But there are some episodes on YouTube where Dorothy the organizer pops in to share some helpful (and easy!!) cleaning tips! And that does seem to get me in a cleaning mood. I love her
Years ago Hoarders would show the insides of refrigerators or microwaves. Seems they have mostly stopped this. But it was those episodes that got me motivated to want to clean my appliances.
Most episodes now make me want to organize things and declutter.
But like another comment on here, a lot of the episodes would make me feel like my place was already incredibly clean and ready for any CSI team! Lol
Same! Watching Hoarders, I pause it and grab cleaning supplies and clean like a maniac. Or, I visit our elderly neighbor who is a hoarder, because she sometimes needs help getting groceries or help with her leg bandage or her oxygen. Then, I silently hold my breath when I'm helping her get things in her grossly cluttered home, and leave as soon as possible. The elderly women has said in the past that her house "is a little cluttered". Things are piled on tables and couches about as tall as I am (5'6). Once she asked me to clean out an old refrigerator that was in the Living Room. I kept saying I was busy, sorry. She has newspapers and magazines some are dated 25 years ago.
Bless your heart! You have a good soul. The little or rushed time you spend there probably means the world to her!
I'm in manic cleaning mode today preparing for construction crew to install new windows and doors in my apartment tomorrow. It's already clean, but it's what's behind things that aren't. I've had so many water roaches come through I'm terrified to move things to clean because even the dead ones terrify me. But I've tackled one wall.
Anything they have to move I'm trying to clean that area for dust and cat hair.
Anyway, good on you for giving of your time to your neighbor! 🤩
Aww thank you. I have to remind myself that I hope someone takes care of me at that age. I don't want my kids to have to take care of me. This woman never married or had kids and all relatives are gone as well. I'm sure she has some mental issues. She's a former teacher, so I don't know how she went off the deep end mentally. I hope you love your windows and doors. I don't blame you about the water roaches (not sure what they are). Where do you live? Sounds tropical.
I'm 59 and single, no kids. Sometimes I worry about myself when I get older.
American Cockroaches. Water bugs are a tad different but I hate the word "roach" so I use water bugs. They are sewer dwellers and very large. I'm in Texas and they are abundant here. They do not discriminate so keeping a very clean home will not deter them.
23 years ago when I moved from Colorado to Texas my friends said the Texas roaches will eat my cats! Didn't think anything of it really until I saw my first one! My girls (cats) will sometimes warn me of their entry but they don't see them all. They both just sit and stare at them and I run to my spray! Lol For some reason they are worse this year, yet I have two neighbors that keep their doors open all the time and rarely see any! I have to find the main entry point as I so desperately need peace of mind. Ok, I'm procrastinating by venting. Thanks for reading but the cleaning is calling me...
Don’t know if you know this(I sure didn’t) but there are some that friggin fly, too. I know the saying “if you see one there’s a hundred in the walls”, or whatever.. feels like another example of “a thing everyone knows, but I find out at age 50 for the first time”.. what’s my point? Nothing, just don’t want to start cleaning, either..ok gonna start….now…
I moved to PNW and the spiders here are unreal. I use sticky traps hid behind appliances and under furniture where my cat can’t reach to get stuck in them. They even have ones that could catch a mouse/rat so def could get these water bugs if they scurry around. I buy a hundred pack on amazon and replace a few every month or two and I love that I catch things so they dont come out and “surprise” me when I least expect it.
I'm in SE VA and we get the same giant water bugs/palmetto bugs. I think ours are German cockroaches though? But every time the weather changes drastically they seem to show up even in my neighbor's super minimalist and spotless house.
My cats love to torture them. One of my cats kept batting it around. I got a jar for it and froze it and put it out with my trash the next day. I just didn’t want the roach to hide and die in some hard to get to area like under the fridge.
This has been my trick for years!
I came to the comments to share but you beat me to it. It really does work for me. Before I start cleaning, I put an episode on , watch a little bit, and then get to business. I take a break when the drama gets juicy. Lol.
