I can think of many benefits if I can psych myself or use self-hypnosis or something into thinking that cleaning is really fun. Any ideas?
Let's see, more exercise, esp. if I got vigorous with the cleaning, a cleaner house, no more guilt feelings, feelings of accomplishment. You know the rest.
I know some people really do think cleaning is fun and love to do it. I'd love to join them but don't know how to go about it. How do I change my head?
I don't find cleaning fun but I find organizing and going through clutter to be fun! My friends even ask me to help THEM declutter!
What I like to do is put on new music and blast it while I clean the house. Usually if it's an album I LOVE it motivates me to clean the entire apartment all in one shot. I also reward my self in a really lame way: If I clean the apartment, THEN I'm allowed to spend time organizing and decluttering.
If you don't like to organize/declutter then my suggestion is this: Have an image of what you want your home to look like in the back of your mind. Tell yourself that it can look like that if you take the time to declutter - and do one small section a day. But like I mentioned, if I play music it really makes the whole task a lot more enjoyable! And if it is upbeat music I tend to work quicker :o)
Try playing really upbeat music you love, especially if you love to sing along! It puts a skip in your step and makes time fly.
I've also found that using aesthetically pleasing products helps, too (and that you have all the tools/products you need to get the job done right). Decant your favorite products into pretty (but still well labeled) bottles, get pretty scrub brushes, a nice looking broom (instead of a plastic one that you got because it was cheap), etc.
An idea I haven't implemented yet but I think would also help is to get an apron or rubber gloves that you just love, and use those when cleaning. I like the really frilly '40s/'50s kind of aprons that I'd feel silly cooking in. But when I'm cleaning no one's there to see me, so I can enjoy it! Same for rubber gloves. Really bright purple? Bring it on!
It can also be made more fun if you turn it into a game. Try to finish something before the end of a song, or your whole routine before the CD ends. Reward yourself if you succeed!
For me, the fun in housekeeping is that there's an immediate payoff. You sweep and bingo: clean floor.
I have (like many of us here!) a lengthy and ever-evolving to-do list and this past weekend, I just blew off half of it to get out on my patio and clean up. My poor despondent jasmine and a patiently-waiting palm got re-potted, things got rearranged, I swept, I watered & fed & trimmed, and it looks So Much Better!
And to me, having one area really "done" makes it easier to tackle other projects. Maybe it creates momentum, or something.
I like things clean but I don't like the deep cleaning sessions that some people really enjoy. I find that after I've decluttered an area, I've cleaned it til it's spotless. That makes me want to KEEP it spotless or at least fairly clean. For me -just a little bit of attention/cleaning often is so much easier than alot of attention/cleaning once a week.
Thanks. Some good ideas here. I like the idea of pretty cleaning things and the music. Knowing me, I have to break everything down into small chunks so should do the same here, maybe either time chunks or a small defined task.
I love organizing and decluttering,too. Cleaning is one of those things I force myself to do because I love the end result. I like my house clean. I like being in a clean house and like coming home to a clean house even more.
Days like today really enforce that. I had a long day of appointments and errands, none of it fun stuff. My foot started to hurt,I have tendinitis, and I was tired and I couldn't wait to get home. It was a relief, and even rejuvenating to come home and not have the pressure of a messy house. I was able to put my foot on ice and truely relax.
I have a checklist of cleaning chores that I do every day. Before I go to bed, I make sure that all the dishes are washed and everything is put away. When I get up, I put away the clean and dry dishes, clean the catboxes, wipe down the bathroom, sweep the house, and water and/or weed in the garden.
I'm not so good on dusting, mopping, and cleaning the kitchen and bathroom. I should do that every week and I'll put it off. But the daily chores keep the house presentable (if you don't wipe your finger over a dusty bookshelf, that is).
The extent of the daily chores may seem like overkill, but wiping down the bathroom with a paper towel moistened with homemade cleaner only takes a few minutes, and the bathroom is always clean and presentable. Sweeping the condo (only 700 square feet) doesn't all that long. I have cats who spread hair, food, litter, and scraps of cardboard from their scratching pads hither and yon, so the daily sweep is necessary.
My daily email/news/blog and tea habit co-exists with the cleaning. I'll do one chore, read another blog, do another chore, start some tea, sweep while the tea is steeping, etc. It seems more tolerable that way.
I can do that because I work at home, writing and editing. It's my daily procrastination before I get to work.
Such a great question!
I have had that problem, not so much anymore though. The trick was to establish a specific time for the major cleaning and involve others. Try setting a specific day during the week to clean, and stick to it. Also, limit the time you spend on cleaning. Say, you make a deal with yourself to only spend half an hour scrubbing the bathroom. Then give yourself a break, do something else and vacuum. It help turn cleaning from being a "battle with yourself" into just time spent making your own life more comfortable.
Don't be upset if cleaning isn't fun for you. Try turning it into an accomplishment you are proud of.
Good luck!
Another thing... don't clean to perfection. If you are cleaning on a regular basis, and get on a schedule, eventually you'll catch everything.
