How do you motivate yourself to do housework?

[beautifullybree]

Okay, I hear you there! I'm kind of in the same situation, because my husband works and I am usually home. He won't usually say anything, but I know it bothers him if he comes home and the house is a mess. I hope we both find ways to motivate ourselves!

I hope for the same! Unfortunately, mine will say something. Hehe. Wish I could convince him to bite his tongue. It does motivate me in a way though. It feels nice to please those you love.

 

[fuzyon]

I don't really motivate myself to do housework, they're chores that are not enjoyable to do but necessary. I just drag myself along even if my brain doesn't want to do anything, when you finally start you'll notice that you built up enough momentum to not stop for a while, just get yourself in a position to do work and you'll do it. This tip is useful for other stuff as well, once you start you can get a lot of things done. Also, listen to some music if you're really not feeling up to it.

 

[listener1987]

Okay, I hear you there! I'm kind of in the same situation, because my husband works and I am usually home. He won't usually say anything, but I know it bothers him if he comes home and the house is a mess. I hope we both find ways to motivate ourselves!

I hope for the same! Unfortunately, mine will say something. Hehe. Wish I could convince him to bite his tongue. It does motivate me in a way though. It feels nice to please those you love.

It does feel nice =( Hope you feel motivated more than guilty!

 

[Zzyli]

When I've been at my most depressed, very little got done above the simple needs of 'if I don't wash the dishes there are no clean things to put food on' or 'if I don't do a load of laundry, hang it out, and bring it in, I have no clean clothes'. One of the things which I've had to learn is to not be too hard on myself, because I spent so much time beating myself up about not doing housework, I didn't feel like doing housework at all. Something which I can find very motivating is having someone come over with the plan to clean. In my ideal world, I would have someone who lived close by and we'd do my housework one day and theirs another day. My mum has helped out with this a bit, but she's busy with lots of other things, plus she tends to have a bit too much go for me and will hang around cleaning when I just need to take a break. (I actually think cleaning is my mum's way of spending quality time together.) One of my sisters had also been good in the past but she's moved out of town. Ideally I'd find someone where we could just dust, vacuum, and clean bathrooms together.


As far as other things go, I find that I'd rather actually get the housework done in large blocks, because if I stop partway through to do something else, I tend to get distracted and really engrossed in the other thing. This is probably different from most people, but setting aside time to get things done, along with being kind to myself if I don't get them done have been the most helpful. I'm lucky that my husband is very easy-going and not super worried about cleaning so I don't have any extra pressure from him. He's appreciative when I do take care of things, but the only critic in this house if I don't is me.

 

[Prisaneify]

This is totally me. Especially when it comes to doing dishes. I literally have to bribe myself to get things done around the house. Cooking is like pulling teeth. I hate all of the responsibilities that I have to do. I actually kind of resent my ex for leaving me in those times when I have no help. Sometimes I just want to throw it all out and live in total minimalism.


I know you mentioned lists, and thankfully, that does work for me for the most part. I really enjoy checking off the chore I just did. I normally also act as a whirlwind and try to do each task all at the same time. Does Music help you? I can't clean unless I'm listening to something super upbeat.

 

[Petesede]

I read the bits and pieces suggestion, but I am completely different. What I usually do is just put on a pot of coffee and say, ok, lets just bang this out for 2 hours ( I live alone, so not much). It is a weekly ritual and I just have a list of things I need to get done, and I do as many as I can from the top of the list until the 2 hours is over. Once I commit to the 2 hours, then it is just a race to see how much I can finish before time runs out.


I have always found kinda an oxymoron in that if you are waiting for something, time drags, but if you instead reverse it to where ´omg, time is running out!!´.. then time will actually go faster, and you make it kinda a game.


I clean two hours a week, what doesn´t get done stays on the list for the next week and gets put at the top of the list.. Blasting music and having coffee right there helps.


The other little thing I do is commercials, if I am watching a TV show, I have like 5 or so mini-jobs that I need to do that take a minute. Stuff like taking out the garbage, or cleaning the coffee maker. I then rush to try to do them during commercials. I also watch a lot of football, so do the same thing with halftime. Halftime gives you 15 mins or so to knock out some smaller household chores, and again if you are rushing to get it done before the game starts again, it makes time go faster.

 

[Panic57]

I tend to only do dishes as I need them. Otherwise, I clean once a week. I used to do the whole apartment on Sunday after church since church killed half the day. But I've started doing it on Friday after work because I like having a clean house and I stopped going to church. Anyways, I find that if I make a day where I clean everything thoroughly once, I don't feel bad about abandoning my apartment to the mess is makes the rest of the week while I work. I just can't devote an hour day to clean with my schedule. I will clean if I have a family member or friend over but usually I'll get them to meet me.

 

[cluckeyo]

I start by lying back and thinking about what I need to do. I zero in on one task. In my mind I break it down, thinking about one step at a time. Of these steps, I decide which needs to come first, second, third, etc. This is basically my way of getting my task organized. Then I look at the clock and I choose a time to start. Usually within 15 minutes or so. When the clock says it is time to start, I get up and begin. I tell myself I only have to do that first step if I need to take breaks. Then I take as many short breaks as I need to get the task completed. The little successes that come from finishing each step, propel me onward. I rarely if ever fail to finish.

