12 Smart (and Foolproof!) Ways to Motivate Yourself to Clean

A lack of motivation can stem from several things — hesitance to start a task because you just don’t like doing it, you’re dealing with mental health concerns, or maybe you’ve had a bad experience in the past. Cleaning motivation in particular can flag when it seems like an overwhelming process. Get motivated to clean by following any of these 12 tips.

Try to do as much as you can in that five minutes. “I find that this is really useful because most of the time people struggle with simply getting started, but once they begin cleaning they will find they often have energy to continue cleaning even once the timer is up,” says Courtney Morgan, a licensed therapist and founder of Counseling Unconditionally. “And even if they only complete 5 minutes of cleaning, that’s better than none!”

Inviting people over can be a great motivator to clean. No one wants to have friends over in a disaster zone of a home.

When clutter gets out of hand, walk around your home and put everything that’s out of place into a “triage box.” Then walk around again and put everything away. “This eliminates the feeling of walking in circles putting one thing away at a time,” says Audrey Schoen, a licensed marriage and family therapist. “Your home immediately looks cleaner just by putting the items in the box. And emptying the box leaves you with a very gratifying feeling of accomplishment. When things are really busy, my triage box just sits and collects clutter throughout the week, and I empty it once it’s full, maybe two or three times a week.”

If you get a good groove going, you’ll be more motivated to clean since you’ll likely already be up and dancing as it is. Plus, the beat will help you do more quickly.

If you promise yourself to have some ice cream once you finish cleaning the bathroom, you’ll be more likely to start and finish the task. It doesn’t have to be a super short-term goal and reward, either. “Setting goals with rewards can provide incentives to remain motivated,” says Rachel Goldberg, a licensed marriage and family therapist and founder of Rachel Goldberg Therapy in Studio City, California. “For instance, setting a goal to have the kitchen and bedroom completely clean within one week could be rewarded with a planned manicure.”

Doesn’t it look stunning? That should help motivate you. “Visualize how amazing your space will look and feel once it’s all clean and organized,” says Emily Guerra, founder of The Productivity Flow. “Keep that vision at the forefront of your mind!”

Think about why cleaning is important to you, and conversely, why some parts of cleaning aren’t important to you. “One of my daily practices is making my bed every morning,” says Saba Harouni Lurie, founder of Take Root Therapy. “It’s my way of showing myself care, as I really enjoy getting into a made bed. I have a colleague who is also a therapist, who doesn’t like getting into a made bed. He explained that it’s not as inviting or comfortable. Once you can clarify why cleaning your space is important, it may be easier to get into the habit.”

If you’re already doing something every day, try adding a cleaning task onto that to build on the habit. “If you already have daily rituals, like making coffee in the morning, you can tack on a cleaning ritual,” Harouni Lurie says. “With coffee, it could be putting your coffee mug in the dishwasher. Once that becomes something you’re doing daily and with ease, maybe you can move on to putting the other dishes into the dishwasher once you’re done with them.”

Before cleaning anything, take a second to think about what you need to clean and what that would like chronologically. “For example, if you have to clean your entire apartment, start with just one room or even one part of the room,” Guerra says. “Begin with just one area and take it from there.”

Everything is more fun with friends involved! Have them over for a cleaning party. As a bonus, you’ll probably get more done than you expected. Just be sure to pay them back with pizza, drinks, or some other sort of perk.

Once you’ve done at least a little bit of cleaning, take a step back and congratulate yourself on the work you did. “After completing a task, reflect on how it felt and the sense of accomplishment that comes with having a clean space,” Goldberg says. “Recognizing these positive feelings can reinforce the behavior and motivate continued cleaning efforts.”

It’s not a negative to acknowledge your limits — you may just really hate cleaning and would rather do something else. “Perhaps you’re willing to sacrifice a couple of take-out nights to cook instead, reallocating that money toward cleaning services,” Goldberg says. “There is nothing wrong with … choosing to prioritize your well-being by investing in cleaning services instead of tormenting yourself with tasks that cause you distress and guilt for not carrying them out.”