How to Get Motivated to Clean Your Room (for Kids)

• Get rid of distractions (like your phone) so you can focus.
• Put on some upbeat tunes to boost your energy and get into the groove.
• Focus on one small task at a time so you don't get distracted.

Get rid of distractions.

Put your phone out of reach so you can focus. It’s tempting to grab your phone, check your messages, scroll through social media...and when you look up, an hour has gone by! To avoid distractions, put your phone in the next room or in a spot where you can’t easily grab it. Shut down your laptop browser, too. If your pet distracts you, put them in another room for half an hour so you can focus on cleaning. You'll be reunited soon!

Play some upbeat music.

Pump yourself up with some of your favorite tunes. Stick with upbeat music like pop, punk, or rock so you can get into the groove. You can even make a special playlist just for cleaning and include all the best jams on it. Don’t be afraid to dance, sing along, or play air guitar while you clean. No one is watching, so cut loose!

Set a 10-minute alarm.

Giving yourself a time frame helps you stay on task. You can use any time frame that works for you. For example, if you need to deep-clean your room, assign yourself 10 minutes per task. If you just need to tidy up, give yourself 10 minutes to finish the whole job. Now you have an objective—to beat the clock! For example, assign yourself 2 minutes to put away clothes, 2 minutes to pick up clutter, 1 minute to make your bed, 2 minutes to dust, and 3 minutes to vacuum. You’ll have your whole room done in 10 minutes. Once the timer starts, give your full and undivided attention to cleaning. You could use this time to toss all of your dirty clothes in the laundry hamper and/or throw all your trash into a garbage bag.

Make your bed first.

Making the bed is easy and instantly makes the room feel neater. Experiencing that little boost of progress right off the bat is a great motivator. Just think: if your room looks that much better after just making your bed, imagine how awesome it's going to look in another 10-15 minutes.

Focus on one task at a time.

Finish each task completely before moving to the next one. Multi-tasking is great for other things, but it’s not all that effective for cleaning. Instead of spreading yourself thin and trying to do 3 things at once, focus on one thing at a time. Make each task specific so there’s a clear stopping point. For example, you might have tasks like: empty the wastebasket, put away laundry, tidy up your desk, and wipe down hard surfaces.

Make cleaning into a game.

Creating a little game for yourself will keep you entertained. The game can be anything you want! You can time each task and pretend it’s a race. Or, you can put your wastebasket or laundry basket in the center of the room and “shoot” trash or clothes into it. Or, keep count of how many lost things you find. It doesn’t really matter as long as it’s fun for you.

Reward yourself.

Take a short break and enjoy a tasty snack. Once you’re about halfway done, reward yourself with a quick breather and something yummy from the kitchen. For example, after 10 minutes of cleaning, grab yourself a brownie, cookie, banana, or whatever you like to snack on. Then, take a few minutes to savor it. You earned it. Time your break, too, so you don’t get sidetracked. After 5 minutes, it’s time to get back to it—you're in the home stretch now!

Ask a friend or sibling for help.

Everything is more fun with a friend! Your friend probably isn’t going to agree out of the goodness of their heart, so offer them an incentive that they can't pass up. Then, play some jams while you clean together—you'll be done in half the time and get in some QT with your bestie. For example, if your friend has been eyeing your new bag or video game, let them borrow it for a week in exchange for their help. Or, repay them by offering to help them clean their room next weekend.

Focus on the benefits.

Imagine how awesome your room is going to look when you’re done. All of the clutter will be gone and you’ll have room to move around without stumbling over the laundry basket (again). Bonus: you’ll be able to have friends over for movie night now that your room is presentable. Plus, you’ll find all the stuff you misplaced in the clutter. To stay motivated, think of cleaning as a gift to your future self.

Take before and after pictures.

Before and after pics are tangible evidence that you rocked this task. There’s nothing wrong with feeling pride after a job well done! Pictures can give you a big boost once you’re finished cleaning, and hopefully that boost will inspire you in the future, too. You can even send the before and after pictures to a friend or family member.

Set manageable cleaning goals.

If you feel overwhelmed, you’re more likely to procrastinate. If you don’t need to clean your whole room today, then why not do half today and half tomorrow? Or maybe you need to deep-clean your closet, but you know it’s going to take hours. You don’t have to do it all at once! Set aside chunks of time to tackle individual tasks and finish it up over a week or two. Manageable goals are doable, which means you’re always accomplishing something—and that's a great feeling. One of your goals could be walking around the room with a trash bag and throwing out any knick-knacks that you no longer need.