Have you ever met a mom who’s so excited to clean she can hardly contain herself? Me neither! These are the best cleaning motivation tips and tricks to get you pumped up and ready to start cleaning.
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If you’re like the rest of us busy moms, you want a clean house without the back-breaking marathon of cleaning it yourself which is why being motivated (and excited) to clean is necessary.
Gathering the cleaning supplies, scrubbing the stuck-on food from the countertops, finding that piece of broccoli you thought your kid ate last week.
Yes, it may require some elbow grease, but you can already see yourself watching Netflix with your glass of wine as a reward for all your hard work.
For those times when you need some cleaning motivation, try these simple and effective tips to get you off the couch and ready to clean.
1. Play music
This is my favorite way to motivate myself to get up and start cleaning. Since most of the music we listen to is sung by small kids or fictional characters, I’m quite behind on the latest billboard hits.
I love using my Pandora app and dancing around the house while I clean because I never know what song it’s going to play next.
Quick tip: make a 20-30 minute playlist and clean until it’s over.
2. Watch YouTube videos
Have you ever been searching through YouTube and stumbled upon one of those clean with me videos?
To be brutally honest, I thought they were the stupidest videos ever. I don’t even want to clean with myself why would I want to clean with you?
After I kept seeing them as suggested videos and realized one video had over 2 million views (Woah!), I decided to find out what was so intriguing about watching someone else clean their house.
That was the day I became addicted to clean with me videos.
It’s so interesting to see how other people do things that are more efficient than the way I learned 20+ years ago.
Heed this warning! You can easily get sucked down the rabbit hole of YouTube videos so proceed with caution. But once you see someone cleaning their home so effortlessly (and heavily edited) you’ll get inspired to have a clean house as well.
3. Batching housework
Batching housework is when you group similar tasks that require similar tools. For example, instead of only sweeping the kitchen, you would sweep all of the areas with hard floors.
Batching tasks eliminates the time it takes your brain to process that you’re doing something different. This helps you save time and get more done.
4. Time blocking
When you set a time block to get something done it’s like scheduling an appointment with yourself.
Schedule your cleaning time blocks for when you naturally have the most energy and time to clean. This could be during nap time or part of your morning routine before everyone else wakes up.
Decide how long your time block will be and exactly what you’ll get done during that time.
5. The Pomodoro Technique
With little kids around it may be hard to focus on anything for an extended period of time. The Pomodoro Technique gives you a set time to get as much done as possible before you take a break.
If the 25 minute intervals are too long, set the timer based on your schedule.
6. Use a checklist
There’s something super rewarding about checking off completed tasks. It allows you to see what you’ve accomplished and what you have left to get done.
Make a short checklist of what needs to be cleaned and check things off as you go along. If the list is too long you’ll get overwhelmed so keep it short and simple.
Ready to get more done?
Plan your day with this ADHD Planning Bundle designed to help you keep track of the million and one things you have to do!
7. Eat the frog
This saying means to do the ONE thing you’re not looking forward to doing first thing in the morning to get it over with.
There are days when I have no motivation to do the laundry and the entire day I keep thinking “you need to do the laundry, the pile is massive, just do it already.”
If I would have done the laundry first thing in the morning, I could have set myself up for a productive day instead of being stuck at the first task on my to-do list.
8. Create a habit
To go along with eating the frog, if you wake up every morning and clean something, eventually it’ll become second nature.
Start a habit goal of cleaning something every day.
9. Snowball cleaning
If you’re a Dave Ramsey fan then you’ve most likely heard of his debt snowball method. This is when you pay off debt starting with the smallest amount first.
The snowball method is effective because it gives you small wins which motivates you to keep going.
When it comes to cleaning, we usually use the avalanche method which is tackling the biggest mess first, so it’s no wonder we’re not motivated to get started.
Change your cleaning perspective to use the snowball method. Start with taking the dishes in the living room to the sink. That will snowball into you decluttering the living room. Each time you clean something your snowball gets bigger and your house gets cleaner.
10. Dress up
When you hang out in your pajamas all day it’s hard to get motivated to do anything other than sleep.
Even if you don’t plan on going anywhere, change out of your pajamas and throw on a pair of leggings and a comfy shirt that actually fits (not your husband’s t-shirt from Disneyland that’s 3 sizes too big).
I prefer to wear workout clothes because it tricks my mind into thinking I’m active and in shape!
Related: 9 time saving laundry hacks for when you’re overwhelmed
11. Perfection is overrated
So many of us don’t even get started cleaning because we have a vision of what we want the end result to be and the amount of work it takes to get that result.
Getting started is better than perfect. Would you rather have a half clean kitchen or a dirty one?
It’s okay to start cleaning and not finish. That may even motivate you to go back and finish when you get enough time.
12. Reward yourself
Having something to look forward to when you finish cleaning can give you the motivation to get started. Tell yourself you can only scroll through Facebook or have a glass of wine once you’ve cleaned the kitchen.
13. Delegate
So many of us choose to do things ourselves because that’s the only way we know it’ll be done correctly. That goes back to striving for perfection.
Small cleaning tasks can be delegated to your significant other or your children depending on their age. Ask for help instead of stressing yourself out about everything that needs to be done.
Related: 20-Minute Speed Cleaning Checklist For Busy Moms [Free Printable]
14. New cleaning supplies
When I ordered my new robot vacuum I was like a kid waiting to open their Christmas presents. I was tracking my package every day and not so patiently waiting for the UPS delivery person to knock on the door.
Getting something new makes you excited to try it out and see if it meets your expectations.
15. Expect company
I’m not sure anything will give you a kick in the butt to clean like a surprise visit from your mother in law.
Invite a friend over for a playdate and do a quick speed clean before she gets there.
16. Eliminate distractions
When you waste an hour scrolling through Instagram that’s valuable time you could’ve used to clean the bathrooms.
It’s easy to get sidetracked and spend way too much time watching YouTube videos so try to put your phone away or use the Freedom app to lock yourself out of your distracting apps until you’re done cleaning.
17.Clean alone
It’s nearly impossible to get anything clean with small kids around. Whatever you put away they’re right there to pull it back out.
Having some time alone to clean your house without tripping over them will be beneficial and you can get finished much quicker without any distractions.
Ready to get more done?
Plan your day with this ADHD Planning Bundle designed to help you keep track of the million and one things you have to do!
Quick recap…
We all want a clean house but finding the motivation to actually clean the house gets tricky. Use the daily cleaning checklist in the free productivity power pack to help you build motivation and momentum.
