My friend, Janel, asked me to talk a bit about how I motivate and discipline myself in the area of housework and homemaking. Anyone who has read here for more than a month knows I am not naturally motivated to clean. I am by nature, lazy. I apologize for it....daily. I do not just kick back and accept it, and work to make sure I do something productive every day. I have many tools I use to motivate myself. One of the first things I do is make sure I have the supplies I WANT (not need) in order to clean my house. I tried the whole vinegar and water thing...I hated it. I would rather not even clean! I try to be green, but there are a few things I can not do without. My dish washing cleaners are Dawn and Cascade. I LOVE them...they work for me. I use an ammonia free glass cleaner, but I really dislike the vinegar and water. I love Lysol cleaners too...shoot me. I do use Murphy's Oil and Tea Tree Oil on my hardwood and sometimes on my vinyl flooring. If I have to clean I want to use things that work for me and smell good. Pretty sponges and, yes, paper towels make the job nicer too.A cleaning schedule is helpful to motivate and discipline. As long as it works for you and you do NOT work for it. If you have a day that you have to be out of the house, do not stay up all night getting that days work done...skip it til it rolls around again on your schedule. You can see my own binder by clicking on the picture below. I found the tutorial on My Blessed Home to be quite helpful in putting it together.
Another motivator is your family. My husband is a clean freak! He does not get upset with me if things get messy...well not much...but what he will do is, he will come home and start to tidy up. I HATE THAT! If I am in my studio and come out to the kitchen to find him wiping down a greasy stove top, I am not happy. If you have a husband who is not picky, and you are a messy like me, then you need to dig deeper to find that motivation! He may not say anything when things are messy, but I bet he will say something when the house is uncluttered and tidy.
Also, in my last post I shared a quote....quotes motivate me. I put them where I can see them. They come from wonderful motivational tools, like books and blogs. Copperswife is a favorite homemaking blog of mine. Her recent series on meal planning is amazing! Some favorite books include The Hidden Art of Homemaking, Home Comforts, and The Messies Manual, to name a few.
I love being a homemaker. It took many years of training to consider myself qualified! I still fail at some points and will as long as I am breathing. We have to set goals in all areas of our lives, and though some of those goals can be long term, most homemaking goals are daily or weekly. At the most they are monthly or seasonally.
I understand the whole computer/television/telephone distraction thing. You have to tell yourself the same thing you would tell your children....chores first, play second. One of the ways I trick myself is to put on a favorite CD....I LOVE the WOW Worship CD Kyle got at a recent garage sale. I load it up and put it on pretty loud. I tell myself I will work through so many songs to complete my tasks.
I am always surprised at how much work I get done in just a few songs!!!!!
The biggest motivator for me is the end result! I love a clean house. In a perfect world, I would have a maid. She would clean showers and do laundry...the 2 things I HATE to do...and she would do them well. I do not have a maid. I do however have a pretty clean shower and most of the laundry is done. Reward yourself...once your daily chores are done, do something you want to do. Sit for as long as you want on the computer...watch a movie on television...visit with a friend on the telephone. Or do what I do lately and just relax, cause let me tell ya, this vitamin D thing is kicking my butt!!!
Take a minute and share something that motivates you to do your housework....share a favorite blog address, or book, or something special you reward yourself with. I am anxious to read your ideas!!!
Also, in my last post I shared a quote....quotes motivate me. I put them where I can see them. They come from wonderful motivational tools, like books and blogs. Copperswife is a favorite homemaking blog of mine. Her recent series on meal planning is amazing! Some favorite books include The Hidden Art of Homemaking, Home Comforts, and The Messies Manual, to name a few.I love being a homemaker. It took many years of training to consider myself qualified! I still fail at some points and will as long as I am breathing. We have to set goals in all areas of our lives, and though some of those goals can be long term, most homemaking goals are daily or weekly. At the most they are monthly or seasonally. I understand the whole computer/television/telephone distraction thing. You have to tell yourself the same thing you would tell your children....chores first, play second. One of the ways I trick myself is to put on a favorite CD....I LOVE the WOW Worship CD Kyle got at a recent garage sale. I load it up and put it on pretty loud. I tell myself I will work through so many songs to complete my tasks.I am always surprised at how much work I get done in just a few songs!!!!!The biggest motivator for me is the end result! I love a clean house. In a perfect world, I would have a maid. She would clean showers and do laundry...the 2 things I HATE to do...and she would do them well. I do not have a maid. I do however have a pretty clean shower and most of the laundry is done. Reward yourself...once your daily chores are done, do something you want to do. Sit for as long as you want on the computer...watch a movie on television...visit with a friend on the telephone. Or do what I do lately and just relax, cause let me tell ya, this vitamin D thing is kicking my butt!!!Take a minute and share something that motivates you to do your housework....share a favorite blog address, or book, or something special you reward yourself with. I am anxious to read your ideas!!! 
