12 Ways I Get Motivated to Do Housework

July 23, 2012 · by Rachael · in Housekeeping

I’m a strange bird because normally I love housekeeping. Last month, there came a time when I wanted to delete that post and bury my laptop deep into the overflowing trash can. I didn’t care if I ever made my bed again in my life. Or washed a dish. Or dusted a shelf. I spent a lot of time doing the following: deeply sleeping (or strongly desiring to do so), dozing, nodding off, lying on the couch, going to bed early, skipping exercise, watching HGTV, and contemplating quitting my blog…among other things. Housework was the second-to-last thing I wanted to do. (The last: showering, putting on jeans, and going out in public.) The motivation level…it was probably negative 10.

Suddenly, one day, this thought came to me “I should really scrub down this toilet and remove these baby blocks from this kitchen drawer of tupperware.” And that is how I knew the first trimester was over; I am a practicing, organized, clean freak once again. It took two weeks to put my house back to it’s usual state, but I did it fifteen rational minutes at a time. (As Flylady says, “You can do anything for fifteen minutes!”) Thank goodness for my Flylady housekeeping system, for without it I probably would have gone on a cleaning rampage and done something irrational like try to dust the garage. Instead, here I am in my reasonably clean home writing a blog about housekeeping.

Even with the greatest housekeeping system on earth…it’s all rubbish unless I get up and do it. In the overwhelming quest to catch up on laundry, dishes and general tidiness, I found it necessary to tap into my treasure trove of sophisticated motivational tactics. The following is a list of twelve mind games I often employ to help me get motivated to start my housekeeping. I thought you might love to know what ridiculous things I do in the name of motivation.

Motivation Collage

Shower/wash my face/ change into some “real clothes,”even if it’s yoga pants. Well, let’s not pretend, it usually is
Set my timer! I have developed a habit of setting my timer when I’m doing my Monday once-over or my daily tidying routines. I love to see if I can beat my previous records. When my timer goes off and I look around, it just proves that housework does not need to be an all-day ordeal. Or an all-day procrastination-fest.
Start with the easiest task to get some momentum: Mine is usually folding the blanket on the couch, straightening the pillows and picking up the toys in the living room. Instantly gratifying.
Turn on my favorite music! Loud is good.
Take it one tiny zone at a time: “If I can clear off the dining room table, then I’ll clean off that counter top.” And so on. And so forth…
Talk on the phone. I put my earpiece in and call my sister to catch up. Talking on the phone makes chores go so much faster…and suddenly the bathroom has also been cleaned! (Let’s face it, I’m never on the phone with my sister for just 15 minutes)
Promise myself a reward. It’s usually a mocha. Last time it was a cookie. By the time I’ve finished my routine, I usually feel so good I don’t even take myself up on it!
Okay, forget that. On bad days it’s a pre-reward. A reward for my good intentions, shall we say. Anyways, in my experience, a little sugary caffeine never hurt a fast, 15-minute housekeeping spree.
Simmer some spices on the stove. I don’t know what it is, but the aroma of cinnamon, cloves and oranges wafting through the house just motivates me to get everything feeling cozy and tidy.
Listen to a motivating (or just entertaining) audio book, podcast, or TV show while I work. My favorites in include Dr. Laura, Dave Ramsey, Joyce Meyer, and Seth Godin.
Start super small: Example: What can I do in two minutes? This always surprises me!
Use TV commercials. If I’m having a truly terrible and unmotivated, overwhelming day, I do what I call commercial method. You cannot use your DVR for this, as commercials are a necessity. I allow myself to lay around and watch T.V. all day, but when I get up to dig around for the chocolate covered almonds during commercials, I force myself to get up and to do a little 5-minute something.

I usually only show you pretty pictures of my house. But how about this?

Dishes Kitchen Messy House Messy Table Toys 2 Messy Nursery

That’s my house right now. Oh, there’s more, much more. I’m just too vain to show you the smeared banana parts….

Monday’s my cleaning day…oh, yeah, that’s today.

SO, I need to know:

1.) How do you get yourself motivated to tackle your housework?

2.) What is that one chore or hot-spot that will cause your house to deteriorate into madness if you put it off?

