Many of us spend a lot of time cleaning — whether that involves scrubbing bathrooms, mopping floors, organizing rooms, picking up, washing dishes, doing laundry, or the host of other jobs that are part of running a home.
I’m always on the lookout for ways to savor life more and make the most of each day, so I’ve come up with various ways to make cleaning more fun. As it’s something that needs to be done, I figure I might as well make it fun!
I thought you might enjoy seeing my list:
1. Listen to audiobooks & podcasts.
I love audiobooks! They are not only a great way to “read” more books, but they are also so portable.
You can download them to your phone or device and bring it with you from room to room as you clean or do laundry. Or, if you’re working in the kitchen or staying in one area, you can listen to audiobooks right on your computer.
Okay, can I confess? This is one of my favorites… and it’s an especially great way to tackle a huge laundry pile!
While I love great movies, I also like to watch educational/teaching videos — such as those from Amy Porterfield on using Facebook strategically. I have a few business development type email lists I’m subscribed to and as interesting videos/podcasts come into my inbox that I want to check out, I stick them in a file to save to watching while I’m working on something else — like cooking or cleaning.
3. Plan Blog Posts
This might seem weird, but when I’m working on a blog post idea, I often outline it while cleaning. In fact, this very post you’re reading started as an outline that I scribbled out while cleaning the kitchen!
I try to keep a notebook handy for jotting down these thoughts and ideas. Often, in the course of a 30-minute cleaning session, I can have the entire skeleton of a post completely outlined. I then just take this outline and type it up into a post draft to flesh out later when I have more time.
Sometimes these post drafts will sit in my drafts folder for a few weeks, but I love that it always means I have a few post ideas outlined and at my fingertips if I have a day when my creativity is running low or don’t have a lot of time to invest in blogging.
If you’re doing really simple cleaning or cooking, you can often accomplish it while talking to a friend on the phone. Or, to make it even more rewarding, invite a local friend to come work alongside you while you’re canning that huge batch of peaches, tackling that massive re-organization project, or painting your living room.
Make sure it’s a friend who has “gone the distance” with you already and (it might seem a little like you’re imposing or taking advantage of your friend if you just met her a few weeks ago!) also make sure that you offer to come help her with her next project, too.
5. Listen to a Child Read
If you have a child who is learning to read and needs some reading practice time, having them sit in the same room with you while you’re cleaning and read to you. This can be a great way to help them practice while also tackling that messy closet.
Note: Make sure you aren’t always multi-tasking when you’re with your children, as you can’t multi-task your presence. However, if it’s something they need to practice over and over again, cleaning while they are practicing might be a great option some of the time.
6. Work Alongside Your Kids
Even better than listening to your child practice their reading assignment while you’re cleaning is to ask them to join in with you while you clean. This helps your children learn how to do basic household chores (which is an invaluable gift you can give to your child!) and it also also can be a fun time spent together with your kids.
Yes, it may take longer and the job might not get done exactly as you would do it if you did it without their help, but it will be worth it for the time you invested in your child(ren) in the process. Plus, if you keep working alongside your child(ren), in the long-run, it will save you time as they’ll eventually be able to be a big help to you!
7. Think & Pray
I love to use cleaning time for thinking, processing, and praying. I always have various ideas I’m turning over in my brain and considering from various angles. The exercise of scrubbing and washing and shining seems to help my brain come alive — so it’s a great time to be thinking through things.
I also have many needs I want to pray for — both for my own family, in our community, and the needs of friends and others who live far away. Often, cleaning time is a great time for me to spend time praying for these needs. Many times, I’ll text a friend after I’ve prayed for her to let her know that she was on my heart that day. It’s a simple act that only takes 30 seconds or less, but I’ve found it’s a great way to foster deep friendships and to let people know you really care about them.
8. Memorize Scripture
If you are working on memorizing a passage of Scripture, listening to it aloud while cleaning or reciting it aloud while cleaning is a great time to review it. I like to play the passage on my phone with a free Bible app I downloaded that has audio versions of the Bible you can listen to.
9. Sing or Listen to Music
If you need to uplift your spirits, turning on some upbeat music (I love Pandora or iTunes radio stations for this!) and cleaning can be a lot of fun — and you’ll probably find you work faster, too! Want to step it up a notch sing and dance with the music while you clean.
10. Use a Timer
I LOVE timing myself when doing all sorts of different activities. I find that the timer keeps me on tasks, helps me to stay focused, and motivates me to work more quickly. Plus, I usually find that it takes less time than I expect to finish a project — which is always encouraging!
What are YOUR favorite ways to make cleaning more fun?
I’ve been having so much fun getting back to my roots as a blogger and just sharing from my heart and sharing the daily life stuff that happens around here.
As I plan out posts for the coming weeks and months, I’d LOVE to hear your input on what types of posts you’d most enjoy reading.
