How to Get Motivated to Clean (12 Genius Ways)

As moms, we all know how hard it can be to find the motivation to keep our home clean and organized. Some days it’s a victory just to get dressed, let alone tackle the household chores!

It takes a lot of energy, time, and effort to do the tasks that are necessary to maintain a healthy and comfortable environment for our families, despire the fact that we don’t enjoy the cleaning process itself.

If you find you are having a hard time cleaning your home, I am going to share my best tips on how to get motivated to clean your home, and help you to finally achieve the tidy(ish) home you’ve always wanted.

Here are some tips on how to stay motivated and make cleaning a breeze.

How To Get Motivated To Clean Key Takeaways:

Stop aiming for perfection.
Put pressure on yourself by inviting a friend.
Just start!
Make it fun!
Get help.
Always have your cleaning products on hand.
Reward yourself.
Break larger tasks into smaller tasks .
Make a cleaning checklist
Do a cleaning task every single day.
Make sure to congratulate yourself.
Set a timer.

Blond woman getting stressed over piles of clothes.

12 Ways To Get Motivated To Clean (that actually work!)

#1 Stop Aiming for Perfection

As moms, we put so much pressure on ourselves to keep a clean house, get food on the table, keep up with the laundry, and all the other things we do throughout the day.

Letting go of this unrealistic goal is important when learning how to get motivated to clean! When you have kids (young or old), you are never going to have a spotless home, and you never should.

Remember, having a perfect, spotless home is unrealistic when you have a family

I am going to help you to have less of a messy house, you’re never going to have a clean house, but I will help you to get to where you have a clean(ish) home.

Go easy on yourself mama, you’re doing awesome!

#2 Put pressure on yourself by inviting a friend

If I know I have to have a clean house because I invited someone over. I will go gangbusters cleaning my entire house, knowing I want it to look good.

So maybe that would work for you?

This might be the cleaning motivation you are looking for.

Invite your friends over for coffee, or other family members for a get together. Now the pressure is on, and you have to clean your house before your guests arrive.

The next step is for you to come up with your goal, and pick a time.

Maybe give yourself a week to clean up before anyone comes around.

Don’t put a time frame of a month on it, that’s just too far away, it makes it too easy for you to put cleaning up your mess off for another month. Whatever your reason is, the cleaning motivation will come.

#3 Just begin!

The key is to start cleaning without overthinking it.

Sometimes you just have to get up and start cleaning. As moms, we tend to put things off because we are feeling overwhelmed, and because there is so much mess.

Don’t think about it like that, think about how much cleaner your home will be in 1 hour and use that as your cleaning inspiration.

If you’re waiting until you are motivated to clean – that’s never going to happen.

Believe me, I’ve tried lol.

So take a deep breath and let’s get started towards your goal of a tidy home.

Seriously, start cleaning today!

#4 Make it fun!

I like to put on some upbeat music or listen to a podcast when I am cleaning, it helps me to get motivated to clean.

This makes cleaning fun!

If there’s too much silence in the house, I’m focused on just the cleaning, if there’s music, I’m listening to that, and before I know it, I have just vacuumed the floor for 30 minuts while listening to my favorite podcast.

Music is a great motivator.

Maybe you would prefer to put on a tv show or a podcast, or a movie in the background.

It doesn’t matter what it is, as long as it distracts you and will help you to stay motivated.

If its easier, let the kids watch a movie and take that time to run around and clean on your own in the peace and quiet.

#5 Get help

There is no reason why your husband can’t help you with some cleaning tasks, or you can get the whole family involved, or enlist a family member like your sister to come over and help. Maybe you know a friend who is really good at organization, and they could come over and give you some tips.

When it comes to your husband, and you are trying to get him to help with the cleaning – communication is key. Talk openly about the tasks that need to be done around the house and make sure he knows what is involved in keeping your home clean and tidy.

This may be as simple as one of you dusting while the other one vacuums. Or he folds the clothes in the dryer while you get dinner on the table. Cleaning can feel less overwhelming when you have a partner to share the mess with.

If he’s not sure how to do something, show him or offer him some easy tips that will help him be successful in his efforts.

If he doesn’t like a particular chore, show him the other chores that need to be done, and see if he would prefer to do those – you never know, maybe vacuuming is his thing.