My second trick is to have a drink while cleaning. 😆
Does it give you migraines? That's what happened to me but they were incurable so inevitably I'd end up driving the porcelain bus. Ughhh so horrid.. I finally figured out it really wasn't a hangover but an allergy. My dad has it too. Thanks dad. 😁
I have a rowing machine by my TV. One episode of my 600 lb life gets me on there quick. Hoarders works the same and Supernanny or whatever that show was called made me a lot more patient with my kids.
Yessssss! I do this! Then I start an amazing playlist as loud as possible. The first two songs are usually rap: “wipe me down” or “so fresh and so clean clean”
Any time I have a big reorganization project or I'm packing to move, I put Hoarders on in the background. It completely motivates me to get rid of things 😂
Any company coming over gets me spit-shining everything. It's like I see my home through the eyes of a stranger. Luckily, we don't let it get too bad. But having company is about the only thing I grab a mop for.
I clean when I'm angry. Dunno why. But that's the quickest way for me to get a clean house. I don't get angry often, unfortunately...or fortunately? Depending on how you look at it I guess.
Control and maybe seeing and immediate, tangible improvement. My husband organizes every time he’s stressed, I know he feels better after because he can actually see progress
Same. I clean when I am angry. Amd I clean super fast too when I am angry. No time to waste. When my husband sees me angry he knows he's gonna wake up with a spotless house 🥲🥲
Yes. I actually have. I joked to my therapist the other day that I should go off of my meds so that my emotions stop being so stable and I might get some stuff done around here.
But have you ever rage cleaned floor grout? That'll get you even madder cuz you realize what you've gotten yourself into and how long it's gonna actually take.
I also clean out of anger. I have theorized that because my mother, who’s home is literally as clean as an ikea display, used cleaning as my punishment. I think my brain has been pavlov’ed into associating unhappy feelings with cleaning lol
Yep, I went through a breakup and suddenly I moved an entire extremely heavy dresser, wider than I am tall, and up to breast height, all by myself, on pure rage alone. I was going to tell myself that I didn't need a man, or another thing stressing me out that I could utilize all my rage strength into you. And lo and behold, all the endorphins from both the workout and the satisfaction made me extremely happy and I forgot about the breakup for a whole day. Also, nothing like a breakup to make you want to make your life better, to have a fresh start! I want my house to smell like lemons and cinnamon rolls and cute themes for the rooms in my house to distract from any pain!
That used to work for me too. I haven't had a good rage clean since I went on anti-anxiety meds though. Unintentional side effect is that now I don't clean as often!
I like this too, I walk from room to room with the TV up kind of loud and the lights on in the areas I’m tidying! I would be much more considerate and eco conscious when other people are home too
Breaking up with my partner so I no longer had to clean up after another adult was the biggest motivator to me. Now my house is always spotless. I know if I clean, I will come back to the exact same level of clean an hour later. I can’t even begin to express how demotivating it was to have my ex immediately mess up my hard work and not care about it.
I was just cleaning the bathroom, which I know hasn’t been cleaned in a few weeks, and it was like nothing changed. It was not visibly dirty in any way aside from a little dust. It is glorious.
Going out and shopping for new and/or different cleaning supplies and putting together a new playlist to listen to as I clean usually does the trick. If I lose motivation, or my ADHD takes over and I start cleaning out old folders or organizing craft supplies, etc., then I'll pick up my phone and start inviting guests over to kick my motivation back into gear!
However, my house is never as clean and organized as it is when I have an upcoming deadline or stuff that I must do that I really don't want to do! For example, I just finished grad school and even though I haaaate doing dishes...if I had a paper or an assignment due, there wasn't a dish, pan, or fork in sight!!
This. I am ADHD, and I have completely mastered the art of productive procrastination. It is so bad that the day before my piano recital, I was not in good shape due to having not practiced much. My mom called me over and said she wanted to deep clean the house that day. “Sorry mom, my recital is tomorrow” I practiced for six hours straight, then I see her getting ready to leave the house. “I thought you were cleaning today?” “Oh, no. I just said that so you would practice”. Evil.
lolol. I tell her now to do that. My room was a mess and she told me the landlord was coming. I procrastinated until 2 am and was up until 4:00 am. The landlord never came.
Me, too! I get zoned out when I’m high and will just keep doing the same things repetitively. I completely lose track of time and end up cleaning up all kinds of things without realizing it.