If you have a minute, could you do me a favor and leave a comment letting me know what you’d like me to write about.
Just something simple like: “Crystal, I’d love to see you write on ______” or “Crystal, I wish you’d share about _____” or “Crystal, I’d love to see a post or series on ______.” You fill in the blanks!
The floor is all yours! Ready, set, GO…
{And thank you for your input! You all mean the world to me!}
One of my goals for 2014 is to focus on my health. It’s easy to let our health take a back burner to everything else on our to-do list. But as I share in my new book, Say Goodbye to Survival Mode, I’ve experienced what happens when you put your health last… and it’s not pretty!
With this in mind, I’m committed to making my health even more of a priority this year. And I’d love to have you join me for the 12 Months to a Healthier You Challenge.
We’re be focusing on one challenge area each month — all with the goal of being in a healthier place as a person by the end of next year. My hope is that as we work on instilling one new healthy habit each month, they won’t just be month-long challenges, but lifelong changes.
12 Months to a Healthier You Focus Areas for 2014
Here are the focus areas I’ve planned out for 2014:
January: Exercise Regularly February: Eat More Fresh Fruits & Veggies March: Drink More Water April: Cut Back on Sugar May: Get More Rest June: Create a Morning Routine July: Read More August: Go to Bed Earlier September: Declutter Your Home October: Cut Back on Caffeine November: Keep a Gratitude Journal December: Simplify & Say No
How This Challenge Works:
At the beginning of the month, I’ll introduce the focus area and encourage you to set a small goal for that specific area and I’ll share my goals.
Then, every Friday, I’ll have a check-in post where I’ll encourage you to share your progress & struggles and I’ll share mine, as well. If you want to blog about your progress, I’ll include a link-up at the end of the post so you can share your blog posts on this challenge.
In addition to the Friday check-ins, I’ll also probably share a few posts and guest posts on the monthly topics each month, along with sharing about related books, resources, or websites that I’ve found helpful.
Are you on social media? You can also share your progress on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, or Twitter by using hashtag #12MonthstoaHealthierYou.
My Goals for Creating a Morning Routine During June
I’m SO glad this is the challenge this month, because ever since we’ve moved, I’ve felt like I’m still trying to find my morning routine groove. So my goal for this month is to come up with a simple morning routine that works for this season of our lives and to make it a habit for every morning.
I’m also hoping to keep up with January’s habit of exercising at least 4-5 times every week, February’s goal of eating a big salad at least six times a week, March’s goal of drinking 8 glasses of water a day, April’s goal of cutting back on sugar, and May’s goal of getting at least 7.5 hours of sleep every night.
Will you be joining me for this June Challenge? If so, leave a comment letting us know you’re planning to join. Tomorrow morning, I’ll share about our planned morning routine and will encourage you to share your planned morning routine, too!
Mac & cheese, fruit Snack-y lunch {veggies, cheese, yogurt, fruit, crackers, etc.} PB&J, carrot sticks, apples Cheese quesadillas, carrot sticks Leftovers x 3
Snacks
Fruit/veggies Popcorn Boiled eggs
Dinners
Pancakes, Eggs, & Bacon Bell Pepper Nachos Steamed Cabbage With Beef Grilling out with friends — we’re bringing meat, veggies, and fruit Pizza Stuffed Pretzel Rolls, fruit Brown Sugar Meatloaf, mashed potatoes, steamed veggies, fruit Dinner Out
What's on your menu this week? Tell us in the comments or leave a link to your menu plan post.
After five weeks of having a trip of some sort every single week, I’m so grateful to be HOME all week this week! I love the opportunity I have to travel and speak around the country, but I love nothing more than to be home with my family.
I kind of bombed my goals last week… but I have high hopes that this week will be different. We’ll see!
How did you do on last week's goals? What are your goals for this week? I'd love to have you share your progress on last week's goals and your goals for this coming week in the comments. Of, if you've blogged about it, leave your direct link below. Let's cheer each other on to live purposeful and productive lives! You can download a free customizable weekly goal-planning sheet here.
We're focusing on developing the habit of getting more rest. I encourage you to set a simple and doable goal for getting more rest and to stick with it.
My goal for May is to get at least 7.5 hours of sleep every night.
I'm also hoping to keep up with January's habit of exercising at least 4-5 times every week, February's goal of eating a big salad at least six times a week, March's goal of drinking 8 glasses of water every day, and April's goal of eating dessert once a week.
This Week's Progress:
I did pretty well on sleep this past week — in fact, I think all but one night I slept more than 7.5 hours. Yay!
I hit my water goals five days, exercised four days, ate a salad six of the days, and had dessert three times. Progress!
How Are YOU Doing?
Leave a comment telling us how you did on your exercise goals this past week. If you're blogging about this challenge, leave the direct link to your blog post about the challenge below. Are you on social media? You can also share your progress on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, or Twitter by using hashtag #12MonthstoaHealthierYou.
