Learn how to get motivated to clean your house, once and for all – with these handy tips that work really well!
If you’re like most people, you probably don’t enjoy cleaning your house. It can be a chore, and it’s easy to let things go until they’re really messy.
However, a clean house is a happy house, and it’s important to keep things tidy for your own sanity and wellbeing.
So, how do you get motivated to clean your house when you’d rather be doing anything else?
Let’s dive into it – and you’ll be grabbing those cleaning supplies before you know it…
Why Do I Have No Cleaning Motivation?
Find the reason, and you can more easily work out how to get unstuck and get out of that unmotivated mindset (hopefully!).
There can be a few reasons for this feeling – here are some of the most common:
You’re tired: When you’re exhausted, the last thing you want to do is spend your precious energy on cleaning. This is especially true if you’ve had a long day at work, or if you have young children who keep you up at night. If you’re constantly tired, it can be hard to muster up the motivation to do anything, let alone clean.
You don’t enjoy cleaning: Some people just don’t like cleaning – period. If you don’t find any joy in the act of cleaning, it’s going to be difficult to convince yourself to do it on a regular basis.
You’re overwhelmed: A messy house can feel like a never-ending project, and it’s easy to get bogged down in the details. When you’re feeling overwhelmed, it’s tough to find the motivation to start cleaning – or to keep going once you’ve started.
You don’t have a system: If you don’t have a system for cleaning, it can be tough to know where to start, or what needs to be done. Without a plan, it’s easy to get discouraged and give up before you’ve even really started.
You don’t have the right tools: House cleaning is a lot easier when you have the right tools for the job. If you’re using old, worn-out tools, or if you don’t have the right supplies and each cleaning product isn’t working as well as it could, then it can make the whole process a lot harder – and a lot less fun.
So now you know the possible reasons for feeling unmotivated, what can you do to change that?
How To Get Motivated To Clean – 14 Things You Can Try
If you’re struggling to find the motivation to clean your house, here are a few tips that might help:
#1 – Give yourself a break
Are you trying to aim for perfection when you complete every cleaning task?
If you’re tired then you need to really look at your cleaning schedule to make sure it’s at the level you can manage more easily given your current season of life.
Cleaning doesn’t have to be perfect to be effective – and you may just find housework easier to get started when you aren’t thinking about doing it 100% every time.
#2 – Have A (Good) Reason
The saying goes that you never get as much cleaning done as when you have guests due to visit. It’s true! If there’s a reason to have a clean house, then you’re much more likely to do it.
If you haven’t got guests due, then maybe it’s worth inviting people over at regular intervals (or pretending they are coming over).
Make a reason for a clean up and your motivation is sure to follow…
#3 – Just Get Started
Seriously!
Sometimes the best thing you can do to get motivated is to get started.
It’s starting that takes motivation, so if you can sort of do it before you think about it, you’ll be winning!
Just open the windows to get some fresh air – and get going.
#4 – Create A Vision
Whenever I find things hard or I’m just not getting into the mode I need to – then I start to envisage what the final result would be, and how I’d feel.
If you can start to see what you’re aiming for (a clean home vs. an overwhelming mess to tackle) and how this will make you feel, then this can be all the motivation you need to get things moving.
#5 – Add Something That Makes You Happy
What makes you enthusiastic about things?
Music? Audiobooks? TV? Radio? – pick one and listen while you clean.
This will make the cleaning secondary to how you’re spending your time, you’ll feel more motivated to get the cleaning caddy out and start work on all those dust bunnies!
#6 – Get Help
Whether it be delegating more to other members of the household / family – or paying someone to help with some or all of the chores, or even getting a robot to help (vacuuming can be done while you’re doing other stuff!) – Do it!
It doesn’t have to all be down to you – and it doesn’t have to cost a lot (consider swapping a chore with a friend so you do what you enjoy and so does she – you’ll have more motivation to do it for someone else, and more motivation to do something you enjoy).
TIP – Hire a cleaning service to do some deep cleaning for you so you can start afresh – as sometimes this can do wonders for how you feel about cleaning again.