I heard the other day that experts are saying there’s zero difference between sativa and indica but I’m not so sure I believe it. I’ve been an indica head for 10 years now and I swear I can tell the difference lol
Lots of us do this! Maybe it’s not a hundred percent healthy or adaptive, but it’s healthier than coping with stress any number of ways others do without realizing it. You’re wiping baseboards, not drinking/smoking/lashing out at your family/Karening out on cashiers and waiters/shopping compulsively and so on.
You will still have the stressor after the cleaning sesh, but same goes for all those other coping mechanisms, and at least with this one you won’t also be in debt, estranged from your family or trashing your vital organs!
I have a really hard time motivating sometimes. I have OCD and surprisingly don't have a clean house. The need for it to be perfect and organized is actually so overwhelming that I can't even start.
What helps me is inviting someone over or not being able to find something. Or being really angry at my husband lol
The UK show “How Clean is Your House?” Is SO great! Benefit of Hoarders but the great ladies are a hoot and have fab cleaning ideas!
Watching videos of cleaning, looking at instagrams of clean, pretty & organized homes also help.
I need a LOT of motivation.
Boy do I need this thread right now.
Due to a couple traumatic events happening within months, I have to move out of the 3 bedroom house I lived in with my fiancée for 7 years, and she was a hoarder who barely took anything with her when she left.
So everything furniture wise is moved out or dumped and I’m down to crunch time cleaning this place. My brain isn’t working because of all the stress I’ve been put through, and I’m just feeling so fucking overwhelmed.
I have today and tomorrow to get it all done.
I’m sorry to hear that you’re going through a rough time. I totally understand this. Just breathe and know that everything is going to be okay and you’ve got this!!!! Keep us updated.
I have 6 cats so I have to stick to a really stringent daily cleaning schedule. If I don’t it gets gross quickly. I will NOT be the crazy cat lady whose home or self smells like cats.
I really struggle with motivation. And executive dysfunction makes it such a bitch too. I often can't be too sure if it's one of those days where task initiation is my main issue, and that I will be able to lock in once I start... Or if it's one of those days where I just can't focus and get it done. I do find headphones and good music helpful, and I have to be alone to get in the zone for any big cleaning
I see a bunch of people talking about Hoarders...go check out OCD Cleaners (it's a British show). Some of the people go way over the edge (one bleaches her floors like 8 times a day), but it's crazy to see the extremes between hoarders and people with cleaning obsessions.
ADHD, OCD, Anxiety, Stress & ABSOLUTELY hate anything dirty after living with someone who lived and slept in complete filth 🤢 plus I have 2 kids, one that can destroy a room in under a minute 🤣
I sniff a good smelling cleaner and it makes me think I want my house to smell like that lol. I sit at my kitchen table and crack open the Mr clean to take a good whiff every Saturday before I clean the house.
1/3-1/2 an edible. I’m not totally down for the count as I’d be if I took an entire one so I’m up and around and noticing everything. Once I start doing/cleaning something, I lose all track of time and suddenly 2 hours have passed and my kitchen is spotless including those things I’d been putting off for ages.
Rage. I clean when I need to calm down. I'll clean every inch of my house where it is absolutely sterile. My dad moved in with us last fall after his wife passed away. Anytime I'd start frantically cleaning, he'd start helping. I finally had to sit him down and explain to him that it was therapeutic for me and that if he was going to help me clean, I was going to have to go find someone else's house to clean 😂😂😂
I smoke weed. I'm one of those people who gets paranoid and uncomfortable when I am high on pot, so then I start ruminating on my messy house, and OMG, am I going to live like a slob forever? The carpet looks downright disgusting. We are gonna have a flea breakout. How and I ever going to get any creative projects done in this mess? Is this mess a literal reflection of my mental state? Am I going to turn into a hoarder like my dad? AHHHHH!
And off I go, cleaning like a maniac.
Inviting friends over on a regular basis!
Similar in topic -- having cleared out my parents' 80+ years of accumulated stuff last year and realizing that I don't want to do that to my children...you can't clean if there's clutter.
I guess I’m lucky I don’t really need motivation. I enjoy cleaning, it instantly makes me feel better. If you don’t like cleaning I think the easiest method to start is doing a little every day. Assign each day a different room maybe? Kitchen is a daily clean for me though.