9 comments:
I admit I can be a slacker in the house cleaning thing. You can't eat off my floors but the clutter is usually under control except in the guest bedroom (my quilting dumping ground) and the dishes are done every day....by hand :0)
Having my niece and nephew coming for a visit has motivated me to scour the guest bedroom and tackle the basement. Our basement is not pretty, cement floors and walls and I only go down there to get something from the freezer so it rarely gets a cleaning. Knocking down cobwebs, scrubbing walls and floors and making the bedroom fresh has made it a nice haven for a 17yo boy :0)
I'm a Spic 'n Span gal, not the liquid but the old fashion powder. They also make a product called Cinch, I love that for shining up the bathroom sink and other glass objects. An aerosol product called Sprayway for mirrors and windows. Gain has put out a great dish soap that I now use instead of Dawn. Dawn has always dried my hands out terribly.
So that's my story.....I better quit typing, this is becoming a book instead of a comment ROFL.
Crispy
In my kitchen, my brother inlaw is my motivation. He's a bachelor and a great cook, and he keeps his kitchen sparkling clean at all times. When my kitchen is a mess, I think of Bob, and what he'd think if he saw my mess. Then I hop to it and clean it all up.
Now for my bathrooms, my motivation is my husband's late aunt. She kept her bathrooms clean and smelling nice. I don't think a day goes by that I don't think of her, especially after I wipe down my shower each day. She taught me to use a squeegee and then towel dry my shower after each use. Oh wow, what a difference that makes!
The biggest motivation for me (and I know you do this too) is to clean in little spurts. Instead of tackling the entire house on Sunday, I'll clean a little throughout the week. That way, the house never gets wrecked and I don't have a huge list of chores to do that I try to put off.
Great Post Bren! I really feel better when my house is clean! I feel less guilty, more creative and peaceful.
My husband has always worked 2 jobs so that I can stay home with the kids. and I don't care what anyone else thinks but I feel like my husband should come home to a clean house.
Oh Bren ... we lead the same life! My husband is just like yours and I am just like you! I can't stand to find my husband cleaning because it makes me feel like such a slacker! I do try to go above and beyond the household duties by mowing the lawn and a few extras just so he can feel the love. It's not always easy and I feel like my hobbies never get finished. Thank you for posting and for the support! :)
Angie K
Bren,
I truly love you! You brighten my day!
Robin
Well personally, I am hoping that today's post will motivate me. (Smile) I had my two young granddaughter's for a week until yesterday and now begins the great cleanup. They live 8 hours away from me, so while I did do all the basic necessary things we must do daily, my house still looks like two little tornadoes hit it. With only one week each summer to visit, I didn't want to spend my time scolding them about messes. So I think that after my quiet time, I will begin in the kitchen and work out from there. Thanks for being honest about not enjoying the work, but doing it anyway. That is right where I am. I love a clean house, but admit that picking up after my husband every day and years of repeating the same tasks, it really gets discouraging. But faithfulness and perseverance are the main tasks of a wife and mother. Thanks for letting me know that I am not the only one who fights these cleaning battles.
My motivation comes from house guests. I have two sets of them coming in the next couple weeks, so hubby and I are doing some major projects--deep cleaning everything. We also have house guests for several months every winter, and that means I have to stay on top of things while they are here. As a true Messy, it is a constant struggle.
THANK YOU BREN FOR PUTTING ME IN YOUR POST!!! I was so surprised to read my name :) This was a great post and I loved reading everyone's comments!
I guess I'm not alone, which makes me feel a little better :) I always get motivated when you show pictures of your beautiful home...I somehow get up and go and do things around the house and feel better afterwards :) You are an inspiration and a blessing to me Bren!!!
Bless you my friend...Janel xo
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