My Favorite Way to Motivate Myself to Clean a Bit Every Day

I need a lot of motivation to clean; I certainly don’t finish up a day of work and think to myself, “It would be relaxing to vacuum and do laundry right now.” Sometimes, I can whip myself into the spirit by following techniques or using a reward system, like watching a favorite show while I do it. Other times, full motivation eludes me—but even then, there’s one thing I do to keep some alive.

My trick for maintaining the motivation to clean

I’m of the opinion that cleaning is something that should be done in bursts, so it doesn’t get overwhelming. However you choose to schedule that is up to you, but I’ve found that even if I don’t want to clean up a whole mess, like tackle the living room or kitchen, I still benefit from choosing just one thing to clean every night.

For me, it’s my dining room table. By cleaning it every night, it doesn’t have the chance to get cluttered—although it certainly tries, by accumulating mail, whatever I’m holding when I enter my apartment, and all manner of other items throughout an average day. But no matter what—how busy I am, how tired I am, whatever—I clean off the table during the evening so I can go to sleep feeling a little accomplished and wake up to something that looks in order, even if there are still other things to tidy up later.

Why this cleaning approach works

First of all, while I’m fixing up the table, I usually end up cleaning or organizing something else by default, whether that’s laundry or mail or something else, since it’s on the table. Sometimes, cleaning off the table puts me more into a cleaning mood, so I end up sprucing up other areas, too. It’s a motivational boost and, since it’s something I’m used to, I can do it a little on autopilot and just go from there.

Even if I don’t feel like cleaning anything else, I feel good about having tackled even one thing. Feelings of accomplishment are vital for staving off burnout and the feeling of being overwhelmed. When I wake up and see that at least something looks put together, I’m also reminded that I can make everything else look that way, too, so even if the prior day wasn’t one where I felt like doing a bigger clean-up, that day certainly can be.

If you struggle with focus and motivation when you want to clean, identify a spot in your home that is frequently cluttered and challenge yourself to take care of it every day, no matter what. It could be the desk where you work from home, a side table, the kitchen counter, or wherever you find a lot of things piling up. After a few weeks, you should notice the positive impact and overall, find yourself easing into a better cleaning schedule.