How To Get Motivated to Clean When Overwhelmed by Mess

Are you trying to figure out how to get motivated to clean when you’re SO overwhelmed by all the mess around you?

You walk through the house with your eyes half shut because you just don’t want to see the work that’s been piling up over time?!

I know exactly how you’re feeling.

But there’s a solution to everything and I’ll help you on your way to a clean house!

The hardest part is the first step. Let’s get motivated together – check out the following steps, tips, and tricks to stay on top of the mess.

13 Steps To Getting Motivated To Clean

1. Make a Plan & Get Prepared
2. Schedule Time to Clean
3. Take It Easy
4. Do One Thing at a Time
5. Declutter First
6. Start with What Annoys You the Most
7. Take a Before and After Photo
8. Make Cleaning Fun
9. Realize That Cleaning is a Form of Self-Care
10. Be Realistic
11. Reward Yourself
12. Ask for Help
13. Keep Up the Good Habits

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how to get motivated to clean when overwhelmed by mess

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1. Make a Plan & Get Prepared

You don’t want to give up tackling the mess a minute after having started it! If you want to become (and stay) motivated to clean and not feel overwhelmed, you need to do this first:

Sit down, grab your planner and start by outlining a schedule. If you’re not sure what works better for you, check the difference here between a bullet journal vs planner.

What tasks need to be done?
What bothers me the most at the moment?
What’s my priority?

However, don’t put too much into your planner just yet. Focus on what’s important and later on, you can always add some more tasks to your schedule.

Don’t overwhelm yourself with a long list that might scare you from doing anything at all.

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Once you have decided on the WHAT, you need to think about the HOW. How can you clean and organize? Do you have everything handy that you need?

You might want to check if you have the following things at home (and if they’re still working) before getting started:

Garbage bags
Reusable Rubber Gloves
Cleaning Agents (glass cleaner, all-purpose cleaner, toilet bowl cleaner)
Cloths and Sponges
Roll of Paper Towels
Bucket
Vacuum Cleaner
Broom and Dustpan
Flat Mop

2. Schedule Time to Clean

Now you know what needs to be done around the house and what supplies you need; you can decide on WHEN you want to do those things.

Don’t expect to clean your house whenever you have time. That clearly didn’t work in the past. You need to actively find and make time to clean.

This could be during your morning or evening routine or any time that suits your daily schedule around work, kids, and other commitments.

My tip: get all the supplies ready the day before so it’s easier for you to get started cleaning on the day.

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3. Take It Easy

This tip is essential in getting and staying motivated to clean when feeling overwhelmed by the mess.

Start slowly and take it easy.

Have a break whenever you feel like it, even after just 10 minutes of cleaning.

You’ll be more productive when you’ve had a rest and gained some strength.

It’s ok to go for 10 minutes, then have a 5-minute break, and go again for 10 minutes. This way you will stay motivated to keep going and not exhaust yourself right at the beginning.

4. Do One Thing at a Time

Mess can be so overwhelming! That’s why you need to focus on doing one thing at a time.

Avoid any distractions that could interrupt or stop you from doing what you have planned.

Also, don’t think about the next task yet.

Find joy in being able to finally get on top of the mess. Even if you’re just doing a minor task today, it’s still better than doing nothing.

5. Declutter First

Now, let’s get down to business! If you want to learn how to get motivated to clean when feeling overwhelmed by the mess, take good note of this step.

There’s no point in starting to clean if your home is full of clutter.

You would only be moving stuff around from A to B to be able to clean, and then move them back to their original spot (or worse, leave them lying around). Think about:

What can I donate?
What can I give to friends or family?
What needs to go into the bin?

You can also go from room to room (zone cleaning). Declutter and clean one room on a Saturday, then do another room the next day or the weekend after.

6. Start with What Annoys You the Most

This step has helped me so much in getting motivated to clean and keep going!

Before you randomly start cleaning a corner of the room, do something that bothers you the most. What is constantly in your face and drives you up the wall?

I’m sure, something will instantly come to your mind, and you will see that once you have cleaned it up, you will feel a lot better and motivated to tackle the next task.

