If you’re like most people, you often struggle with maintaining a clean home.
Maybe you give it your best shot, but it seems as though no matter what you do the clutter and chaos always reappear.
Or perhaps you just can’t seem to find the motivation to tackle that clean pile of laundry that stares at you every day just waiting to be hung up.
Whatever description fits you best, we can help!
Tidying up and maintaining a clean space doesn’t have to be an overwhelming and daunting task.
And by just incorporating one or more of these methods, you’re bound to have an easier time cleaning up your place (even when you are totally not motivated).
Here are some tips to get you started.
Set A Timer
The overwhelming task of cleaning can seem daunting and never-ending, as you envision yourself spending 2 hours sorting clothes and figuring out where to put all the junk you’ve accumulated.
Or, you know you don’t have the hours and hours it will take to finally get organized.
But a trick of many professional organizers is to start with a timer.
Start with 15 minutes.
Set your phone to a 15-minute timer and see how much you can get done during that timeframe.
Knowing you have an ending time will take away the feeling of “this will take forever”, since you only committed to 15 minutes.
Typically what happens is as you start cleaning you get in the zone and you can actually go longer than expected.
But if not, then you’re done in 15 minutes.
And if you do 15 minutes each day (minus Sunday) – then you’ve devoted 1.5 hours a week to cleaning.
Breaking it down into small chunks helps, trust me!
Start By Category
One of the best ways to gain momentum is to break cleaning down into categories.
Let’s say your goal is to clean your entire house. Pick one item and start with that, such as clothes.
Then, spend your time only focused on clothes and nothing else – whether it’s putting in a load of laundry, folding clean clothes, putting away clean clothes, getting clothes ready for the dry cleaners, gathering up the loose clothes around the house, etc.
If you have your horizon so broad as “clean the whole house” – you’ll find yourself going from cleaning the oven to vacuuming and trying to do laundry while feeling overwhelmed that the house is still a mess.
But categories keep you focused and makes big tasks seem small.
One you tackle the first category, move on to the next – such as “dishes.”
Then take the time to grab coffee mugs and plates that have accumulated in places, and focus on those next.
ProTip: Save the hardest items (like paper clutter) once you get the easier things done first.
Create A Reward
Remember when our teachers used to give us gold stars as rewards, and we were so excited?
Why did our teachers do this?
Because it worked!
We are creatures who like incentives.
Incentives and rewards motivate us to keep going when we don’t want to.
Think of little ways you can reward yourself for cleaning – such as a mani/pedi after you finish your cleaning task for the day, or an iced coffee and a book once you clean for a certain amount of minutes.
Seeing the light at the end of the tunnel can help you stay motivated to reach the goal.
Don’t Forget To Make It Fun!
As you clean, don’t forget to have fun!
Play some tunes, dance around, pull back the curtains so light floods into your home.
Open up the windows to have fresh air circulate or diffuse some calming essential oils like lavender of peppermint.
Sometimes, even having a friend over to help can make the task go faster and make it more exciting.
And most important – go easy on yourself.
You are not a failure if you don’t have the cleanest house on the block.
Studies do show people feel better living in a tidy environment, but don’t focus so much on cleaning, that you miss out on living!
(h/t Better Change Project)