Three things that made cleaning far more enjoyable

I wasn't born this way, so here's what makes it so much easier and far more enjoyable.

This issue is brought to you by WHOOP, the health wearable that helps you track and manage hidden sources of stress. It’s gratifying to see WHOOP count your afternoon cleaning session as an “activity!” You worked hard, and your heart is healthier for it. It’s also helpful to see how stressful packing and unpacking from a trip is on my body. WHOOP can pinpoint these events too, and help you better plan for them. I use my WHOOP data every day to sleep better, have more energy, and manage stress. Join WHOOP today and get your first 30 days free.

I’ll admit it… I LIKE TO CLEAN. I like vacuuming and mopping. I love folding laundry (and I always put it away). I like hand-washing dishes, and I’ve learned to love putting clean dishes in the dishwasher away. I love meal prep (duh), I love tidying, and I LIVE to shovel. I don’t love taking the trash out, but that’s about it?

My mom is reading this right now and laughing, because she’ll tell you I wasn’t always like this. I was messy growing up. Okay, I was messy into my 30’s. But over the years, I’ve learned to make household tasks easier, more enjoyable, and more satisfying, and today you’ll rarely find our common areas or my closet room a mess.

Here are the three things that make cleaning easy (easier, at least) for me. To put this another way, take these away and I’d go back to my slovenly teenage ways.

Aside: I’m relentlessly neurotypical, so please take that into account. I have no trouble initiating an activity, I can easily stay on task, and I’m not overwhelmed by a big project. If you’re neurodivergent (like my husband, who has wicked ADHD), the things that work for me may not work for you. That’s not your fault! There is nothing “wrong” if you struggle with cleaning! Household tasks are morally neutral! Refer to K.C. Davis’s book How to Keep House While Drowning for hugely helpful strategies in this context.

All activity counts

There are days (or times of day) when I want to be active, but I don’t want to exercise. This happens a lot after dinner, when the dogs have been walked and my work is done for the day, but I’m not yet ready to sit on the couch. (My husband calls this my “evening putter.”) It also happens every single weekend, when I find myself with an hour and want to do something, but nothing hard.

In those moments, I’ll clean, tidy, or organize. I’ll fold laundry, de-clutter a drawer or cabinet, organize my closet, or sweep the patio and garage. I don’t have an agenda, and I only do the tasks I feel like doing, but I like that I’m moving.

All activity counts. You don’t have to “exercise” to stay active. Vacuuming, sweeping, folding, organizing, cleaning, even filing is an activity! I like knowing that I get an extra hour of movement in my day in a way that doesn’t stress my body, and that I’ll have something to show for it.

In fact, WHOOP often records my organizing or cleaning sessions as an “activity!” (That means I got my heart rate up for a sustained period of time, which translates to improved cardiovascular capacity!) I have a lot of “manual labor” and “yard work” in my WHOOP journal.

Takeaway: It doesn’t matter whether it’s 10 minutes, an hour, or a whole afternoon. If you find yourself feeling a little restless or wanting to move, take that energy and apply it somewhere in your house, garage, or yard.

I get to listen to my audiobook

I “discovered” audiobooks a few years ago, and my whole life changed. I am an avid reader (understatement), and now that I’m an avid listener, I always have an audiobook going. I only listen during specific activities, like driving, walking or running, and yes—cleaning.

Getting to listen to something I enjoy feels like dessert, and I often find myself wanting to clean or organize something just to listen a little bit longer. (Could I lie down on the couch and listen? Not me. I can read with my eyes for hours, but if I’m listening, I need to be doing something.)

I use the Libby app to download books from my local library, so I’m not spending money. I listen to a lot of thrillers, which don’t require you to pay super close attention, but keep you listening for the twist. Also, I have noise-canceling headphones that let me listen when I vacuum or sweep, and a bluetooth speaker to carry the sound if I’m cleaning an entire room. I have set myself up for success here, making it easy to listen no matter what I’m doing.

Takeaway: Whether it’s an audiobook, podcast, or TV series, find something you’ll want to listen to or watch, and save it for certain activities. If you make a habit of folding laundry while watching Netflix, it will make it easier for that laundry to get folded. A pair of headphones and small bluetooth speaker are the best accessories!

I know where everything goes

This one isn’t as easy, because it does require an up-front commitment. However, having a place for everything (and having that place not be overflowing with stuff) makes it so much easier to keep things neat and tidy.

If I find myself struggling to hang things up, it’s often because I have too much stuff in there, and it’s all smushed together. Taking a few hours to purge and donate, then moving all of the empty hangers to the front of the rack, makes it a hundred times easier to hang those sweatshirts.

If I can’t find anything in my bathroom drawer, it’s because I’ve been tossing stuff in without a specific space in mind. I’ll take an hour to pull it all out, purge, organize, and put things back in neat plastic containers. Now it’s way easier to put my tweezers, zit stickers, and manicure stuff back after I use it.

If everything has a place, and those places have room, it will make it much easier to keep things tidy. And if things don’t have a space, have you tried a basket? I have a catch-all basket in most rooms for “stuff I don’t know what to do with.” Eventually, yes, I need to find a home for it, but for now, it’s off the floor and out of sight!

Takeaway: You can tackle one small area at a time, or dedicate one afternoon to organize one big area—but start with a place that is already causing stress. If having small storage dividers or containers would help, get some! (Or use something you already have, like Mason jars or storage containers for which you lost the lids.

Do you have a hack, strategy, or tip that makes cleaning and organizing easier for you—or at least bearable? You can do it any way you want, so please share in the comments (which are open to all)!

XO, MU