There are women who claim they love all aspects of keeping their homes. I’m not sure if I should admire them or suspect them to be liars. Either way, I’m simply not a fan of all housecleaning tasks. Most tasks are things I don’t mind and a few I actually enjoy. Sweeping and mopping, though, are tasks I just don’t like. I never feel like I can get the floor clean enough—once I’ve swept, I inevitably come across hair and other debris with the mop. Then there is the base of the toilet. How can so much dust, hair, and other gunk gather in one place?
Though I’ve developed a housecleaning routine that helps me effectively and efficiently keep my house clean, I’d still love if there was some way to actually make the unpleasant tasks more enjoyable. I looked into it and found some ideas.
Tips for making cleaning more enjoyable
- Listen to music. Put in your favorite CD or turn to your favorite playlist and sing along as you clean. Upbeat songs may encourage you to work at a quick pace.
- Listen to an audiobook. Get caught up in a story and let it distract you from the unpleasantness of the task at hand. It might be especially useful to select a book that you listen to only when cleaning. The excitement of hearing what happens next may create anticipation for the next time you clean.
- Use cleaning equipment with fun designs. Choose rags, sponges, buckets, mops, brooms, brushes, etc. that are colorful or creatively designed. I can’t speak to how affordable or effective these are, but I can see how they’d bring a smile to one’s face while cleaning.
An attractive dust pan from tango-home.com. 
Fun trash bags from baronbob.com. - Talk on the phone with a loved one. Take advantage of a speakerphone feature or a wireless headset by visiting with a family member or friend while cleaning. I do this frequently and it sure makes the cleaning go more quickly! Obviously it will not work while completing a task like vacuuming, but it works well with many other tasks.
- Use pleasantly scented cleaning products. Instead of enduring obnoxious, overwhelming smells while cleaning, choose products that have scents you prefer (citrus, floral, etc.). If you make your own cleaning products, you can use essential oils to tailor the scents to your liking.
- Make cleaning a gratitude exercise. Be prayerful as you clean, thanking God for each and every item you have. What a blessing it is to have so many wonderful things that need to be cleaned!
- Make cleaning a contest. If you are cleaning with someone else, see who can get their tasks completed first. If you are cleaning alone, use a timer to see how much you can get done in a certain amount of time.
- Give yourself beauty treatments while cleaning. Put on a face mask and let it dry while you dust. Paint your toenails and let them dry while you load the dishwasher.
- Reward yourself when you are done. Once you’ve completed your tasks, let yourself relax by reading a chapter in a book or sitting back with a cup of hot tea while checking your social media pages. Once I finish cleaning a room, I often reward myself by lighting a scented candle. Even this simple action is a motivator for getting a room clean.
What is your least favorite housecleaning task? Have you tried any strategies to make it more enjoyable?
Shared on the following link-ups:
Blog Fair Link Party, Thriving on Thursdays, Teach Me Tuesday, Desire to Inspire, WholeHearted Home, Works for Me Wednesday, Titus 2sday, Teach Me Tuesdays & Living Proverbs 31.
Thank you for these great ideas! I am definitely not a fan of housework. I love audiobooks and will have to try listening to them while I clean. I never thought of that but it would be easy to listen on my iPhone while scrubbing, dusting… So glad I found you at Living Proverbs 31!
I’m glad it’s helpful, Candace! The phone is definitely the one strategy I use the most.
Good tips. I’ve just started doing the audio book thing at my mom’s suggestion. I’ve been downloading from librivox which is a free source for public domain books. I’m doing Jane Austen right now, they have lots of old but good books.
Hi Pamela,
Sounds like a great resource! Thanks for mentioning it.
Great ideas! I do some but I can do more. Cleaning drives me nuts so hopefully this will help!