Make it more fun, by setting a timer and seeing who gets done first. Cleaning becomes much easier when you make it a game!

I highly recommend getting an iRobot if you can (Black Friday sales are good for this), I love to put mine in another room to clean while I am tackling another chore – it’s like having another person helping you.

At the end of the day, if you need to bring in professional cleaners to help clear up the mess before you get started – go for it. No mom guilt here – just get the help you need!

Mom and daughter with colorful (pink, green, yellow, blue) feather duster

#6 Always have your cleaning products on hand

There’s nothing worse than finally deciding to clean your house and finding you don’t have the cleaning products you need.

If you don’t have one, I highly recommend that you create a cleaning caddy for yourself.

You should keep whatever cleaning product you use for your house in this caddy. So, when it comes time to clean, you have everything you need in one place.

No more wasting time running back down stairs to get another trash bag, or the windex, or your disinfectant wipes

I also like to use cleaning products and tools that make my life easier.

I love my iRobot Roomba, If I don’t have time to do a big vacuum, I will send Rover (my iRobot) off to do the job for me. I pick everything off the floor and off it goes. I use this in my living space, the bedrooms, and the kitchen.

If you have toddlers running around, or a crawling baby, this wouldn’t work, but you could put it in a room nobody is in.

Spending money on cleaning tools that will help you to get the job done faster is money well spent in my opinion!

#7 Reward yourself

You see how well rewards work with your kids, I think its important mom gets a small reward when she’s finished. This could be a long, hot bath, or watching your favorite tv show, or enjoying a glass of wine on your own.

Whatever it is, it’s important that you have something to look forward to as this will help you find your cleaning motivation, otherwise you will end up feeling unmotivated and give up!

#8 Break larger tasks into smaller tasks

One great way of getting past this feeling of unmotivated paralysis is by breaking down larger tasks into smaller cleaning tasks.

For example, if you look around your house at the mess, you will immediately feel overwhelmed by how much there is to do.

So what’s going to happen now – you will lose motivation to do any cleaning!

But, what if you break down each task into small chunks that seem more manageable.

Make a list of all the things that need doing and divide them up into smaller tasks – for instance, instead of “clean kitchen” as an item on your list, divide it up further into “wipe kitchen counters” and “mop floors” so that each task feels less daunting when taken individually.

Cleaning the bedroom can be broken down into “pick up the clutter,” “clean out the closet,” and “wash the windows.”

That way, when you start tackling the items on your cleaning checklist one by one, they won’t seem quite so overwhelming anymore!

When you are trying to find the motivation to clean, and you already feel like avoiding chores, the worst thing you can do is take on a big mess like an entire room.

Instead, focus on smaller tasks that will only take a few minutes. A small task like packing the dirty dishes in the dishwasher, or filling the washing machine up with dirty clothes.

Start small, and you will have a clutter-free home in no time.

Emptying the trash in the bathroom is a quick win.

#9 Make a cleaning checklist

One way to stay on top of your daily duties is by creating a to do list. A well-crafted list of what cleaning tasks helps prioritize what needs to be done to help you keep a clean home.

Incorporate these cleaning chores into your daily or weekly cleaning routine

But again, you want to break down bigger tasks into smaller tasks.

Don’t write clean living space, clean bedroom or that will demotivate you before you even get started!

Your cleaning checklist should look like this:

Wipe down the kitchen table and kitchen counters.
Sweep the floors clean.
Pick toys up off the living room floor
Wipe the bathroom counters.
Empty the dishwasher.

Set a time for 15/30 minutes and get your floor clean or remove the dust bunnies from the hallway. Doing just one task a day can help to clean your house clean.

#10 Do a cleaning task every single day

If you take the time to tackle a cleaning job every single day, you will easily be able to have a clean(ish) house!

Remember as a mom, your home is always going to be a little bit of a mess, that’s just normal in the life of a mom.

If cleaning is something that is really hard for you, do..something..every..single…day.

Try a cleaning routine like this, Mondays could be bathroom cleaning day, Tuesdays could be laundry day. Wednesdays you attack the dusting and vacuuming, Thursdays could be kitchen cleaning day, Fridays might be a decluttering day where you take the time to get rid of stuff etc.

Cleaning every single day will help you to get your house cleaned in no time!

