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Nobody likes to clean all the mess for hours, especially on the weekend. It is already a difficult task but worrying about it makes it more difficult. But you can dust the worry off if you follow some tactics and advice.
Doing the small chores one day at a time for a few minutes prevents mess from piling up. Being practical also helps big time. Also, professional cleaning services once in a while come in handy to take the worry away for several months.
Different people worry about different things about cleaning. Once you know what triggers you, you will be able to handle it in a lot better way. Stick around till the end to know more about how to stop worrying about cleaning!
Why Do You Worry About Cleaning?
It is not always your untidy home that bugs you. Sometimes it is some of your underlying triggers and traits that will have you worry about cleaning all the time.
Unrealistic Standards and Expectations
Sometimes you set the cleaning standard in your mind so high that you do not want to picture your home in any other way. And, you want to get a picture-perfect clean, and tidy home as shown on Pinterest or in celebrity lifestyle blogs. These expectations can trigger you even before you start cleaning.
The prior standards and unrealistic approach to cleaning make you think that no matter how much you clean, it will never be enough. So even if your home is not a mess shown in Hoarders, the thought of cleaning it will keep you restless.
Procrastination
House cleaning only becomes stressful when you leave all the work out for the last moment. And, as we all know, Ignoring small tasks invites worry and stress into our life.
Life can be very busy at times. To make things worse, not cleaning or organising the small things every day will make you more stressed out when you finally decide to clean the entire house in one go!
Grab my cleaning routine which involves doing a little each day to stop the overwhelm of cleaning the entire home in one day.
Fear of Judgment
If you have this tendency to live up to people’s expectations and judgments, it will always trigger you when it comes to house cleaning. Because you’re afraid your guests will judge you if you don’t clean and organise the clutter.
A clean home represents your personality; this thought comes from your fear of judgment. So, you feel the urge to keep your home tidy all the time and end up worrying about it!
How to Stop Worrying About Cleaning?
You do not have to give up cleaning entirely to sweep away all the worry. Otherwise, germs, bugs, diseases will invade your home. But you can surely reduce or eliminate your worry by following the steps mentioned below!
Be Practical
You need to come to terms with the fact that your home is not going to be spotless always. Never beat yourself up on cleaning just because your home doesn’t look as tidied up as Marie Kondo’s. And I am sure that even she has her bad days too when she doesn’t wake up with a spotless home. Social media, on the other hand, does not show you the other side of the coin.
You should quit living in other people’s shadows. Only then you will not worry too much to get a super shiny and organised home to gain their praise. Always remember that your personality doesn’t depend on the state of the home or other’s validation.
To be practical you also need to understand that there is no best award out there for the cleanest and tidiest home. So learn to be satisfied with the efforts you put into keeping the home sanitised. Because a sanitised home is way more important than a spotless one!
Take It One Day at A Time
Instead of doing all the house cleaning tasks in a day, develop a habit of doing small chores regularly. It will prevent clutter from piling up so that you do not need to worry about overthrowing the big mess in a day.
Every morning let the sunshine come through the window so that bugs, especially bed bugs do not bug you. And every day you can spend at least 20 minutes folding the laundry or (un)loading the dishwasher, or tidying up the kitchen counter. Doing these small things regularly with a break in between is much less stressful than cleaning the home in a day after weeks.
You should teach your other family members the importance of this behavior. And if your kids do not want to help you out with that, turn it into a little fun game for them.
You can write down some light tasks such as organising a study table or collecting scattered toys, on some paper. And write some treats on other pieces. And put the papers on a hat and have them pick randomly. The treats will motivate them to do these little things regularly. And managing the home will be easier, not stressful.
Keep Your Mind Busy
If your home is not too unhygienic or stinky to live in, cleaning the little mess should not worry you. While worrying about cleaning may be unavoidable for some, I recommend focusing your attention on something else to distract yourself. You can find a stress-busting hobby.
But don’t waste your time doing the same thing over and over. Because it will not keep your mind engaged every day. So, try different things out such as listening to audiobooks, motivational podcasts.
You can listen to your favorite songs while you do the little chores and cleaning. It will keep you positive and won’t dread you as much as you thought it would.
Ask for Professional Help
When you have breathing room in your budget, you can contact professionals to clean or organise your mess. There are different types of cleaning services. All of them do not do all the work. So, understand first, whether it is clutter or dusty uncleaned places that stress you the most. And then according to your needs, call junk removal service or deep cleaning services.
A deep cleaning service will make sure that you do not have to clean the surfaces or area for at least six months. They will clean every corner of your home, even the window sills, and heavy appliances.
If your worry is only about cleaning the clutter then you should call junk removal services. Unlike other options, it is pretty affordable. So when in worry, professional cleaners are just a call away.
Create Sections
Create different sections for frequently used items or belongings. Keep your indoor plants, laundry, and food items out of reach from kids and pets. So they cannot make a mess.
When kids stop playing with their toys, keep those in a separated closed section or space. It will prevent them from creating a big mess every now and then. But if you keep them in an open space, those visual stimuli will keep on stressing you out.
Create different pending folders so that you can keep papers, inks, pens, and files organised. And they will not pile up here and there to cause all the worry and stress.
Final Thoughts
Cleaning only becomes stressful when it is left for the eleventh hour coupled with an unrealistic approach. And often this worry will not let you do any other work properly, not even cleaning itself.
But now that you know how to stop worrying about cleaning, invest that time in other works or hobbies instead of worrying. Thank you for making it to the end!
