toys, so you take them to their room. Suddenly, you're picking dirty clothes off the floor and putting in a load of laundry, and then you remember you were supposed to be cleaning the living room. By now, too much time has gone by, and you feel defeated because of all these unfinished tasks. Avoid this in the first place by sticking to your plan.
6. Make Cleaning A Little More Fun
Cleaning is a tiring and exhausting chore, but if you add in a bit of fun, it can motivate you to finish what you started. Think of what makes exercising more enjoyable. A lot of people will say it is listening to good music. So, put on some good music and sing along as you clean. You could also listen to an audiobook or podcast, but not something that needs to be watched as that would be distracting.
7. Get Everyone Involved
Vacuuming, dusting, mopping, and scrubbing an entire house can be a tiring and boring job for a single person. But if more people are working together on a task, it will be easier and quicker to finish. Unless you live alone, you can find the motivation to clean your house by enlisting the help of other family members. It will make house cleaning easier, more enjoyable, and save time.
8. Use New Cleaning Products
Everybody loves something new and often can't wait to use it. Treat yourself to a new cleaning product, and you'll immediately want to try it out, especially ones that smell good. Something about using products that will leave your house clean, fresh, and smelling good is a huge cleaning inspiration.
9. Take Before and After Pictures
Take a picture of your mess and another one when you're done cleaning. Seeing your progress and how good the space looks can be the cleaning inspiration you need to finish what you started. And the next time you don't feel like cleaning, refer back to the photo of your glistening clean home, and you'll be motivated to do it all over again. This tip is perfect for cleaning kitchens, check out our blog '5 Aesthetic Ways to Organize Your Kitchen' for more details!
10. Reward Yourself
Having a special reward to look forward to when your cleaning chores are done is one of the biggest motivators. It can be watching your favorite TV show, relaxing in a bubble bath, or with a glass of wine, having your favorite dessert, etc.
Conclusion
It can seem overwhelming when there's clutter all over the house and so much mess. But the truth is avoiding chores doesn't make them go away. Hopefully, these steps will give you the cleaning inspiration you need to keep your house super clean. While you're at it, Katchy Bug can help you get rid of unwanted bugs. Our variety of indoor insect killers is effective, easy to use, blend in stylishly in your home, and rids your home/business of bugs naturally and safely.