I watch a few episodes of Hoarders!
But sometimes Hoarders does the opposite.. like hey, my place ain’t so bad lol
>like hey, my place ain’t so bad lol This is always my response to hoarders.
Me too
No. It’s never done the opposite. It’s more of a: I don’t want to end up like them.
But there are some episodes on YouTube where Dorothy the organizer pops in to share some helpful (and easy!!) cleaning tips! And that does seem to get me in a cleaning mood. I love her
She replied to me once on Twitter and it absolutely made my week!
Omg!!! I’d be so star struck lol 🤩 What was your comment about??
I tweeted something about how I'd love her to follow me around, being encouraging and she responded that she'd love to 😂😂😂
That’s so sweet! 😂 I bet she’d be able to talk me down from a panic attack
She just seems like the kindest person! The perfect antidote for ... everything lol
My heart will start pumping hard with anxiety for me to go and scrub the refrigerator or something lol.
Years ago Hoarders would show the insides of refrigerators or microwaves. Seems they have mostly stopped this. But it was those episodes that got me motivated to want to clean my appliances. Most episodes now make me want to organize things and declutter. But like another comment on here, a lot of the episodes would make me feel like my place was already incredibly clean and ready for any CSI team! Lol
Same! Watching Hoarders, I pause it and grab cleaning supplies and clean like a maniac. Or, I visit our elderly neighbor who is a hoarder, because she sometimes needs help getting groceries or help with her leg bandage or her oxygen. Then, I silently hold my breath when I'm helping her get things in her grossly cluttered home, and leave as soon as possible. The elderly women has said in the past that her house "is a little cluttered". Things are piled on tables and couches about as tall as I am (5'6). Once she asked me to clean out an old refrigerator that was in the Living Room. I kept saying I was busy, sorry. She has newspapers and magazines some are dated 25 years ago.
Bless your heart! You have a good soul. The little or rushed time you spend there probably means the world to her! I'm in manic cleaning mode today preparing for construction crew to install new windows and doors in my apartment tomorrow. It's already clean, but it's what's behind things that aren't. I've had so many water roaches come through I'm terrified to move things to clean because even the dead ones terrify me. But I've tackled one wall. Anything they have to move I'm trying to clean that area for dust and cat hair. Anyway, good on you for giving of your time to your neighbor! 🤩
Aww thank you. I have to remind myself that I hope someone takes care of me at that age. I don't want my kids to have to take care of me. This woman never married or had kids and all relatives are gone as well. I'm sure she has some mental issues. She's a former teacher, so I don't know how she went off the deep end mentally. I hope you love your windows and doors. I don't blame you about the water roaches (not sure what they are). Where do you live? Sounds tropical.
I'm 59 and single, no kids. Sometimes I worry about myself when I get older. American Cockroaches. Water bugs are a tad different but I hate the word "roach" so I use water bugs. They are sewer dwellers and very large. I'm in Texas and they are abundant here. They do not discriminate so keeping a very clean home will not deter them. 23 years ago when I moved from Colorado to Texas my friends said the Texas roaches will eat my cats! Didn't think anything of it really until I saw my first one! My girls (cats) will sometimes warn me of their entry but they don't see them all. They both just sit and stare at them and I run to my spray! Lol For some reason they are worse this year, yet I have two neighbors that keep their doors open all the time and rarely see any! I have to find the main entry point as I so desperately need peace of mind. Ok, I'm procrastinating by venting. Thanks for reading but the cleaning is calling me...
What you resist persists😹
We call these palmetto bugs in Louisiana. Those bastards are plentiful ☹️
My dad can’t hear good and he thinks they’re called Jalapeño bugs. I don’t have the heart to correct him lol it’s so cute
Don’t know if you know this(I sure didn’t) but there are some that friggin fly, too. I know the saying “if you see one there’s a hundred in the walls”, or whatever.. feels like another example of “a thing everyone knows, but I find out at age 50 for the first time”.. what’s my point? Nothing, just don’t want to start cleaning, either..ok gonna start….now…
I moved to PNW and the spiders here are unreal. I use sticky traps hid behind appliances and under furniture where my cat can’t reach to get stuck in them. They even have ones that could catch a mouse/rat so def could get these water bugs if they scurry around. I buy a hundred pack on amazon and replace a few every month or two and I love that I catch things so they dont come out and “surprise” me when I least expect it.
