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I used to hate cleaning my house, and some days I still do, but with five children, a cat and a husband that works hard at his full time job if I don't do it, it just does not get done and quite frankly I like my house to be clean. I like to be able to walk through the lounge room and not have to negotiate my way through toys. I like to walk into my bedroom and see my bed freshly made and my bedside table clutter free. I like to be able to walk into the dining room with out food crumbs crunching under my feet and sticking to my toes and I like to see my kitchen sink without a single dirty dish in it.

I don't know about you but I have noticed that my mood changes when the house is a mess. I become cranky and irritable and snap at my family members if they even glance my way. It really isn't fair on the family to be snapping at them just because I let the house get into an ungodly mess so I set out to change the way I cleaned my house and to change my attitude towards cleaning the house.

I began by breaking my chores up in to smaller 15 minute jobs that I could do through out the day. For example I now hang the clothes on the line then play with the kids for a while or do some things on the Internet. I usually set the timer for 30 minutes when I'm playing and when it goes off I get up and go and do another job for 15 minutes, maybe I'll unpack the dishwasher or make the beds or take the rubbish out to the big outside bin and then I get to play again for another 30 minutes and so on for the rest of the day.

If I am feeling really unmotivated I will set a timer for 15 minutes and do as much as I can in the kitchen or in the bathroom in that time and then I stop and either move on to another room or I go and play. Then I set the timer again later and off I go again. I have found that it is usually just that initial chore that is the hardest to start but once you get started housework tends to be infectious and you move on to another area anyway.

I also try to make the time that I spent doing housework special time for me. I like to hook myself up to my iPod and listen to my favourite podcasts while I am vacuuming or making beds or dusting and I have started to fold clothes in my bedroom using my bed as a table while I watch a movie or a tv show. My kids generally leave me alone to do this so it gives me a chance to have some me time in peace and quiet and get my chores done at the same time.

Housework is never going to be my favourite activity but it is an essential part of life so it helps to make the tasks more enjoyable.

Learn more about this author, Rachel Suesskow.
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