Posted on May 11th, 2020
The truth of the matter is that nobody particularly likes to clean their home. Many of us clean because we need to and for the sake of hygiene. Why is that? The answer is simple. Cleaning is a lot of dirty work, literally. No one wants to come back from a stressful day at work and have to start cleaning the house or use their precious weekend to scrub down dirty walls and floors. It also doesn’t matter if you are home all day, cleaning just isn’t that much fun.
Cleaning is a necessary evil. You run the risk of having your home declared as hazardous if you fail to clean. But the tasks always look Herculean. So, are there ways to make cleaning less stressful? Yes, there are. There are proven ways that can help you get all your cleaning done with little stress involved. By following these tips, you may even begin to love cleaning!
Breakdown Large Jobs Into Smaller Chunks
Breaking down sizeable portions of work into smaller tasks helps you to see the bigger picture. This technique works for everything. Rather than going full throttle on the garage in one day, break down tasks within the garage and start from there. For example, sort out the big items that may be taking up a lot of space and then move on to boxes and crates etc. It may not look like much when you do things this way, but you will achieve more and be less stressed doing 10 or 20 minutes of work daily rather than doing 3 hours of gruelling work in one day. Also, you will no longer dread the tasks ahead of you because you will already have a plan.
Be Realistic with Tasks
Setting unrealistic goals doesn’t achieve anything. Everyone knows what their capacity for work is and so should you. Knowing what you are able to do and focusing on doing just that, will help you get more done in the long run. Choosing to set unrealistic cleaning goals for yourself will most likely end in disaster or severe back pain. You want neither. So always set realistic goals. For example, you know that giving the entire house a deep clean in one day might result in you being extremely burnt out and cranky, so rather than do that, pick out certain tasks that you know you can manage within a given timeframe and just do those. If you know you can live with your bedroom being a little bit untidy but absolutely hate to see your kitchen dirty, focus on cleaning your kitchen that day and clean your bedroom another day.
Schedule Tasks
Having a plan always helps. Working with a plan helps you put things in perspective and that way, you are able to carry out duties with those plans in mind. You don’t have to have a detailed timetable setting out cleaning tasks for the week (which may even increase your stress levels). All you need to start with is a rough plan of things such as how many loads of laundry to do in a week, the number of times you would typically give the kitchen a wipe-down, when the bathroom should be cleaned etc. You are not under any obligation to adhere to it but simply knowing what you usually do as part of your routine will help you plan ahead and alleviate some stress.
Enjoy It
Easy to say but hard to do, right? No one likes to clean but you can at least try to enjoy it while you do it. One way to do this is by putting on some music. Music has been proven to have many stress-relieving benefits. There are also music therapies that promote wellness. Depending on the type of music you put on, you can either be energized or calmed by it. Most people prefer energetic music for cleaning because it boosts energy levels and you will feel less stressed and tired by the time you are finished. It also aids your cleaning efforts and you will be able to get more stuff done. An added bonus is the great feeling when you finish cleaning and you still have some energy to spare.
Don’t Beat Yourself Up
No one is perfect, not even your favorite home-cleaning TV star. Give yourself a pat on the back for the tasks you are able to achieve. Start small and work your way up. Set small goals that are achievable and build on that. We all fail or falter once in a while, so if you skip a task or you are unable to complete all of your tasks for the day or week, do not beat yourself up about it. That would simply elevate your stress levels to new heights. Do what you can and carry over the rest. Also, don’t compare yourself to others who may seem like they have it all under control. They may have simply cleaned their living room just in case guests stopped by! Enjoy your little wins.
Delegate Tasks
At some point, you will realize that you can’t do it all on your own. Learning to delegate tasks can mean the difference between you having a migraine when you think about household chores and you being relaxed about things. If you have kids, make a roster of tasks for each one. Picking up toys, putting away dishes or even loading the dishwasher can do a lot to reduce your own tasks, thereby helping you stress less about them.
Enjoying keeping your house clean and tidy is something many people crave. By taking things slow and easy, you will be able to achieve a clean, tidy house and stay away from high-stress levels. By following the tips above, you are sure to achieve both.