Lacking the motivation to get your house picked up or scrubbed down? You just need a little cleaning motivation!
We’ve all been there. The house is a TOTAL wreck.. life got busy. Lots of meals were made and mouths fed. But the cleaning got put on the back burner. And you have ZERO motivation to get it picked up and back in order.
You need a little cleaning motivation! Don’t you worry even for a hot minute. You’ll get your house put back together in no time. You might even enjoy the process!
Why do I have no motivation to clean?
We can lose motivation to clean for any number of reasons… but it’s usually the obvious. We got busy. There were other things that took priority and cleaning got put on the back burner. Then the mess got out of hand. And when the mess is out of hand it can feel overwhelming to clean it. Its an ugly cycle!
Its good to have an idea of why you lost your motivation to clean. That way you can prevent it from happening in the future!
If you have no motivation because the mess got out of hand and now its overwhelming, try coming up with a cleaning system that you can use when life is busy. Whenever your schedule is packed, refer to your busy-time cleaning system to keep the house from getting crazy.
If you lost your motivation to clean for some other reason, write it down OR make a mental note of what it is. After you get your home back in order, you can brainstorm a few ideas on how to prevent it from happening again.
Don’t feel bad, whatever it is. We ALL lose motivation to clean at one time or another.
How do I get motivated to clean when there’s an overwhelming mess?
The tips I’ll share below will work whether there’s an overwhelming mess, or just a little tidying that needs done. I think most of us need cleaning motivation when there’s an overwhelming mess though.
Take a deep breath. Know that your house won’t be messy forever. Try to imagine how peaceful and enjoyable it will feel when you get the overwhelming mess taken care of.
Maybe you need a pick-me-up because you don’t have the energy to clean house? Make your self a yummy cup of coffee or an energizing smoothie before you start.
Even though it might feel like you’ll never get the crazy mess picked up, you WILL. Trust me.
How do I get motivated to clean?
I’ll share with you below my 13 tips for getting motivated to clean, ASAP. Start with just one of the tips. If it works, try another one, then another one. Have fun and enjoy the process!
Make a list
Start with the basics, and make a quick, SHORT list of some priority cleaning tasks. If the mess is overwhelming, you could probably make a pretty hefty list. Try NOT to do that though!
Take a look around your house and write down THREE things that will give you the most bang for your buck. Only three. You can add to your list later, but start small for now.
Do one small thing
Start with those three tasks on your list, but if even that’s overwhelming, start with something super duper tiny. As in pick up that one thing on the floor and put it away. Or wipe up that one spill.
The smaller the better if you have ZERO cleaning motivation. Once you do something small, you might get a little nugget of motivation to do something more. And then more. And then you’ll just build a snowball of cleaning momentum! Hopefully.
Put your phone away
It may be tempting to watch some cleaning motivation YouTube videos. OR to just avoid the mess at all costs and scroll on Instagram!
Don’t do this though. Try your hardest to put your phone away. Put it in another room. Make sure the sound is on. If someone needs you, they’ll call and you’ll hear it!
Without the distraction of your phone, you might just get a little motivation to clean up. And if you don’t you’ll at least be able to see and focus on the big mess in front of you. Without something else to take your attention away from it.
Turn on some music
This one is SO easy! Turn on some peppy, upbeat music. Something that makes you happy! Its an instant mood changer. I love to use Pandora on our TV for this. I just turn on my favorite station, and I’m ready to go.
You can even make a playlist to use that’s just for when you lack cleaning motivation. Make sure its fun, upbeat, and energetic. You want it to put a little pep in your step and get you moving around.
Treat yourself
Let me explain LOL. This can take many different forms, but decide on something that you’ll reward yourself with if you get your cleaning done. You can even break it down into smaller tasks. If I get the kitchen totally cleared, then I can have a cookie.
Your treat might even be something you enjoy WHILE you’re cleaning. Make a bowl of popcorn to snack on while you fold the laundry. Listen to your favorite podcast or audiobook while you clear the clutter. The thing is, you have to be disciplined enough to do the job to get the reward.
Send a picture to a friend
I know I said to put your phone away, but this will be the exception. Try sending a picture of your messy home to a friend. Just putting the mess out there in the world might be enough to get you motivated to clean.
