Jan Hayner

How to Motivate Yourself to Clean



Posted: Sunday, September 02, 2007

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Organizing and Cleaning Tips and Hints

I don't know about you, but just the thought of cleaning always made me tired. I didn't even have to get all of the chemicals out, think about what I would clean first or how much I was going to clean in a day. It seems like life was always a never ending cycle of cleaning.

Clean the kitchen, clean the bathroom, clean the living room, make supper, wash the dishes and clean the kitchen again. For those of you that have kids, you will understand why I had to clean the kitchen the second time.

Then, I decided that my house would have to wait, the kids came first; heck, my life came first. I was always missing out on something because if a certain thing wasn't clean I would feel guilty and wouldn't want anyone to see my house looking like a mess.

What changed my way of thinking? Reality set in! No one in this whole world cared if I had a glass sitting on the coffee table, if there were clothes laying in my kids bedrooms or if I didn't sweep the floor that day.

That was the best revelation of my life! I finally could relax and not have to clean at warp speed or have a nervous breakdown because I didn't have time to do something.

Try these tips to motivate yourself to clean:

  • Set a time limit that you are going to just 'pick up the house', let's say for about 15 minutes. Once you see how much you managed to get finished without even trying you will look for another 'fast' job.
  • Only pick one room to 'tidy up'. All your going to do is pick up the clutter and put it back in it's proper place. It makes a world of difference, doesn't it? Just think, you can quit now or if you take another 10 minutes, you can polish the furniture and wipe the mirrors and glass. Heck, go for it, it's only a lousy 10 minutes.
  • Set a kitchen timer and see how much you can get finished in the time you chose. Just keep working until the timer goes off, then take a break and set the timer again.
  • Set a time that you are going to stop cleaning and reward yourself with a nice hot bubble bath or shower and clean clothes and take the rest of the day off. Once you have achieved your goal, you deserve to have a reward. The next time, pick a bigger project and reward yourself with 'going out for dinner' even if it is a fast food place, you deserve a night without cooking and doing the dishes.
  • Everyone gets a little frustrated when it comes to large cleaning jobs, so break them down into smaller jobs. On day one, wash curtains and hang them back on the windows, the next day wash the sheets and comforter and the next day clean the bedroom.
    • You will be surprised at how much you can have accomplished by taking small baby steps to tackle a big project. Turn on some music (your favorite tunes, of course), put on your dancing shoes and grab that broom and go to it.


    Jan Hayner is a Professional Organizer and creator of www.organizingandcleaning.com, she offers tips, hints and shortcuts to everyday problems with organizing your home, work, family and life. She also offers shortcuts on cleaning your house, recipes for cleaners and tips to make the jobs faster and easier.

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    Top-level comments on this article: (3 total)
    » left by Sylvia Dickens
     4 years 160 days ago.
    13 fans.
    Here's something you could have added. How to shorten the clean-up by finding a final place for each object immediately, rather than moving them 'temporarily'. I've been struggling to clean my extremely cluttered house by going one room at a time. The problem was, I was moving the stuff from one room to another and back again without really accomplishing much. It's all about the 'stress' of cleaning - of having to make constant decisions about all those bits and pieces, and the fear of distracting myself from cleaning by stopping to find those final homes for things.
    » left by 4 years 157 days ago.
    Hi Sylvia and thank you for the comment. Your right (and I have that information in another one of my articles), Moving things from one place to another is neither organizing or cleaning- it's called procrastinating! By taking small babysteps (one box at a time) you can clean and organize at the same time. Get a box, label it, put it in the area that you will use the object and insert the item. If you haven't used it in a year-your not going to; get rid of it, it's called clutter!
    » left by Hannah Quinn
     4 years 157 days ago.
    47 fans.
    Jan, Great article with some really good advice. It's something I've been working on myself just recently, so your article is timely to me, and lays it out even more clearly. I also like Sylvia's suggestion. I tend to do what she was doing, moving things to a 'temporary' place. I'd go one step further: if there is no 'permanent' place for something, time to send it on, preferably to be reused or recycled rather than sent to landfill. Thanks. I'm off to do ten minutes tidying in my office. Get set, timer on, go! Hannah
    » left by 4 years 157 days ago.
    Very true Hannah and thank you for commenting; Rather than a landfill, I always suggest you donate it to Good Will or another charity, a needy family (churchs can help you find them), a friend or neighbor that has admired the piece, your children that no longer live at home or have a rummage sale and make some money for all of your work. Keep that timer going...it's worth it! Jan
    » left by Michelle
    from Daytona, FL     2 years 144 days ago.
    Wow, I am only 7 yrs. old but I get it! And don't worry I am allowed to say "Heck". Thanks for the help!!!
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