#7 – Have Cleaning Kit You Enjoy Using
When I have to work harder for a clean house then I get frustrated and don’t want to carry on.
When I have the wrong tools this happens ALL.THE.TIME.
For example – a hoover where the cord isn’t long enough so has to be plugged in and out several times to get around the house. Maybe it’s time for a cordless version?
Related: The Best Cleaning Tools You Can Have
#8 – Commit To Just 5 Minutes
When you say to yourself you only have to do 5 minutes – it’s a LOT easier to get started than if you think you need to clean the entire house.
Sometimes just getting started is all it takes to get motivated to do more.
#9 – Have A Personal Benefit Attached
A trick that motivates me to clean the house is that I love to work out. If I remember that cleaning can count as exercise as well then I feel like I’m getting a workout which makes it easier to start.
I just put my workout clothes on and get going. This also really helps me to do more, because I want to count my steps, I want to get a sweat on, etc…
#10 – Have A Tidy House
When the house is a mess you have to spend a LOT of time tidying up before you even get started on cleaning – and that can be tiring in itself.
Who wants to clean each dirty dish in the sink before you can clean the actual sink?!
When you know that you’re going to have to do the tidying as well as the cleaning, that’s when motivation can dwindle.
So – make it a priority to have a clutter free home. Some ideas for this would be to:
- Have a 10 / 15 minute tidy up time every evening so things don’t get out of control
- Declutter the house so you have only what you really want and need
#11 – Have A Do-Able Plan
How do you start cleaning when you feel overwhelmed? It’s a HUGE issue because you can lose all motivation to do anything at all.
The answer is to have a plan.
Creating a cleaning routine / schedule for yourself – and knowing what will get done, when, will make things seem manageable and help you to get going.
#12 – Don’t Try And Do It All
Splitting things up into smaller jobs makes it much easier to get started and motivated, because it doesn’t feel so much to do.
These smaller tasks (like making the bed, doing the washing up, doing a quick vacuum round, etc…) can feel a lot easier to manage individually.
And once you’ve done one task, move on to the next one. The sense of achievement may well spur you on to keep going!
#13 – Have A Reward Waiting
There’s ALWAYS something better to do than cleaning – so make sure you have a reward waiting for when you’re finished
This could be anything from watching your favourite TV show, to having a relaxing bath, to reading a good book.
Whatever it is – make sure it’s something you’ll REALLY enjoy, so you have something to look forward to.
#14 – Add To An Existing Habit
Creating a cleaning habit becomes much easier once you add it to an existing habit. All the better if that existing habit is something you enjoy.
This is something known as habit stacking, and is talked about in Atomic Habits By James Clear, if you fancy a read!
For example – if you clean for 5 minutes before breakfast, or your first coffee of the day – then you’ve got that to look forward to, but it all becomes part of the same process so you just start with cleaning and end with the nice stuff!
How Can I Motivate Someone Else To Clean Their Room (Or The House)?
We’ve talked about getting yourself motivated to clean, but then it also begs the question of how to get OTHERS to clean as well.
Sometimes this can be even harder, because you’re only really in control of what you do, not them.
And while it can be difficult to motivate others to clean, there are a few things you can try to get the ball rolling a little:
1. Set a good example by keeping your own space clean.
2. Talk to the person about why it’s important to keep things clean.
3. Help them come up with a plan for how they will keep their space clean.
4. Offer to help them with the cleaning.
5. Praise them when they do a good job of keeping their space clean.
6. Give them incentives to clean, such as offering rewards for a job well done.
There are a number of ways to motivate yourself to clean the house – so pick the one that you think will work best for you and start there.
I’d love to know what you pick, so don’t forget to leave a comment below and let’s chat!
And don’t forget, you can always add more once you’ve done one, or try something new if the first choice doesn’t work as well as you wanted it to.
Before you know it you’ll actually be WANTING to clean…. well, you can hope!
Read Next: 29 Simple Things You Should Be Cleaning – But Probably Don’t
Hi Peggy – I’m so pleased you enjoyed it!
Wonderful article! Touched on so many of my issues! Thank you!!!