Many clutters resist (or, in most cases, dread), organizing, cleaning a generally decluttering their homes. They tend to abhor the task, and, in most cases, don’t even consider that cleaning up has the potential to be fun. However, it can – and it’s an excellent goal to try and make the act of cleaning up a fun activity. If you can’t do it, perhaps you could at least make it emotionally neutral.
Start By Considering The Possibility
After recovering from the shock, just try and consider that cleaning has the potential to be a nice, positive experience. I’ll be using the term cleaning here to encompass cleaning itself, but organizing and decluttering, too.
What could be fun about cleaning? We’ll, it all comes down to your attitude. Your attitude only depends on you, really, so you have to think of ways that’ll help you have a positive or a fun attitude towards it.
Music Touches Us Inside
A good way to make cleaning fun is by playing your favorite music when doing it. It could be some energizing, uplifting beats or a soft, mellow tune. I like music that inspires me, but it depends on the person. Some clients of mine play reggae, some play classical, some listen to Josh Groban while others prefer rock, Latin music or gentle music. In the end, pick some music which feels good to you at the time.
If you have an iPod, it can be a great idea to program a playlist for it. I choose the playlist which feels best to me at the time. I have categories such as Latin, Hawaiian, Native American, Inspiring and Beautiful (New Age). The playlists work for me, so go and find some that’ll work for you.
Other Ways To Make It Fun
There are many little things you can do to make cleaning more fun. Dress for the occasion! Put on a funny hat or some weird clothing. Maybe take some old clothing and renew it to make it your special cleaning outfit! Be as crazy or silly as you like, or maybe even go beyond that!
You could organize, clean or declutter in funny, nonsensical ways, too. Make a game, for instance. Organize only the red items in a room, and then pick a different color each day. Maybe pick items by size (tiny, small, medium, big and huge) or by shape (rectangular, square, round). You can even use more silly words and play with it!
Is this Crazy or Stupid?
Actually, there’s a very scientifically sound rationale to it. When you do something fun, your emotions and your mind will convince you to want to do it again. It reduces stress, too, so you create less cortisol and feel better. It sets off a nice cascade that improves the immune system and even causes your body to burn fat, giving you more energy than burning sugar. Burning sugar, on the other hand, tends to set up a negative cascade which leaves you energetic and craving more. Here’s to making it fun!