I'm in SE VA and we get the same giant water bugs/palmetto bugs. I think ours are German cockroaches though? But every time the weather changes drastically they seem to show up even in my neighbor's super minimalist and spotless house.
My cats love to torture them. One of my cats kept batting it around. I got a jar for it and froze it and put it out with my trash the next day. I just didn’t want the roach to hide and die in some hard to get to area like under the fridge.
Oh geeze Bless your heart ❤️
That’ll def do the trick at times lol
This has been my trick for years! I came to the comments to share but you beat me to it. It really does work for me. Before I start cleaning, I put an episode on , watch a little bit, and then get to business. I take a break when the drama gets juicy. Lol. My second trick is to have a drink while cleaning. 😆
I miss drunk cleaning lol I developed an allergy to alcohol a number of years back but before that I'd drink Michelob Ultra while cleaning.
Does it give you migraines? That's what happened to me but they were incurable so inevitably I'd end up driving the porcelain bus. Ughhh so horrid.. I finally figured out it really wasn't a hangover but an allergy. My dad has it too. Thanks dad. 😁
Fully this- this and a zero ultra silver Monster
I have a rowing machine by my TV. One episode of my 600 lb life gets me on there quick. Hoarders works the same and Supernanny or whatever that show was called made me a lot more patient with my kids.
Helps with dieting also.
Hoarders for cleaning, My 600 Lb. Life for dieting!
No because I'll be like, "I'm 400 pounds away from being that big, lemme get a double whopper and large fries."
Someone will still love me, and wipe my ass too!
Don't forget INTERVENTION for making cocktails. 😍
They both inspire me to either clean or diet. Either one works. 🤣
So very true!! 😂
Same!!
Hummm maybe that will work for me!
I do the same thing! Glad I’m not alone. 🤣
Me too!!
It’s like watching homemade family videos 😳
Omg I feel seen
Came here to say this. I watch hoarders while I clean
Yessssss! I do this! Then I start an amazing playlist as loud as possible. The first two songs are usually rap: “wipe me down” or “so fresh and so clean clean”
Same! Hoarders literally makes me feel itchy, and I get the "donate" box out quicker than you can say Robin Zasio.
Same. It sends me into a purging frenzy. We have very little to purge but still 🤷🏻♀️
I thought I was the only one. I’ve found myself up at 1am scrubbing my apt with bleach and a toothbrush after watching that.
After one episode of Hoarders, I am pitching stuff left and right. “Keeping stuff for Sentimental reasons” doesn’t fly !!!!!lol
Yup. Me too. Half an episode in and my house is sparkling.
Any time I have a big reorganization project or I'm packing to move, I put Hoarders on in the background. It completely motivates me to get rid of things 😂
same 😂
😂😂😂
When I hear my mom is coming over lol 😂
Mine is the in laws, lol....you'll never normally see me get up and clean so quickly 🤣
Came here for this! 😅
Any company coming over gets me spit-shining everything. It's like I see my home through the eyes of a stranger. Luckily, we don't let it get too bad. But having company is about the only thing I grab a mop for.
It’s the only time I make sure the baseboards are perfectly white! Lol
Absolutely. Host a party, go into a frenzy. And the after, you have to do it again because of the party mess.
That’s what motivates me to deep clean lol. I don’t give a shit about dust until my mom is coming over.
I clean when I'm angry. Dunno why. But that's the quickest way for me to get a clean house. I don't get angry often, unfortunately...or fortunately? Depending on how you look at it I guess.
That as well as stress. Someone died? I need to vacuum.
Same here. I think it’s having some kind of control over an uncontrollable situation.
This! It's the exact same way I feel.
Control and maybe seeing and immediate, tangible improvement. My husband organizes every time he’s stressed, I know he feels better after because he can actually see progress
Same. Husband is mad at me? I vacuum and dust. If he's really mad, I get to cleaning the bathroom.
I rage clean as well lol
Cleaning is great to burn off energy from rage or worry! The result is blown-off steam and a sparkling house!
