I love a clean house!
Don’t get me wrong: with 5 young kids, my house is messy far more than it is clean. Can you relate? There have been many times when I have thought, Why bother? It is often hard to stay motivated when I know that I am putting a lot of work into something that won’t last. Here are three key things I try to do to keep myself motivated to clean. I hope they’ll help you, too, on those days when you feel completely unmotivated to clean (because, let’s face it, we all do at some time…).
1-I know that even if it is only for a brief moment, I feel better about myself when I know that something was clean. About two years ago, I discovered Fly Lady. If you are ever feeling down or unmotivated or unsure of where to start, she’s the woman for the job. She is so encouraging and helps keep it all in perspective. I first heard her at a Mom Conference two years ago and her philosophies were so simple: start by cleaning your sink every day and let go of perfection. I love it! I started with my kitchen sink and instead of thinking, “Oh, man! I have to do the dishes AGAIN!” I realized (thanks to Fly Lady) that I can unload my dishwasher every morning in under 10 minutes. Why procrastinate something so easy? I started emptying it every morning and then throughout the day as dishes show up on my counters and in my sink (it’s a fact of life…), I simply put them into the dishwasher. At the end of the night, I put the last of the dinner dishes into the dishwasher and run it. The next morning I repeat. My sink stays clean and that cleanliness has become contagious! With this simple habit in place, that cleaning decision requires little motivation anymore. I don’t even have to think about it–I just do it.
2-Use a cleaner/tool that makes you happy. Whether it’s cute dishwashing gloves, the awesome scent of a cleaner, or the color of the rag, using something that makes you smile just makes the job better, don’t you think? In my case, it is this wonderful Caldrea all-purpose cleaner (They sell it at Amazon, but it’s more expensive. I typically buy mine from Grove Collaborative—they are an awesome company with a purpose. Use my link if you want to try them out for yourself and get $10 off your first order). It smells Ah-Mazing! It is so motivating for me to clear off my counters so that I can spray that fantastic-smelling cleaner all over them. I also use it to clean my floors and let me tell you it just brings a little joy to a mundane task. It is also environmentally friendly and I don’t worry about my kids touching it when they help me clean the floors (more about that below…). Cleaning floors is so hard to be motivated to do when you have toddlers who throw food onto the floor ALL DAY LONG. I am pretty sure my baby girl seeks out food to throw on the floor even when it isn’t mealtime. SO FRUSTRATING!!
3-Get your kids involved and DON’T BE A MARTYR! I, personally, try to keep up daily tasks with CleanMama, but I am not perfect. I want my kids to learn how to clean, so I try to make sure we incorporate that into a big part of our Saturday morning. I made a simple (and I do mean simple) checklist on a piece of cardboard and I stand it up on our kitchen island. I let the boy whose day it is pick the first cleaning job and then we go around a few times until every job has been assigned. Then I go around and spray down bathrooms or hand out rags with appropriate cleaners on them to each child and put them to work. I constantly remind myself that we are not going for perfection here. I will do a thorough clean during the week, hopefully, so this clean (at least in my mind—I don’t say this to my kids, of course) is just to make things better than they were. While the kids are working, I am typically busy cleaning off counters and cleaning the stove and microwave. At the end, we all get together and set a timer and race the clock as we clean the kitchen floor. Our current best is 6:15 (as in six minutes and fifteen seconds) to clean all of the downstairs tile floor together. I used to have the boys race to see who could finish their chosen jobs first, but now that they innately try to hurry, I encourage them with some sort of carrot at the end (once we had a dance party afterwards, sometimes they get a little Dollar Store toy, or maybe we go to the neighborhood pool or library or somewhere else that they’ve wanted to go). Once our house is clean, I try to consistently point out how good it feels to have a clean house. I want them to notice and seek that same feeling. I also want them to understand that they must contribute—it’s not Mom’s job to clean everything up and make our house all clean.
I hope those help. If you are feeling stuck, I am only an email away! I’ll cheer you on! Or, better yet, leave a comment below and let all of my awesome readers chime in their encouragement!
You don’t have to do it all and you sure don’t have to do it perfectly.
You’ve got this!
Already have some great systems in place? Share your secrets in the comments below.
I love these encouraging reminders! At the moment, I need help with *not* being a martyr when I’m cleaning. I understand that we’re all better off when I’m not thinking that way, but I guess I need reminders on how to shift my thinking to a more grateful attitude.
Also, I keep wanting to get rid of clutter and extra things we don’t use, but I’m feeling that family members will feel betrayed if I get rid of lots of those things. How do you get your family on board with letting go?
You are NOT alone, Kareen! You are NOT a martyr! You aren’t cleaning because everyone else dumped it on you, but because you love your family and you know you all feel better when things are cleaner, right? I think we all fall into that rut where we grumble and think, “Why can’t ________ pick up __________ after him/herself? Why do I have to be the one?” FlyLady talks a lot about this idea that when we change our mindset from that idea where we are the victims to instead choose to be heroes, we change our own narrative. We are making our homes better places for the ones we love. The good news is that this attitude can become contagious and in a short time you may notice __________ actually DID pick up _________!
As far as getting rid of clutter, I try to help my kids let go of things by helping them see that we have been so blessed and we need to sharing some of those blessings with other kids who don’t have enough. It’s amazing what they are willing to “give” that they would never voluntarily throw out. We typically take our donations to Katy Christian Ministries, though I am not totally sure how they fared during the flood. This is an excellent time to give to many who lost their entire homes. Good luck Kareen! You are awesome! Don’t give up!
Anybody else with great ideas or suggestions for Kareen?
I’ve been thinking I would like to get my kids involved more while they are young and they think its fun to help mommy unload the dishwasher or fold clothes but sometimes its just easier to do it myself!
I do let my 4 yr old and 2 yr old help when they are wanting to but I guess my problem is setting it as their chore. Must be time for one of the these cleaning checklists! Thanks for yet another great idea!
Sometimes it’s just easier to do it myself! I’m one who gets more frustrated watching people do things I could totally do more efficiently, and dare I say better!
I do let my 4 yr old and 2 yr old help as they want to but I have yet to hand out chores. My 4 yr old is quickly approaching his 5th birthday so it’s definitely time for some assigned responsibility because making your shoes go into the appropriate location just isn’t asking that much! Well I don’t think so at least, just don’t ask my husband how often he completes this task on his own…! 😂
Thanks for the chore checklist! Might have to try this out…Tonight! Hahaha