Not many people really enjoy doing housework. A lot of times, we just push it to the side because there are a million other things we would rather be doing in our free time. But when we leave our house a mess, it starts to affect those around us - not to mention ourselves! Having a clean house makes a peaceful atmosphere, where we can relax, enjoy, and unwind from the busy day. Here are a few tips to stay motivated to do your housework:
-First off, write a list of things you want to complete that day. Decide which are the most important and number them accordingly.
-Or, after writing out your list, look over it. Which things do you want to do the least? Do those first.
-Set a timer for twenty-five minutes and start with the top of your list. When the timer goes off, give yourself a few minutes rest. (You might not want to rest since you have the momentum going. In that case, great! Keep going! ;-)
-Set rewards for yourself - after I clean the bathroom, I can read. Or after I do the kitchen cleanup, I can go for a walk. Or sew, or play the piano, have a snack, or work on a project, or whatever else you would rather be doing.
You may be super on top of your housework - good for you! But maybe you really, really don’t enjoy it. Like at all.
If everyday, you inwardly (or outwardly) complain about how you don’t want to be scrubbing the toilet and how you hate folding laundry, it will make it that much worse the next time.. You will have trained your mind to think negatively every time you start that particular job. As Christians, we need to be rejoicing always, never complaining, and always praising God. So, if there really are jobs you really don’t enjoy doing, ask God to change your attitude about it. Here are a few other ideas, too:
-Before you start, say a prayer.
-As you clean whatever it is you are cleaning, thank God for each of those blessings - for inside plumbing and a working toilet, for the glass plates that you use daily, for the lamp that you are dusting.
-Remind yourself why you are cleaning - to create and maintain a peaceful atmosphere for yourself and those around you.
-Sing while you work. Singing has an amazing effect and will boost your mood!
-Listen to your favorite music, and dance along if you can.
-Work quickly - not only will this help you finish the job sooner, but exercise is a natural antidepressant!
There always will be times when you aren’t able to keep up with the housework because of a crazy busy schedule. In this stage of my life, I have the opposite problem - my house is usually clean and I have ample time left over. ;-) But I know this stage won’t last forever. I have been in a place where I didn’t have much time and the house/my room suffered sadly for it. Here are a few tips and ideas to help you manage the mess and hopefully get on top of those sadly neglected areas:
-Look around and decide what will do the most damage (I mean, what would make the biggest difference).
In the kitchen, that might mean loading the dishwasher, or putting away appliances, consolidate the dishes near or in the sink, and wiping the counters before diving into the dishes. In the living room, putting away clutter -books, toys, shoes, etc. - before pulling out the vacuum.
-A timer will do wonders! Say you only have half an hour of free time. Set a timer for fifteen minutes (or for however much time you have to spare) and hit the road running. I don’t know what it is about timers, but I always seem to move faster when I have one going!
-Give yourself daily goals. When we worked for Azure, I didn’t have much time to clean my room - I usually reserved that for the weekends when my room was a big mess. I finally started giving myself two daily cleaning goals - make my bed and put my clothes away. Those two things honestly took less than five minutes each day but made a huge difference!
My final tip is: Eliminate
Sometimes housework takes too long because you just have too much stuff - too many knick knacks to dust, too many clothes to fold, too many toys to pick up. The stuff piles up on counters and tables, in drawers and closets, and on the floor that it makes dusting and vacuuming always impossible. The things that you truly love and want to use get buried under the rubble.
If this is the case for you, set aside some time and try to tackle one pile. Don’t attempt to do it all in an afternoon - you’ll end up discouraged and just give up. Everyday, tackle one corner, or one small room.
Go through everything and be ruthless. If it’s taking up valuable space, it had better be needed!
Once you have eliminated excess from your life, cleaning will be much, much easier.
Comments
Post a Comment