I do NOT like cleaning out the cat litter box. UGH!! I just do NOT like it one.single.bit. I honestly like most housecleaning tasks though often I might not feel like doing them. I play a little game with myself after finishing the routine daily jobs. I will write a post or other computer tasks and set the timer for 25 minutes. I will do one or two things for about 5 or 10 minutes before setting the timer again. This keeps me from sitting too long and gives me a chance to get up and move. My home isn’t buzzing with littles any longer but I don’t want to get carried away with one thing and leave the other things undone.
Thanks for stopping by WholeHearted Home and linking up last Wednesday.
I like your method! I think getting up and moving between sedentary tasks is especially beneficial.
I love these ideas! Anything to help get through some of the dreaded cleaning tasks is much appreciated!
Hopefully they’ll help you get through them. They’ve sure helped me!
I love the buy a attractive dust pan. This is such a great tip. Thanks for sharing your tip on Thriving Thursday link party.
It is cute, isn’t it?
Shannon, WOW! I have been so OVERWHELMED in getting back to a cleaning schedule routine especially after working for 14 years. I lost all enthusiasm and routine schedules during that time because of fatigue and chronic migraines. I always had a clean home with my own schedule for chores Monday through Friday when my sons were young and I maintained that schedule right up to going outside my home to work. My home always smelled great and I was never caught unguarded by unexpected visitors.
I have been so frustrated in trying to get back into the same schedule I had and just gave up. Yesterday I asked Holy Spirit to guide me to an easy cleaning schedule that would work for me and last evening, He did! Praise His Holy Name!!! After viewing many sites on the Internet, even though I gave thumbs up and subscribed, I kept searching until I came across your site. WOW WOW WOW!!! That’s all I can say along with thanking Holy Spirit for leading me to YOU!
Shannon your schedule is exactly what I need and want. I quickly sketched out a page with your schedule on it, I am going to put it on watercolour painting paper later today and print everything in each block with colour coordination, putting it on my fridge with a moving magnet. I just looked over your monthly chart and I will do the same for both schedules! You have “EVERYTHING” covered and it is SO easy and manageable for me. And the month of CHRISTMAS, MY VERY FAVOURITE MONTH FOR DECORATING AND BAKING, YOU HAVE LEFT IT OPEN TO ENJOY, HOW VERY COOL IS THAT!!!😍
The LEAST favourite task for me is cleaning the bathroom, especially the tub surround. The texture of our tub surround is not smooth like tile, so if you have any suggestions as to what the best product is in cleaning the tub surround, PLEASE let me know. I have my husband cleaning it because he is stronger than I am and it needs a firmer hand to clean it properly.
Thank you Shannon for posting your schedules you are using, I will be keeping you in my prayers and asking God to BLESS YOU CONTINUOUSLY!!! That’s the least I can do in giving thanks to you for posting such a manageable cleaning schedule! God Bless you Shannon, for Blessing me!!!
I now need to go back and unsubscribe myself from all the other you tube schedules, but still leaving all those ladies a thumbs up! Your schedule is all I need, thanks again!!!
HAVE AN AWESOME DAY SHANNON❤️🌹❤️
Hi Debbie,
What a blessing it was to see your comment! I love sharing the things that help me. It is one small way that I can minister to others, so I’m glad that you benefit from the cleaning schedule. 🙂
Having the month of December free is my favorite feature of the monthly deep cleaning schedule!
I’m not sure what to suggest for your tub surround. What is it made of? The best cleaning product will depend on this…I wouldn’t want to suggest something that would damage it.
Thanks for taking the time to comment!
I retired after 46yrs of full time nursing . my old way to clean was to clean like crazy on my days off. Now that I am retired I put on a uniform and shoes, turn on a gospel station and start in the bathroom and keep going around the house of course taking a coffee break. The uniforms have lots of pockets for cell phone lots of little things that I find and and trash sacks. I feel better about the house and me . I need a schedule for better use of time. Thank you
Hi Barbara,
Having lots of pockets available sounds really helpful! Thanks for sharing this idea.