Contrary to my frequent cleaning videos, I actually don't really enjoy cleaning and I'm a pretty messy person--ask my husband 😂 But when him and I swapped jobs last year (I used to go to work and my husband stayed home), I wanted to be better about keeping up with house chores while he was on shift. Acts of service is his love language after all. 😜 If we're bring honest, the only house chore I truly despise with my entire soul is laundry. Still freaking hate it. How can anyone find that therapeutic? Lol. But i've learned a few tricks to getting and staying motivated to clean my home that make it a liiittle more tolerable. Here's what stuck with me over the last year:
1. Record Yourself Using Timelapse/Hyperlapse.
I started using the timelapse feature on my iPhone to record myself cleaning up a messy room or folding laundry because it was so satisfying to rewatch when I was done. I loved watching the progress of the room as it got cleaner and it keeps me away from my phone. My phone is my biggest distraction when I'm cleaning so when I use it to record, I'm less likely to take breaks and stay in one room until it's finished. The first time I ever decided to share my cleaning video online, it went viral on Twitter. Turns out other people find it satisfying too. So if anything, recording yourself cleaning could be your next piece of social media content. Lol!
*Hyperlapse is an app similar to the timelapse feature but you have the option to control speed.
2. Get Ready for the Day: Makeup, Hair, Outfit, and Shoes. Yep, Shoes.
If I spend the whole day in a bare face, messy bun, and pajamas, I'm gonna fall asleep without a doubt. I'm already ready for bed; all I have to do is lay down. But I found that getting completely ready for the day made me feel more productive. I felt more organized and put together just by having a face on. I can't sleep with makeup on and sleeping in regular clothes is super uncomfortable so it keeps me off the bed and awake. A fresh face and an outfit might be enough for most people but some of us (...me) need to go the extreme route and wear shoes. I actually started wearing hard bottom slippers mostly because of my plantar fasciitis that acted up really bad on our tile floor but I recently switched to tennis shoes for better support and my motivation/productivity was unbelievable. Like...I'm ready to GO go in shoes. Lol. And indoor tennis shoes are totally a thing. I have a pair of memory foam tennis shoes from Walmart that I paid $9 for.
3. If it's in Your Hand, Put it Away.
When I was younger, I used to clean my room by putting everything on the bed and then putting away each item. Since I can't bring my kitchen clutter into my bed now, I incorporate the same idea by putting things into my hand. If I feel too overwhelmed by the amount of clutter and feel like I don't know where to start, I'll grab the closest thing to me in each hand and tell myself I can't put it down until I put it where it goes. It seems juvenile, but you must be willing to try anything if you're reading this blog post, right? 😂 It works for me!
4. Buy something that requires a clean house.
Rewards are totally encouraged! I can usually motivate myself to clean by buying a new piece of home decor, a candle, or a new cleaning spray or tool. A brand new, freshly lit candle in a clean room is enough to make me pick up my counter clutter so I can enjoy the scent. If a buy a new piece of home decor, I want to see what it looks like when my home is clean. And if I buy a new cleaning spray or tool, I'm just as excited to try it out as if I got a new makeup foundation. Lol. Works every time.
5. Invite someone over.
The absolute best way to get motivated to clean? Pressure. 😂 Host a dinner and invite some friends over. Granted, you might be inclined to shove some stuff in a closet last minute but at least it's not on the counter. The cleanest moments in my home were right before guests walked through my front door. It's foolproof.