As long as I can remember I have always been a bit of a neat freak. I remember being obsessed with the movie Maid In Manhattan as a child, and pretending I was a maid in a big fancy hotel cleaning my bedroom. Now that I am an adult my vigour for cleaning isn't quite the same. Whilst I love to organise and make sure every item in the house has a proper "home", cleaning has lost a bit of its charm, and I see it more of a chore now that my responsibilities have grown from my small childhood bedroom to a whole house.
I don't think anyone in the world can wholeheartedly say 100% they love cleaning. There is a constant stream of tasks to do; more dishes piling in the sink; more clothes to wash, dry, fold and put away; more beds to make; more floors to vacuum; it never ends! I think that is my problem with cleaning, the job is never completely done. Whilst I could think of one hundred things I'd rather being doing, sometimes you just have to buckle down and get to work, so these are my tips for making cleaning bearable (and possibly even fun!).
Work against the clock
When I give myself a time limit, it not only creates a sense of urgency, but also allows me to see the "end of the tunnel", in that I know that once the timer ends I can have a break. My favourite thing to do at night when I am watching TV after dinner is to clean during the commercial breaks. I run around like the Road Runner from the Looney Tunes and clean as much as I can during those 3 or so minutes. Then, as soon as my show comes back on I allow myself to sit, watch and relax until the next commercial break. My aim is to clean the entire kitchen before the program ends.
Another way I work against the clock is to set myself a challenge of cleaning a particular space within the timespan of a couple songs. For instance, I will try to finish cleaning the bedroom within four songs. I put on my music and race (or dance) around the room trying to finish cleaning before the songs have finished playing. If you try this tip, make sure you play fast-paced motivating songs, no slow songs (*cough* Ed Sheeran's Perfect), and make sure the amount of time you allocate to your space isn't unreasonable; you don't want to feel demotivated by the fact you didn't finish in time!
Clean with company
Recruit family members, delegate tasks and make cleaning more fun in the process. Make it a game to see who can finish cleaning their space the quickest. The saying "more hands make light work" says it all; the house will be clean in no time, and the task of cleaning the house won't seem quite as mundane when you have someone working beside you.
If you are like me, and live on your own, try watching or listening to one of the many "Clean With Me" videos on YouTube. By seeing other people cleaning and accomplishing the tasks that you have on your own to-do list, it will give you the motivation to get them ticked off too!
I'd love to know how you motivate yourself to clean, leave your tips in the comments below!
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