Some ideas:

Get rid of the mess on the dining table
Clean up the shoes and jackets in the hallway
Pick toys and clothes off the floor
Clean the piled-up dishes
Organize your purse
Fold the washing
Clean out the pantry and fridge

7. Take a Before and After Photo

Taking a before and after photo (and midway) of the area you plan to clean and tidy up makes you realize it’s worth putting in the work and time.

You can track your progress and see the difference.

Another tip I have for you is to save the midway and after photos in a separate folder on your phone.

If you feel overwhelmed by the mess and don’t know where to start, you can look at them and motivate yourself knowing that you’ve done the hard work before and how good it made you feel to clean up.

8. Make Cleaning Fun

Cleaning doesn’t have to be boring and frustrating!

Make it fun by putting on your favorite music or audiobook and having a cup of coffee (or tea, hot chocolate, etc.) while doing your chores.

Use some wireless headphones or a portable speaker you can take with you from room to rom.

Whatever comes to your mind and makes cleaning a little bit easier and more fun for you.

Just don’t put the TV on, that’s too much distraction, and you won’t be able to get much cleaning done.

9. Realize That Cleaning Is A Form of Self-Care

Have you heard about the 8 areas of self-care before?

One of the areas of self-care is environmental self-care and includes activities such as cleaning and decluttering your home.

By doing this regularly, you create a place where you feel comfortable, safe, and happy. Getting rid of the mess and dirt also prevents you from having physical and mental health issues.

10. Be Realistic

Don’t set your expectations too high! Be realistic and don’t try to get everything done in a day.

You know that’s not possible so don’t discourage yourself by thinking you’re some kind of superhero. You’re human and you have limits.

Just focus on a few things a day – it will get you further in the long run.

11. Reward Yourself

If you still don’t feel motivated to clean when the mess overwhelms you, try rewarding yourself.

Do a few tasks and then do something you love. These 5-minute self-care activities are perfect for when you only have a little bit of time to spare.

You could reward yourself by:

Having a cup of coffee (or a glass of wine)
Having some chocolate
Sitting in the sun with your eyes closed
Taking a hot bubble bath

12. Ask for Help

You don’t have to do it all by yourself!

Whoever lives with you in the same house, needs to do some cleaning as well. They might start to produce less mess when they see how much work is involved to clean up after themselves.

If you live by yourself, get your best friend over and clean together! This is much more fun than doing it by yourself and it’s a good excuse to catch up.

13. Keep Up the Good Habits

Keep up the good work and don’t let your home become too messy again. You have put in so much time and energy and don’t want that to go to waste.

It’s easier to do a little bit of cleaning every day instead of putting it on the back burner for too long.

How Do I Stop Being Lazy and Clean My House?

Getting into the groove of cleaning your house and maintaining a tidy place can be hard! Especially when you let it fall behind for a while.

But there are ways to stop being lazy and finally having a clean house. First of all, it’s important to have a vision.

What’s the outcome you would like to achieve?

Once you have set your goal, you need to work out how you can get there.

Start with a plan
Take baby steps
Take regular breaks
Reward yourself

What Is the Fastest Way to Clean a Cluttered House?

There are a few tips and tricks you can follow to make a cluttered house look nice and tidy (and smell good!) within a short amount of time.

Do this when you haven’t got much time on your hands and need to get things done fast:

Make beds
Pick up toys, shoes, and clothes off the floor
Start a load of washing while cleaning other areas of the house
Put dirty dishes in the dishwasher and wipe down the counters
Throw away trash
Put up air fresheners
Once all the clutter is off the floors, you’ll be much quicker in vacuuming and mopping

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How To Get Motivated to Clean When Feeling Depressed

Being depressed makes it hard to master life, let alone staying on top of the household chores.

However, a dirty and messy house makes you feel even worse, so you need to find ways to motivate yourself to clean.

A clean house gives you a sense of accomplishment. Let’s have a look at a few tips on how to get motivated to clean when you’re feeling depressed:

Do a little bit every day so the mess doesn’t pile up
Set goals that you can achieve
Eliminate distractions
Ask a good friend to come over and help you
Delegate the work

Conclusion: How To Get Motivated to Clean When Overwhelmed By Mess

I hope you are able to take away some tips that can help you get motivated to clean and stay on top of the chaos.

The main step is to just START and everything else will fall into place. Once you have mastered one task, it’ll become easier to master the next one.