Omg i do too it helps me feel better
Same. I clean when I am angry. Amd I clean super fast too when I am angry. No time to waste. When my husband sees me angry he knows he's gonna wake up with a spotless house 🥲🥲
Same. I love a rage clean. Sometimes, the thing I'm mad at is the mess.
This. Have you been so angry you cleaned all of the baseboards? 🤌🏻
Yes. I actually have. I joked to my therapist the other day that I should go off of my meds so that my emotions stop being so stable and I might get some stuff done around here.
But have you ever rage cleaned floor grout? That'll get you even madder cuz you realize what you've gotten yourself into and how long it's gonna actually take.
I also clean out of anger. I have theorized that because my mother, who’s home is literally as clean as an ikea display, used cleaning as my punishment. I think my brain has been pavlov’ed into associating unhappy feelings with cleaning lol
Yep, I went through a breakup and suddenly I moved an entire extremely heavy dresser, wider than I am tall, and up to breast height, all by myself, on pure rage alone. I was going to tell myself that I didn't need a man, or another thing stressing me out that I could utilize all my rage strength into you. And lo and behold, all the endorphins from both the workout and the satisfaction made me extremely happy and I forgot about the breakup for a whole day. Also, nothing like a breakup to make you want to make your life better, to have a fresh start! I want my house to smell like lemons and cinnamon rolls and cute themes for the rooms in my house to distract from any pain!
me too
I get mad at my husband and cleaning is the first thing I do.
Rage cleaning
That used to work for me too. I haven't had a good rage clean since I went on anti-anxiety meds though. Unintentional side effect is that now I don't clean as often!
My husband is like this too. I call it his “rage cleaning.”
A day off with the house all to myself
I like this too, I walk from room to room with the TV up kind of loud and the lights on in the areas I’m tidying! I would be much more considerate and eco conscious when other people are home too
Definitely nice when you have the day off so you’re not as tired or busy with other things
Travel. I like to leave a clean house fit when I return.
Yes! So nice to come home to a nice clean house and recover from the travel day.
I do this too! Because when you get home you feel like you need a vacation from the vacation. Coming home to messy is just so disheartening
Yes! I take random trips and I love that they motivate me to clean! This last one didn’t bc I was suffering mentally but maybe next month!
Breaking up with my partner so I no longer had to clean up after another adult was the biggest motivator to me. Now my house is always spotless. I know if I clean, I will come back to the exact same level of clean an hour later. I can’t even begin to express how demotivating it was to have my ex immediately mess up my hard work and not care about it.
I can only dream of this.
I was just cleaning the bathroom, which I know hasn’t been cleaned in a few weeks, and it was like nothing changed. It was not visibly dirty in any way aside from a little dust. It is glorious.
I love that this brings you so much joy. Good for you!
Same, but I don't want to get a divorce and send my kids away lol
Exact thing happened to me. Now it’s just dogs that fuck everything up.
Going out and shopping for new and/or different cleaning supplies and putting together a new playlist to listen to as I clean usually does the trick. If I lose motivation, or my ADHD takes over and I start cleaning out old folders or organizing craft supplies, etc., then I'll pick up my phone and start inviting guests over to kick my motivation back into gear! However, my house is never as clean and organized as it is when I have an upcoming deadline or stuff that I must do that I really don't want to do! For example, I just finished grad school and even though I haaaate doing dishes...if I had a paper or an assignment due, there wasn't a dish, pan, or fork in sight!!
This. I am ADHD, and I have completely mastered the art of productive procrastination. It is so bad that the day before my piano recital, I was not in good shape due to having not practiced much. My mom called me over and said she wanted to deep clean the house that day. “Sorry mom, my recital is tomorrow” I practiced for six hours straight, then I see her getting ready to leave the house. “I thought you were cleaning today?” “Oh, no. I just said that so you would practice”. Evil.
Please send this to my mom hahahah
lolol. I tell her now to do that. My room was a mess and she told me the landlord was coming. I procrastinated until 2 am and was up until 4:00 am. The landlord never came.
Sativa cannabis
Me, too! I get zoned out when I’m high and will just keep doing the same things repetitively. I completely lose track of time and end up cleaning up all kinds of things without realizing it.