Great replies. Thanks for them all. A regular schedule might be the answer. Used to do this at one time then got away from it.
i live in a really small house (it's a converted farm machinery shed, really) and we don't have a lot of stuff in here anymore.....thanks to several months of determined decluttering.
i have rewarded myself with two cleaners, who come once a week and SCOUR the place from top to bottom.
windows, spiderwebs, floors, cleaning out cupboards....they tackle everything they find, with their homemade cleaning fluid and a lot of energy.
i have worked as a cleaner in between other jobs over the years and really....i dislike it immensely.
i turn on the music, i focus on the positives....but it is work i will never ever enjoy.
on the other hand, i LOVE working on my business.
so, i work harder on my business because i am not tied up cleaning, and i have the money to pay these girls who are self-employed and enjoying themselves.
and the same goes for the garden.
i adore having 5 acres of garden.
but i hate gardening.
so i pay a professional who loves gardens, to do the gardening, and i stick to working at what i love.
i know this mightn't be a workable solution for everyone, but it works for me.
my mother is secretly appalled that i pay people to garden and clean.....but on the other hand, i don't have staff in my business.
you only get so many hours in a day and if you can organise it so that you spend those hours doing what you enjoy....then life is pretty good.
wow Bandicoot, you sound a lot like me. Five acres, small house, work from home.
I did try some cleaners, but I found it frustrating as they'd sort of gloss over the surfaces - and even though they moved things to dust them, that's not really the sort of thing I needed. I want someone who'll really deep-clean every nook and cranny of one room. I can easily run a vacuum over! Plus actually getting ready for the cleaners was frustrating - things on every surface, my kids rooms a disaster. Making sure they didn't let the dog out.
I can't really justify the expense right now.
Oh man I'm so over cleaning. I actually stayed at the coffee shop for two hours thismorning, reading, because I just couldn't face coming home to the housework. I'm so fed up with it.
Maybe I could try leaving the tumble-dryer on while I'm out, with a bit of luck the house might burn down.
klutzgrrl....it has taken me a long time to find the right cleaners.
these two are sort of insane about cleaning....it's fantastic.
i just give them free rein and they CLEAN.
this is where my decluttering to date (there is still work to do; some stubborn items and small areas like the odd drawer) has REALLY paid off.
because there isn't junk everywhere, they are able to clean fast and thoroughly.
they don't have to move piles of stuff to clean the corners.
everything is accessible now.
i feel incredibly liberated by it all.
I try to find a great book (you can download most of the classics for free on Stanza) and listen to this while cleaning...I find it very meditative and the time passes very quickly as you get into the story. Also, I break up my cleaning into segments...for instance: Monday is dusting (all rooms,) Tuesday is sweeping (all rooms,) Wednesday is cleaning the bathroom, etc. That way I only have to get out the minimal cleaning supplies per day and don't feel so overwhelmed.
bandicoot....I'm jealous.
I like to get all my cleaning done in one day (early in the week)so I don't have to deal with it again until the next week. I only clean the shower once every two weeks because I hate that job the most of all. After 23 years of married life I still have to psysch myself into the task every week. The thing that helps me is that I hate the mess more than I hate the cleaning and when I'm done I love to walk around admiring my handwork when everything is clean and fresh. This week I have convinced myself to leave the cleaning until Thursday because my sister is arriving to stay for a week that afternoon so now I have a reprieve for a couple of days. Naughty me, ha ha.
I don't like cleaning much. I tend to put off jobs I don't like such as cleaning the shower, mopping floors and cleaning windows. Luckily my partner doesn't mind cleaning the shower so he looks after that, and he recently cleaned all our windows so they won't need doing for awhile. As for mopping floors I can't get away with not doing that now that we have a baby in the house. I don't have a schedule but it sounds like that would help make cleaning easier and therefore more enjoyable:-)
Great tips, everyone... You're right, if you don't think something is fun, there is nothing on earth that could actually make it fun. So yes, the only solution is to make it easier. Like a few people mentioned already, if your house is uncluttered, various cleaning tasks take less time. Also, if you do them more often, they will take less time and they'll be easier (5 minutes a week cleaning the toilet vs. 20 minutes of scrubbing the toilet every three weeks).
It also helps a lot if you get accessories that you like to use (like Mrs.Mack said, "aesthetically pleasing"). Like I mentioned somewhere else in this forum already, I have a pelican in my entrance area that catches my scarves and other misc stuff: https://www.ikea.com/PIAimages/63459_PE171072_S2.jpg And to make myself do the dishes more, I have the dish bunny: http://www.dutchbydesign.com/products-Dish-Bunny-Washing-Up-Rack_OR6019.htm It's childish, but it helps! And a friend of mine wrote on all her clothes hangers "You look very good in this" and says, now she likes hanging up her clothes.
Do any of you have items like these that make tasks more enjoyable? I'm curious now.
I withhold rewards to make myself clean. I'll never find it fun--it just isn't going to happen--so I pick up a magazine (etc.) that I don't let myself touch until the chore is finished. Usually I get back issues from the library, so it isn't a budget buster.
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