3.) Am I the only one who gets that special feeling when I see (ahh) fresh lines vacuumed into the carpet? Anyone? Just me? Oh. Okay.

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Tags: flylady

http://www.lymemeariver.blogspot.com Jen Antoniou

Oh poop. I just experienced the exact reason I comment on FB and not on the actual blog. It totally bumped me and my forming comment… so I am temporarily retiring the iPhone, and have hunted down my laptop. Which I located on Audrey’s bed. With Club Penguin on it. And thankfully, this time it was plugged in to charge. Which means she snuck into my room twice, early this morning, to thieve. haha

Okay, so here goes. And this is just proof of how much I love you. I rarely log into the laptop during the day… the time thief! It sucks it away from me…..

Because I have been overcoming a serious illness, that has caused me difficulty in so many areas, I have had to be very cautious about how I spend my time. There have been times I grabbed the vacuum (I LOVE VACUUM LINES! I get that feeling in my stomach when someone says pudding, babies, puppies, or I bought you a gift certificate for a massage!) and proceeded to vacuum ONE SQUARE FOOT. And it was too much. I feel sick to my belly. So off to bed I went, disappointed and disillusioned. After a cry and a nap, I slowly came to myself and got my head on straight. I realized that baby steps are baby steps, and every little victory should be celebrated. So I celebrated that square. One little section of lines. And I think I celebrated with Ben and Jerry’s maybe. ;P

I might be kidding about the ice cream, but it is hard to say. My recall was still way off. It has improved. Enough where I can answer these questions above. Haha. So here goes:

To get myself motivated, I do a few things. One, I think of my super hard working hubby. The one who often has had to cook, do laundry, housekeeping, side work, and help with the kids… once he is done with his full time job. This is an easy motivation, but I have to be careful. In my desire to bless him, I can put too much on myself. So I try to be careful.

Sometimes the only way I can motivate myself, is to just take one little task, and do it. Then another, and another… sometimes a contest with the kids to get them to do their part (since mine are all preK age and above) can make it easier to get it going. Once I see a space that is done, or well started, I can get excited and enough of a boost for something else.

I light yummy smelling candles, and have been known to do the spices in a pot warming trick. If I am feeling strong, maybe start something easy in the crockpot, so the aroma warms me to my core and helps me keep my focus.

A huge motivation for me, is something that only comes once I put out some effort… and that is a clean floor. Not a whole lot derails me like a dirty floor. It is so unappealing to me, that I find little to no motivation to do it.

Another tool I use, is taking some quiet time on my balcony. Looking at the sky, the trees, the birds flying around, etc, grounds me and calms my spirit and soul. It is very soothing to me. Then I feel more focused.

Another one I cannot overlook, is eating a healthy, but not heavy meal. The bit of energy I get, if used right away, can yield favorable results.

Dishes put off, in this tiny kitchen, causes an avalanche of neglect to fall onto the home. Along with food in my carpet (GROSS! Never happened pre-kids… and pre-hubby, haha), or clutter on the flat surfaces. Clutter on flat surfaces is a huge issue for this family. Bottom line, we need a bit more organization here, because the reason the stuff is up there is because nobody knows where to put it. I will get there, and always appreciate volunteer organization freaks… anyone? Lol

I already responded to the question about vacuum lines, because I got so excited when I read it, that I was motivated to respond, and responding as quickly as I can so I can go make my own vacuum marks. And if you saw my floor (oh the horror, as I exited my bedroom!), you would see I cannot afford to waste the mental boost that will help carry out the little bit of energy I have. So goodbye for now, I have to do a quick floor hotspot clean up, so I can make pretty vacuum marks. Hmmmm… now I feel like I do when they say PSL are back at Starbucks. If you know that abbreviations, then maybe you know that feeling too.