 

[listener1987]

I read the bits and pieces suggestion, but I am completely different. What I usually do is just put on a pot of coffee and say, ok, lets just bang this out for 2 hours ( I live alone, so not much). It is a weekly ritual and I just have a list of things I need to get done, and I do as many as I can from the top of the list until the 2 hours is over. Once I commit to the 2 hours, then it is just a race to see how much I can finish before time runs out.
I have always found kinda an oxymoron in that if you are waiting for something, time drags, but if you instead reverse it to where ´omg, time is running out!!´.. then time will actually go faster, and you make it kinda a game.


I clean two hours a week, what doesn´t get done stays on the list for the next week and gets put at the top of the list.. Blasting music and having coffee right there helps.


The other little thing I do is commercials, if I am watching a TV show, I have like 5 or so mini-jobs that I need to do that take a minute. Stuff like taking out the garbage, or cleaning the coffee maker. I then rush to try to do them during commercials. I also watch a lot of football, so do the same thing with halftime. Halftime gives you 15 mins or so to knock out some smaller household chores, and again if you are rushing to get it done before the game starts again, it makes time go faster.

Because of your post, I will be making a "quick things to do during commercial breaks and halftime" list during tomorrow's Seahawks vs. Rams game. =D Thanks for the idea!

 

[explorerX7]

Sometimes I find it a bit difficult to get into the act of doing the housework. I find that the best way to get myself going at it is to begin to tackle the job as soon as I am up because that's the time I am most inclined to have the energy and motivation to perform. If I delay until later I may find that I become disinterested and find it difficult to start the process.

 

[T.Mil]

I know exactly how you feel, there are so many times when I don't feel like doing housework.  I don't like living in a mess and when the house is clean I feel more calm. One of my favorite things to to motivate me to clean is I turn on some of my favorite music that helps to put me in a good mood and I clean and dance. I find that's what works for me.

 

[HappyKoi]

What I do is I focus on parts of the task.  I'll be like, "Okay, I'll pick up this corner of the room", or "I'll do five dishes," or "I'll clean the sink", and I tell myself that if I do that, and I don't want to do any more, that's fine.  Usually, though, I'll get through the first bit, and then decide that I want to do another little bit.  Then that builds, and I decide that if I've done that part, I might as well clean the whole room.  Sometimes I do end up doing just the little bit and stop, and that's okay, too.  I feel that a least I did something and made a little progress, and I can try again tomorrow.

 

[DDNatureLover]

Honestly, I'm often glad I live alone, so I don't have to stress about the house always being clean. I used to be very vigilant about keeping it clean, but now that I have health issues, it's sometimes difficult to do the housework. Sometimes I will be in a flare for weeks at a time, and I will let things go. I always do at least one load of laundry per week, and I cook and do dishes daily, but there are things I do let slide, such as vacuuming, mopping, and cleaning the tubs. Those activities, along with yard work, tend to have the most negative impact on my health, because they exacerbate my pain, and once my back, neck, hands and arms are inflamed, my movements are limited. I tend to put those tasks off until I'm feeling my best, and then knock them out. I used to feel guilty when the house wasn't in perfect shape, but these days, I've learned to value my good days more than an immaculate home. That being said, I still take pride and a sense of accomplishment in a clean house, and when things have piled up and it needs to be cleaned again, I use those to motivate myself to tackle the chores again. 

 

[sidney]

I wish I could even do housework when I'm anxious. I have been made anxious recently by some unexpected events, and at that time I have been meaning to wash my clothes, but alas, I wasn't able to do so because I was too bothered and anxious to concentrate on doing anything. So what I do is to just sleep off my anxiety so that I would be able to wake up with a "refreshed" mind and hopefully I am "relaxed" enough to do my household chores, since distracting myself with music doesn't work at all.

 

[Choochoo]

I don't feel I do anything specific to motivate myself to clean the house. Usually I just end up doing it out of necessity or I just naturally fall into the mood to do it. I'm not really someone who minds a bit of a mess but I do feel trapped when the mess gets out of hand and that's when I usually get the motivation and inspiration to fix up and I have to say it does feel great afterwards and the first few days or weeks of a clean and organized environment is a lot more comfortable. 

 

[DDNatureLover]

One thing I tend to do is put off housework because the place is presentable, although not spotless. Sometimes I will do things to motivate myself to clean, such as piling up a few things I plan to donate in a noticeable corner, or even on a piece of furniture. Donating makes me feel good, so seeing the small pile gives me the incentive to go through my other things to find other pieces I want to get rid of, and that can help to motivate me to clean.

 

[kgord]

I don't like housecleaning, and it frequently doesn't get done. I do like the results though when I make myself do it. I was cleaning the bathroom the other day, and I was surprised how nice it looked when I was done. It is really critical for me to do it now, because I want to put my house on the market as soon as I am able, and I need it looking spiffy. Part of the reason I haven't called  realtor is frankly because the house does not look the way it should in order to get big bucks. I realize it doesn't have to be perfect, but I am not happy with it.