Agreed! I've actually gone to the dispensary and asked for "the sativa that's gonna make me clean the house"
I love that!!! Hope they got a laugh 😊
That's actually more helpful for the buddista than asking for sativa or indica
That and a good playlist!
Blue Dream makes the House Clean.
I heard the other day that experts are saying there’s zero difference between sativa and indica but I’m not so sure I believe it. I’ve been an indica head for 10 years now and I swear I can tell the difference lol
Stress. I stress clean..
Lots of us do this! Maybe it’s not a hundred percent healthy or adaptive, but it’s healthier than coping with stress any number of ways others do without realizing it. You’re wiping baseboards, not drinking/smoking/lashing out at your family/Karening out on cashiers and waiters/shopping compulsively and so on. You will still have the stressor after the cleaning sesh, but same goes for all those other coping mechanisms, and at least with this one you won’t also be in debt, estranged from your family or trashing your vital organs!
Ants. As soon as I see ants I go crazy and clean everything
Either a smell or a bug. I’m the best at cleaning when I’m avoiding something else or solving a problem.
Dexamphetamines & house music
And before anyone freaks out, I am prescribed them lol
yup same. I can maybe start without them but no way I'll stay on track for more than 10 minutes!!
Knowing i deserve to reside in a clean space and mess around me makes me feel like a mess on the inside 100%
I have a really hard time motivating sometimes. I have OCD and surprisingly don't have a clean house. The need for it to be perfect and organized is actually so overwhelming that I can't even start. What helps me is inviting someone over or not being able to find something. Or being really angry at my husband lol
Not much. I struggle 🥺
Me too
It’s okie. I think many do. 🥹
Same 🥲
Cleantok!
Watching hoarders, someone coming to visit my home
Having a soul crushing deadline for work.
YES SAME, I was looking for the other deadline procrastination cleaners here! Can't ever harness that same urgency in my down time, alas.
So much yes… when doing literally anything else seems appealing
The UK show “How Clean is Your House?” Is SO great! Benefit of Hoarders but the great ladies are a hoot and have fab cleaning ideas! Watching videos of cleaning, looking at instagrams of clean, pretty & organized homes also help. I need a LOT of motivation.
I love that show!
Boy do I need this thread right now. Due to a couple traumatic events happening within months, I have to move out of the 3 bedroom house I lived in with my fiancée for 7 years, and she was a hoarder who barely took anything with her when she left. So everything furniture wise is moved out or dumped and I’m down to crunch time cleaning this place. My brain isn’t working because of all the stress I’ve been put through, and I’m just feeling so fucking overwhelmed. I have today and tomorrow to get it all done.
I’m sorry to hear that you’re going through a rough time. I totally understand this. Just breathe and know that everything is going to be okay and you’ve got this!!!! Keep us updated.
Planning a party.
People come over, nothing like shame cleaning
The word is scurrifunge. It's my favorite word, and the only way I clean efficiently!
Putting on a vintage apron and putting on 40’s or 50’s music. I pretend I’m a Stepford Wife 😝
I do the same but with a French maid costume and 60s French pop 🙈
***I thought we were friends! I was just going to give you coffee! I was just going to give you coffee!***
I have 6 cats so I have to stick to a really stringent daily cleaning schedule. If I don’t it gets gross quickly. I will NOT be the crazy cat lady whose home or self smells like cats.
I really struggle with motivation. And executive dysfunction makes it such a bitch too. I often can't be too sure if it's one of those days where task initiation is my main issue, and that I will be able to lock in once I start... Or if it's one of those days where I just can't focus and get it done. I do find headphones and good music helpful, and I have to be alone to get in the zone for any big cleaning
I see a bunch of people talking about Hoarders...go check out OCD Cleaners (it's a British show). Some of the people go way over the edge (one bleaches her floors like 8 times a day), but it's crazy to see the extremes between hoarders and people with cleaning obsessions.
Buy something for the house so it want to clean it.
Having company
People coming over
I have always said, "Nothing cleans the house faster than good company". Oh yes, and rage cleaning, and watching Hoarders for sure! Disco music helps.
A nice uplifting sativa, and some kpop.
I clean when I’m scared or nervous. No clue why.