Thanks Rachael, and BTW… GORGEOUS job on the photos. And they are all hers, folks. I recognize them all, and that beautiful home. You are doing an amazing job, and I am proud to call you family. XOXOXO
- http://www.frugalfaye.com Rachael
  
  Pudding…babies…puppies…massages…vacuum lines!
Daniel

Dear Rachael,
While I enjoy your blog, it’s sometimes hard for me to relate to. I often am accused of “over-cleaning” my house. When my mom visits, she says things like, “Why don’t you put down that blasted 409 for a minute!” or “The lack of cobwebs in the corners make me feel like I’m NOT visiting you in college…you ARE still in college, aren’t you son?” Usually, I can’t traintrack my house just once (and for those of you who never had the pleasure of a Connie Seibel chore-list, that’s where you run a wet dust-rag over all the baseboards). In fact, I often put on a lil Duke Ellington “Take The ‘A’ Train” and chug a few laps around the house. And then run ‘em backwards just for kicks. And while I’ve never been pregnant before, I doubt very much THAT would stop me. I imagine, if I were pregnant, I’d probably run the vacuum all day so my baby can feed off the joy (that little love-parasite!).

When things get really going, and I realize that I’m starting to scrub the designs of my linoleum again, I have to do a little decorating. And that’s easy…just put a bird on it! http://www.putabirdonit.com/

-Daniel
- http://www.frugalfaye.com Rachael
  
  Dan
  1.) I was too clever to be fooled by “train tracks.” Micah, on the other hand…well, I hope my kids are as easily fooled
  2.) Mom definitely does not clean your house twice a year when she visits you
  3.) I was really considering putting a bird on this post and now that you’ve said it, I think it’s a confirmation of my intuitions, so that, or I might get someone to draw me a cat for the custom banner I’m getting.
  
  http://iwanttodrawacatforyou.com . (You should at least consider getting a portrait of Lord Chesterfield for Christmas cards.)
http://www.freckledgirldesigns.blogspot.com/ House of Freckles

Are you using Photoshop? What editing program do you use for your pictures, they look great! Also what lens do you have on your DSLR?
- http://www.frugalfaye.com Rachael
  
  Hey Katie!
  LOL no, I tried Photoshop, it was horrible! I got so mad! Now I just edit the pictures right in iPhoto with the “adjust” tool. I usually just crop and adjust the lightness and darkness with the histogram. For effects, I wanted something quick and easy so my husband got me a program for the Mac called “Analog.” I LOVE IT! It’s just a simple little program with filters…a lot like Instagram, but a little better. It was $9.00 I think. You drag the photos from iPhoto into the program.
  
  I mainly use the “nifty fifty” lense (50 mm). It doesn’t zoom, but it gives that depth of field I like! It didn’t come with the camera, but my friend who is a photographer said I needed it.
Lisa

Love simmering spices on the stove! Cinnamon sticks and orange peels do WONDERS for your house! And I am cracking up at the Connie Seibel chore list…hilarious. The great Julie Suderman often dialed up the “Speedy Quick Company” for super fast cleaning services (aka: Kim, Lisa, and Dana answering the bedroom phone while mom was on the kitchen phone). Good times.
- http://www.frugalfaye.com Rachael
  
  LOL! I love it! I wonder what games we’ll play with our kids to get them to clean! I just tried the cinnamon sticks, but I used lemon peels. I’m gong to try the orange!
http://www.ecochicbabyandhome.com Eco chic chrissy

Monday used to be my cleaning day also (when i was a stay home mom)
Now its 15 min before we leave the house and 15 min before bed routine… then on the weekend we all clean as a family. Though one day a month on my day off I try to have a “stay home day” which involves cleaning, organizing and a reward of a dvr show and ice cream!
Linda Alsbury

Just so you know, even your messes look clean. Just saying.
- http://www.frugalfaye.com Rachael
  
  LOL well, thanks! Everyone else’s messes are never as intimidating as my own!
Sarah McLain

Oh Rachael! This post is absolutely wonderful… besides the great tips (Simmering Spices on the stove, I LOVE that! Brilliant!)… I seriously almost started crying looking at your pictures! Your honest shots were refreshing. My home, with dishes piled high and baby things scattered. well…. everywhere, and feeling like I’m a complete failure at being a wife and mother because the toilets haven’t been scrubbed in a month. actually, I’m not gonna lie… we’re going on 2 months now. hanging my head in shame :/ Thank you for being real and for giving me motivation to be better at the same time! Love ya girl!
http://www.frugalfaye.com Rachael

Girl, I’m preparing myself for a hot mess of a house here pretty soon…as soon as I have this baby! It’s going to be a whole new level, LOL!

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