How I Got Motivated To Clean When I Was Feeling TOO Overwhelmed

In a rut? Feeling overwhelmed with NO motivation to clean your messy house or declutter or do anything? Here’s what helped me get motivated – and it was such simple cleaning motivation advice that I find myself using often.

Hopefully, it will help you get motivation to clean as much as it helped me.

It’s tricky to find motivation to clean house when you feel depressed and completely UNmotivated to do anything at all.

Heck, even getting out of bed can be a real challenge when you’re feeling this way.

I’ve been there quite a few times AND managed to get myself motivated and back to “normal” with some simple, yet amazing, advice from a trusted friend.

If YOU can’t find a way to get motivated to clean anything in your house, I want to share what I learned…and what helped me through it all the most.

The Key To Finding Motivation

There is a secret to finding motivation to clean when depressed, sad, or just feeling like garbage. It’s simple…and it really, REALLY helps.

Learning and applying this secret changed everything for me.

A dear friend told me something during one of my really bad times and it really, REALLY helped:

It’s ok to run the dishwasher twice.

Let me explain.

When you think about getting up to clean something, and you’re like me, you automatically feel overwhelmed by ALL you need to do –

and you shut down…

and nothing gets done.

I remember thinking:

“I simply don’t have it in me to stand at the sink and wash ALL those dishes and load them ALL in the dishwasher”

(yes, I have a weird habit of washing my dishes before they go in the dishwasher…lol!)

I said my feelings out loud to my friend one day, and she said…

“Don’t take all that time to wash your dishes BEFORE you put them in the dishWASHER – just put them in there dirty and turn it on”

I immediately said:

“That won’t work! The dishes won’t get clean!”

So she said…

“It’s Ok to run the dishwasher twice.”

Run the dishwasher TWICE!??!

Isn’t that a waste?

Isn’t that LAZY?

C’mon now – my house really looked like sh*t, I was feeling WAY too overwhelmed by EVERYTHING – just the THOUGHT of doing something half-assed stressed me out even more.

But turned out, that last statement I just made was what was keeping me from doing ANYTHING at ALL.

I said: “just the THOUGHT of doing something half-assed stressed me out even more”

In other words, I was also REFUSING to LET myself do even a little bit…

To do something.

If I wasn’t going to do it “right” and do it completely – I wasn’t doing it.

But the thought of DOING it the ‘right way’ was too much.

Cleaning, decluttering, organizing etc is NOT an “ALL or NOTHING” task.

Just do SOMETHING.

She told me it is NOT a waste, nor is it lazy, to do what you can, when you can – and let things HELP you.

If I can’t manage to get motivated to completely fill the dishwasher, it’s ok to load the few dishes I can and turn the dishwasher on….

even if that means the dishwasher isn’t totally full.

(gasp!)

If I can’t get motivated to shower, dry my hair, put makeup on etc etc etc…. it’s ok to just stand in the shower and then put clean clothes on.

If I can’t find it in me to STAND in the shower, guess what?

It’s ok to SIT in the shower and just let the water run over me.

If I can’t get motivated to vacuum, it’s ok to just pick up 3 things off the floor and throw them away or put them away.

If I can’t get motivated to clean my room, just get a bedroom cleaning checklist and do ONE thing off the list.

When you feel depressed it is NOT the time to make “All or Nothing” rules for yourself or to commit to checklists of TOO many things to do.

Do what you can.

ANYTHING is better than nothing.

Stop judging yourself and/or beating yourself up for not having motivation right now.

It’s ok – and it all will be ok.

Treat yourself the same way you would treat a friend who was depressed and lacking motivation.

You wouldn’t berate that friend, would you?

Of course not!

You’d be kind – and supportive – and patient.

Be that friend to yourself.

A clean house is NOT more important than YOUR mental health.

Take care of YOU first.

More Cleaning Motivation Tips:

Below are some of the best cleaning tips and tricks I’ve read to motivate you to clean up the mess:

Resources Found In The Picture Above:

(1) How To Get Motivated To Clean When You Have ZERO Motivation

(2) Too Much Stuff? 7 Simple Steps To Get Rid Of Stuff and Simplify Your Life

(3) How To Declutter and Downsize When You Have Too Much Stuff

(4) Checklist: Where To START Seriously Organizing Your Home

Cleaning Motivation AFTER Being Depressed

Once you allow yourself the grace to slowly get yourself back together, you hopefully will find the motivation to clean more and more of your house.

This video below has some great tips for cleaning a neglected house after you’ve been depressed:

More Cleaning Tips