Make Cleaning Less of a Chore With These Easy Tricks

Unless you are an OCD type of person who enjoys alphabetizing their bookshelves or takes pleasure in doing the dishes or the laundry, a to-do list of chores is the opposite of a good time.

We're not going to sit here and try to convince you that cleaning is fun. Instead, to make your cleaning chores less of a “burden”, we have rounded up 6 motivating tips that will pretty much trick your mind into cleaning your home.

Even if you don’t feel up to tackling the chores you need to handle, these simple “lifehacks” will allow you to bypass the part of your brain that wants to procrastinate and save you plenty of time.

1. Equip yourself

Ensure that you have your cleaning kit ready when it’s time to clean up. You’ll likely to postpone on your chores if you start to clean and only then realise that you’re out of dishwashing liquid or garbage bags.

So before you start, remember to stock up on supplies. Here’s our recommended list of necessities to equip in your cleaning kit:

• All-purpose cleansers (to use for floors and wiping down surfaces)
• Dishwashing liquid
• Glass cleansers (many all-purpose cleansers are not suitable for glass)
• Toilet bowl cleansers
• Garbage bags
• Sponges, rags and scour pads
• Broom and mop (and vacuum cleaners, especially if you have shedding pets and large carpets)
• Lint roller (for quickly getting dust and pet fur off of lampshades and upholstery, etc.)

2. Just get started

A wise, possibly semi-fictional woman named Mary Poppins once said, “Well begun is half done.” In other words, just getting started figuratively equals half your work completed.

Moreover, simply beginning alleviates most of the anxiety and apprehension related to cleaning (and this applies to almost every task). So don’t sit there thinking, ruminating, and anticipating the clean-up. Instead, make the first move; wash that one dish and you’ll see how ‘just getting started’ is a powerful motivating mantra!

3. Make it fun

We hate to go all Mary Poppins on you again, but ‘A Spoonful of Sugar’ has practical advice for getting through chores that you absolutely hate.

Just add an element of fun to clean-up time and you might shift your perspective on the drudgery you’ve come to associate cleaning with. Put on your favourite music as you mop and sweep, chat with a friend over the phone while you do the dishes, or even make it a game (no, you’re never too old for games).

4. Clean up #rightaway

Don’t let mess accumulate and pile up. Wash dishes right away, place dirty clothing in the laundry bin right away, and wipe up spills – yes, you’ve guessed it, right away! Make this a habit, and chores will not compound to a level that is overwhelming.

Plus, your home will look at least half-way presentable or livable.

5. Don’t do it alone

If you live with family, friends, or your partner; get them to join in. This way, you can keep each other motivated; share the responsibilities and halve the workload to get it done quicker.

Moreover, cleaning is a productive way to bond and spend time together.

6. Clean in short spurts

Merely thinking about the time it’ll take to tidy up your space might keep you away from even getting started, so start small by dedicating 10 minutes daily, for example, to clean up your house. This will at least get you started (see tip number three) and you’ll be able to cross something off your list.

And who knows, you’ll probably end up cleaning for longer than 10 minutes and more likely to finish more tasks at hand.

Happy Cleaning!

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