#11 Make sure to congratulate yourself

We get so focused on the big tasks that we forget the smaller tasks. Take a look around at what you did today. Maybe you only managed to get one task done, but that’s still one task you completed.

As a mom, we seem to have some many unfinished tasks in our life, so when you complete one task, take a moment to congratulate yourself!

Patting yourself on the back is the cleaning motivation you need to get up and clean again tomorrow!

When I had two kids under the age of three, I would congratulate myself for getting dressed, because it was a big deal!

Cleaning your home when you have kids is hard, so it’s important that you pat yourself on the back when you get motivated to clean!

So as you start to put together a cleaning routine that works for you, tell yourself how amazing you are for getting it done!

#12 Set a timer

This is one of my favorite cleaning motivation tips.

Set a timer for a fixed amount of time and challenge yourself to clean as much as possible within that time frame. You might be surprised at how much you can accomplish!

Set a timer for however much time you have – it can be 5/10/15/30 minutes and get done what you get done.

This might be where you spend 10 minutes going through your junk drawer, now maybe you don’t finish the entire drawer, but it’s cleaner than it was yesterday!

You may think that you won’t get much done in 5 minutes but I disagree, every little bit helps. Five minutes can help you to get rid of stuff off your kitchen counter, or get all the dishes into the dishwashe.

So if you could only fit 5 minutes in your day to clean something, use those 5 mnutes wisely.

My Bonus Tip

If you have been following my blog for a while, you know that I will always recommend that you start small with simple tasks. However, if there is one task that is a giant pain, and you know you will feel better when its done.

So let’s get it done, accomplishing this task may give you the cleaning motivation you need to tackle the rest of your house!

This might be tacking an overwhelming mess like the toy room that needs to be tidied, or the outdoor porch that is covered in spider webs. If you feel that these chores will help you to feel less overwhelmed, then schedule a time in your cleaning routine where you can fit them in.

Remember, it’s okay if these cleaning tasks take longer than a couple of days to complete.

How to Find the Cleaning Motivation to Get Started

I know it can feel overwhelming when you look around your house and there seems to be a mess everywhere. Most of us have messy homes, that’s just life!

You’re never going to get every toy off the floor, because you have kids and that’s okay.

So your idea of the perfect home isn’t going to happen, but you can have a nice, clean home that doesn’t stress you out. A home where you walk in the door and it feels like home.

I hope all my above tips will show you how to get motivated to clean your home.

Find whatever cleaning motivation works for you and I promise you, cleaning your messy house will become much easier and something you dread less and less.

Remember, start small, do a little something every day to get your space clean and make it fun, put on some good music and have sone fun, and always make sure to enjoy your reward – whatever that is, you deserve it!

Finding motivation for cleaning can be tough, but with a little bit of effort and patience, it is possible!

Why Do I Have Zero Motivation To Clean?

Have you ever stared at your home, cluttered and in disarray, and thought to yourself “I have zero motivation to clean”? If so, you’re certainly not alone.

Most moms don’t enjoy cleaning.

Why would we, it’s just not that fun a job!

It’s important though to understand where this sense of lack of motivation comes from. Is it because you feel disconnected from your home and don’t want to invest energy into it?

Or is it because at the end of a long day, you simply don’t feel like cleaning, all you want to do is collapse on the couch!

There can be many reasons for a lack of cleaning motivation.

You’re tired and you just don’t feel like cleaning your house. Maybe you were up all night with a sick child, or you’re not feelng great yourself.
You despise cleaning and would rather do anything than clean. It’s hard to create a cleaning routine when you absolutely hate anything to do with cleaning.
You have so many things to do in a day. The thought of a cleaning project sends you over the top, because you have so many other things going on.
You don’t have a cleaning routine that works for you. A lot of times, you find yourself overwhelmed and lacking any kind of cleaning motivation because you don’t have a routine in place.
Is the task too daunting for you to handle? Is your house an overwhelming mess and you are completely overwhelmed?
You don’t have the proper cleaning tools. If you don’t have the right cleaning products or tools to clean your house, cleaning will be twice as hard to do.

If you can identify why you are having a hard time motivating yourself to clean, then it will make it much easier for you to come up with a plan to tackle the issue head-on.

I hope I have provided the best tips to show you how to get motivated to clean your house, once you do this things, you will easily feel inspired and find your cleaning motivation.