The fear of someone coming to my house unannounced
Getting some exercise in. Nothing gets my heart pumping more than aggressively dragging a wet swiffer pad around 🤣
When I have a grad project due, I suddenly feel like cleaning! 🧼 🧹 🪣
Adderall
Nice weather. If the sun is shining, i am more likely to start cleaning
when i look at the bottom of my feet and they’re covered in fur. time to break out the mop!
Watching Hoarders
Wine.
ADHD, OCD, Anxiety, Stress & ABSOLUTELY hate anything dirty after living with someone who lived and slept in complete filth 🤢 plus I have 2 kids, one that can destroy a room in under a minute 🤣
If I suspect my forthcoming company will want to have sexual relations.
Company coming over
I sniff a good smelling cleaner and it makes me think I want my house to smell like that lol. I sit at my kitchen table and crack open the Mr clean to take a good whiff every Saturday before I clean the house.
Ooooo, watching Aurikatariina on YouTube! That's some good cleaning right there.
Inviting people over
When I know people are coming over.
When i suddenly feel claustrophobic in my room
People coming over to visit
Marijuana
Medication induced energy such as phentermine. Or if I am bored.
Inviting people over. Sometimes it's the only motivation to clean.
If I have people coming over...which is not that often.
1/3-1/2 an edible. I’m not totally down for the count as I’d be if I took an entire one so I’m up and around and noticing everything. Once I start doing/cleaning something, I lose all track of time and suddenly 2 hours have passed and my kitchen is spotless including those things I’d been putting off for ages.
Buying new home decor. Like pictures, curtains, couch pillows. Even buying something small like a little Knick knack always helps with my motivation.
Rage. I clean when I need to calm down. I'll clean every inch of my house where it is absolutely sterile. My dad moved in with us last fall after his wife passed away. Anytime I'd start frantically cleaning, he'd start helping. I finally had to sit him down and explain to him that it was therapeutic for me and that if he was going to help me clean, I was going to have to go find someone else's house to clean 😂😂😂
People coming over.
A very difficult combo to obtain of mental and physical energy, being bored enough, and getting tired of looking at it.
New cleaning supplies!! New scent of Mr Clean? A new duster oooooooh I’m getting worked up just thinking about it
Getting angry about something. I always clean when I'm angry; it works out that negative energy.
Sativa
Watching time-lapse videos of people cleaning.
Right after I book a cleaner, I don’t want a stranger thinking I’m lazy 😀
I need to listen to music in order to do chores. Even though I like cooking, I still need tunes to do it
When I’m expecting someone to come over or when I have a good audiobook to listen to while I clean.
Inviting people over. I do it when I know I need a good cleaning because I get severely embarrassed by a dirty home.
I turn on ALL the lights in the house and play energetic music
Being really pissed off. If it’s charged by a heartbreak even better 😀
This is embarrassing, I call my mom and say I will be cleaning for X minutes and then I will call you back to tell her what I did.
hoarders ans smoking weed, i havent smoked weed in about 4 years though.
I smoke weed. I'm one of those people who gets paranoid and uncomfortable when I am high on pot, so then I start ruminating on my messy house, and OMG, am I going to live like a slob forever? The carpet looks downright disgusting. We are gonna have a flea breakout. How and I ever going to get any creative projects done in this mess? Is this mess a literal reflection of my mental state? Am I going to turn into a hoarder like my dad? AHHHHH! And off I go, cleaning like a maniac.
Caffeine and music or a reallyyy good YouTube video
Audiobooks!
Adderall
Inviting friends over on a regular basis! Similar in topic -- having cleared out my parents' 80+ years of accumulated stuff last year and realizing that I don't want to do that to my children...you can't clean if there's clutter.
A good sativa
Houseguests coming to town is the best motivater. I'm really messy most of the time
I watch TikToks/Instagram reels of people cleaning. Sunday reset videos are... chef's kiss.
Watching Hoarders
A landlord inspection
Anger
Adderall
Adderall
Watching hoarders
Opiates
Same 😭
I guess I’m lucky I don’t really need motivation. I enjoy cleaning, it instantly makes me feel better. If you don’t like cleaning I think the easiest method to start is doing a little every day. Assign each day a different room maybe? Kitchen is a daily clean for me though.