Maybe your friend will give you some encouraging words. Maybe she’ll send a photo of her mess, and you can imagine that you’re cleaning together. The point is, a little rea-life support can do wonders.
Let her know that you’re sending before photos, that way she can hold you accountable to send some after photos.
Light a candle
It may seem silly or insignificant to light a candle in a big mess of a home, but hear me out. Candles are beautiful and peaceful, and they can give you a little hope of what’s to come when you get the clutter and grime cleared.
When we don’t have motivation to clean, we can also lose hope that our space will ever look good again (dramatic maybe, but the feelings are real). Light the candle and picture your home clean all around it. Motivating? YES.
Try new cleaning products
You know when you don’t have motivation to work out, so you get yourself a cute new workout outfit and BAM you’re ready to go?! LOL! This is the same concept.
If you’re lacking cleaning motivation, get yourself some fun, new cleaning products to try out.
My absolute FAVORITE place to get new cleaning products, is Grove Collaborative. They specialize in all natural cleaning alternatives from a variety of brands. I have the VIP membership, so I get a new cleaning box each month. I pick out the products, and shipping is free. If I don’t need anything one month, I’ll just cancel my order. Easy peasy.
Try out Grove HERE, I think you’ll totally love it and it will really get you in gear to clean up that mess.
Enlist your family for some help
Most people don’t like tackling a ginormous mess on their own. It can feel discouraging and unmotivating to know that you’re the only one to clean it all up.
Let your fam know about how you’ve been feeling discouraged in getting the mess picked up, and you’d like some help. Delegate tasks off your priority list for different family members to do.
Turn on the music and make a fun time of it.
Play a game while you clean
Have you ever said to your kiddos “whoever can pick up the most toys and put them back in the basket, WINS!” LOL. Mind games to help them feel motivated to pick up.
You can do the same for yourself, or for the whole family if you have everyone’s help. Make it a fun GAME to clean.
Race around and time yourself. Try to beat your time in a different one. Set out a big box for trash and try to ‘shoot’ things into the basket. Whatever you have to do to make the cleaning fun and exciting.
Find a cleaning routine that works for you
If you never know when to clean, what to clean, how often, etc, and you’re just throwing spaghetti at the wall (figuratively I hope) then you probably need a solid cleaning routine.
When you have a set cleaning schedule (or routine, it doesn’t have to be strict), then you’ll feel much more motivated to clean. You know what to do each day. After you get your daily cleaning tasks done, you can move onto something else.
Your home should stay consistently clean with a solid cleaning routine and you won’t lose that motivation any more.
Make some cleaning goals
I don’t know about you, but making goals, whatever kind they are, ALWAYS gets me motivated. Its so fun and exciting to see the potential ahead.
Take a minute to jot down some goals you have for your home and your cleaning. You could even do a quick little Pinterest board or real-life vision board with clean homes and happy families on it.
Here’s a few examples of some cleaning goals:
- create a morning and evening QUICK, tidy-up routine
- make a new cleaning product each month
- enjoy a perfectly clean home, for at least 15 min each day
- create a solid cleaning schedule for my week
Some more thoughts
If your home feels like its constantly getting messy… you may just have TOO. MUCH. STUFF. No matter who you are, too many unnecessary things in your home is hard to juggle. You’ll feel like your clearing and sorting and moving around clutter 24/7.
Your house will always feel messy, to the point that you’ll lose motivation to clean it.
Again, an ugly cycle. If this sounds like your situation. I have an easy and applicable solution for you.
Try taking 5-15 minutes EVERY day, decluttering an area of your home. Make a deal with yourself that you have to get rid of at least ONE thing during this time.
Create a designated area to toss the things you’re getting rid of. I keep our kiddos, big cardboard diaper boxes. Then, I put one in each closet. I toss things in there to get rid of and when the box is full I drop the whole thing off at our local Goodwill.
The point is, if you’re getting rid of things consistently, little-by-little, every day, your home shouldn’t get overwhelmingly cluttered as often.
Phew, I don’t know about you, but I’m about ready to get off the computer and spend the afternoon cleaning. I’m not kidding! I hope you find some motivation today to get your home picked up and back in order. You got this!
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