HELP! I need motivation to clean my house!?

Question

i am a 21 yr old female. i was raised in a very clean household, but my bedroom floor could never be seen. I alays figured that when i moved out on my own, I would be able to keep the palce clean but now that i have my own place, the motivation to clean just isn't there. (welloccasionally when im tired of tripping over junk). my house isn't trashy, but theres laundry, baby stuff, blankets and books nd other stuff just stown everywhere. I can't seem to find the motivation topick it up, an keep it put up. i can sit here and stare at it all day and just not get motivated to clean it up. I have tried MANY different things- from bribing myself to many dfferent types of oganization. they will work for a short time (a week, maybe two) and then it all goes to hell. Does anyone have any ideas on what could be causing this, or on how i can get and stay motivaed?

i am not considerd lazy by many people. i am a single working mom who is in schol to become a computer sciences major.

i guess i forgot to mention this is clean laundry- i actualy do laundry everyday...its abotu the only thing i do regularly, but i just cnt get it put away.

Another thing- i have a steep flight of stairs in my apartment. my knees are bad (yes ive had them looked at) and hurt whenver i go up and down the stairs. so its kinda discourageing to go up and down them alot. it sounds like excses whenever i think bout it but its true...

Ps, i love theflylady website. ive been looking at it (and cleaning the livingroom!)

Answer 1

Small steps.

Looking at a huge pile of stuff can be overwhelming. Tell yourself you're going to clean for 15 minutes. Set a timer and clean - take a laundry basket and pick up everything in a room that doesn't belong there, etc. At the end of 15 minutes, you may find that you're motivated to continue. If not, at least you've done a little!

Do this every day, and soon the place will be neat - and will stay that way.

You may want to visit www.flylady.com. The whole website is dedicated to this very subject.

Answer 2

I got fed up once nad just cleaned my whole bedroom from top to bottom for about three days straight. I just pushed everything to the middle of the room, took everything out form under my bed and pulled everything off every shelf. I cleaned it all up, but somehow I can sitll not manage to keep it clean! I just came up with a plan that works for me: every other night or so I get a bag and put whatever is on the floor where it doesnt belong and put it into the bag (or two bags-or however many I may need). Then the floor is clean and the room is as it should be, I take one thing out of a bag at a time and put it where it belongs. That way it is not so overwhelming and if I am having guests over and havent finished putting everything away, at least its all in bags and can be put in another room so that your room looks clean. After I get all the important things out of the bag put away, usually there is just lots of just little junk or trash at the bottom of the bag and so I jsut tie up the bag and throw it in the garbage. It really works and is easy to keep up with.

Answer 3

First of all, You sound tired. It also sounds like you aren't very health. This could be one reason maybe you don't have very much energy! I recently met someone who has changed my life as well as my family's. First we started drinking Pi Mag water which we all actually like! It made a big difference in what we wanted to eat as well as feeling better and stronger! Next we started sleeping on a Kinko Mattress and if you don't know what this is, It is a mattress with far-infrared in it which is the sun's energy. The kinko also has magnets which energize your cells while you sleep. I know this sounds Hoky(it did to me too at first) But it really does work. If felt so much better the second day that I worked outside all day on my farm without my bones hurting once! Magnets are also known for being very therapeutic for bone problems(your knees) I also take vitamins now which keep my energy up all day long. One last thing I should mention is that I have been losing weight while doing all this. I have been so motivated to start cleaning my house and getting my life in order! Try it. Go to www.nikken.com/jlmiller and see what it can do for you!

Answer 4

Sometimes I don't have the motivation to clean my house. Being at work all day then running errands, them coming home and having to clean the house!? It really sucks sometimes. I find that the best thing to give me motivation when I get in this kind of a mood is to put on my favorite hopping music. Turn it as loud as you want and hey dance around while your cleaning! It works great, don't play anything slow though it usually will put a damper on my motivation. For some reason fast upbeat music is great, when you putting the dishes away you can even use some of the utensils as a microphone. It makes cleaning that much funner!

Answer 5

Cleaning up all alone all the time when you don't live alone is a major demotivator... I know, been there, done that.

Flylady is great... you'll find lots of useful help there.

The only thing other than that that might help is to keep a wicker laundry basket both at the top and the bottom of your staircase. Anything that goes on the opposite floor should be placed in the basket and that will save you and your knees lots of trips up and down...

Answer 6

I have the same problem. I can't get anything done cause I have a 4 year old and a 5 week old that are always needing things. My hubby helps when he is home and makes it so easy, but right now he is serving overseas. When I do get a free minute I am usually too tired to get it done. I try to make sure I clean one room a day really good. My 4 year old helps pick up toys. Get a swiffer carpet flick, my son loves to play with it and my carpet gets clean too. Good for when you don't have time to vacuum.

Answer 7

Cleaning is not my favorite thing to do but I do it.

The best thing to do is get rid of the junk. Only keep in the house the things you need. Get rid of trinkets, clothes that you have not worn the last season, shred up papers, donate old blankets, etc.

Baby stuff, I know it's hard. I have a little one myself. Have one area to keep the playthings.

Laundry, I hate doing. It piles up on me too. Set a goal to do one load a day. At least you are doing something.

Being a single Mom, taking care of a baby and working can be trying on your mind and your body. Try speaking to your GYN about your feelings. There could be a bit of depression going on that is slowing you down.

Good Luck.

Answer 8

Try this, make a list of things that you need to do in your house. Everyday, set aside 15 minutes twice a day to do two things on your list. Pretty soon you will have aquired a habit, which we all know that habits are hard to break, after awhile you will have a clean house. Another way to try and keep your house clean is for every day of the week make one room a priority and clean just that room. Obviously you will want to still do the little things in between, laundry, dishes, trash etc...But the major things.....just try one of the 2 methods. Good Luck!

Answer 9

Sometimes a whole house to clean can be overwhelming. It is easier to break it down into one room per day. Such as, concentrate on the kitchen on mondays, after a busy weekend it is usually dirtier. Maybe living room on tuesdays, clean bathrooms on friday before weekend when you are more apt to have company. Everynight before going to bed take a quick 15 minutes to tidy up. Take laundry upstairs at night when you are going to bed, making one trip instead of several.

Answer 10

This is how I keep my house clean: Start in one room only. Divide the room into four sections and devote yourself to cleaning one section at a time. When it is clean, you will feel motivated to clean the rest of that room because it doesn't look as good as the clean part. I do this all the time. Before you know it, the whole room is clean.