Do You Need To Be Motivated to Clean Your Home?

Even though I have systems in place to get my house cleaning done regularly - sometimes I don't feel like doing anything at all.

At times like these I relax my cleaning structure and remind myself of what motivates me clean. Maybe these will work for you as well.

1. Take advantage of special occasions.

   I get highly motivated to clean up when I have company or the landlord coming over. The other occasions are New years and any time I go on vacation.

   This is mainly because of the superstitions engrained in me growing up in the Caribbean.

   Like "don't let the new year catch you with dirty clothes in the house".

   Why?

   A closet of clean clothes on the January 1st means that you will have a prosperous year (at least that's what I'm told).

   Throughout the year there are many special occasions that you can take advantage of to get motivated.

   Valentines day, Spring, back to school, vacations, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas etc. In fact, any special occasion where you invite people to your home is the perfect motivation to get most of your house cleaning done.

2. Take before and after pictures.

   I know this may seem a bit lame, but it works. Think of those weight loss ads on TV. They would be nothing without those before and after pictures motivating the audience to buy.

   Not only that - the pictures will remind you of what is possible. Yes the house may look like a mess now but it has seen better days and you can always get it back to that 'after' state.

3. Know what needs to get done and how long it usually takes.

   I know for myself, before I started timing my tasks - I had an inflated idea of the amount of time it took to clean something.

   For some reason this would cause me to procrastinate making the cleaning task tougher.

   See the problem? The worse the problem got, the longer things would take to get cleaned - not to mention the extra elbow grease that would be required.

   So now I know that I can take 10 minutes to complete a cleaning task now, or half an hour to clean it much later.

   Guess which on I prefer (-:

4. Think small and regular.

   Now I don't know what your specific situation is, but you can try to avoid thinking of house cleaning as a big annoying event.

   Instead, make a list of 2 to 3 minute cleaning tasks and do them regularly or as needed. Like cleaning the toilet bowl or picking up odds and ends before going to bed.

   For me, knowing that I will be done in less than 5 minutes somehow reduces my procrastination.

5. Have a room or space in your home that is constantly clean, decluttered and organized no matter what.

   In the past I've called this a monument room.

   Growing up, almost every house in our neighborhood had one of these rooms.

   They give off the vibe of "no children allowed". This wasn't a problem for us because these rooms were the most boring in the house. No toys, no TV, no nothing.

   This tip works similarly to the before and after pictures. It gives visual motivation to always keep those spaces clean.

   For me it's not an entire room, but I take great pleasure in keeping my surfaces clear. I'm talking about, the tables (dining, sides and coffee). Also, the kitchen counters.

   So, what is that space in your home that gives you pleasure to see clean?. If possible go ahead and turn it into a monument room or space and enjoy it.

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