5 Lesser-Known Podcasts That Will Motivate You to Clean Along

Learn from these successful ex-slobs.

A clean and organized home is the best gift you can give yourself on a daily basis. Mess and clutter can affect your mood, your ability to focus, and at times they can even affect your health.

We deeply care about our homes, why then is it so difficult to keep them in top shape? We blame not having the time and energy for the endless tasks of cleaning, laundry, cooking, and organizing. And that’s partly true.

But for a particular category of people who find it challenging to keep a tidy and welcoming home, the issue is not a lack of time. Some people get so mentally overwhelmed by clutter and mess that it’s becoming paralyzing. It can go both ways too — overwhelm, anxiety and depression lead to clutter and mess accumulating. Soon enough, it becomes a vicious circle that seems impossible to get out of.

While cleaning and getting rid of stuff might not technically be that difficult, the mental aspect of it is. According to cognitive neuroscientist Dr. Caroline Leaf, there is a direct link between hoarding, for example, and mental health. For some people, the struggle is real, and it never gets easier. Keeping on top of chores never truly becomes a habit, because it’s met with such resistance.

I’m passionate about this subject because I struggle with anxiety every day. While my anxiety is high functioning, and I do what others expect of me in my job, I tend to neglect my home’s state, and frankly, my own health at times.

I’m a recovering secret slob, and by recovering, I mean that I still regress to a place where I have too much stuff, and it’s scattered everywhere, or I’ve ignored vacuuming and cleaning the bathroom for a whole week, which in tiny-house time feels like a month.

It’s not because I don’t care. And I feel like that’s the case with most people who look like “they’re letting themselves go.” Most days, I just don’t have the energy — both physical and mental — to tackle what I perceive as humungous tasks. I sit there paralyzed, wishing things were different, and beating myself up about not being capable of changing them.

But even though we have our own issues and health challenges, we shouldn’t give up and victimize ourselves. There are many tools we can use to help us change our homes for the better. We just need a little patience in using them; slow and steady wins the race.

One such tool I’ve discovered is listening to a podcast about cleaning while I’m also cleaning myself. I love listening to podcasts whenever I’m doing something that doesn’t require a lot of focus: driving, walking, gardening, and doing chores. I learn so much every day, and I can truly say that this type of multitasking has made me grow as a person and genuinely changed my life.

When I feel anxious about house chores, I swap my usual self-improvement audiobooks for podcasts about cleaning.

Here are 5 podcasts about cleaning and decluttering that I’ve tested over the years. I listen to some of them to this day, while I’ve “grown” out of others. Give them a try whenever you’re having a rough day cleaning. I’m sure one of them will fit your personality.

Clutterbug Podcast

This one has been my favorite lately. I’ve discovered the Clutterbug Podcast while randomly searching for something motivational to listen to. And that’s exactly how I would describe its host, Cassandra Aarssen.

In her own words, Cas is a “recovering Super Slob turned Organizing Expert”, and she’s now making it her mission to help other people reform their messy homes. She’s an author, podcaster, blogger, Youtuber, professional organizer, and mum of 3.

Talk about perfectionism and overachiever tendencies! She addresses those in her podcast, too, as well as other mindset issues that might lead to chores not getting done.

While struggling for years, trying to implement traditional organizing systems, Cas realized that not all people function the same way when it comes to their stuff. Some people are more visual, while others like their things to be more hidden. She identified four behavior types that she called Clutterbugs and came up with specific organizing solutions for these different personalities.

Cassandra’s style is fun and encouraging. She keeps her episodes short, but long enough to get something done while listening to them. Give an episode a try while folding a quick load of laundry, or binge on multiple episodes at a time to give your house a makeover.

Clean With Me Podcast

You know those clean-along Youtube videos? Well, this is precisely that, but in the form of a podcast.

Raani Starnes came up with the idea of Clean With Me Podcast when she didn’t find any motivating podcasts about cleaning to listen to while tidying. She identified this need, and I’m glad she did because we could all use her wisdom and experience.

Raani is 48 years old, a mother of 6 children; 4 of them are still home and home-schooled. She’s also recently become a grandmother.

On her calming podcasts, you’ll find episodes about speed cleaning, the importance of cleaning the house as a whole and not just parts of it, and the struggle of cleaning with ADHD.

Like Cassandra from Clutterbug, Raani stresses the importance of keeping on top of chores every day and not letting mess accumulate, which means going over the entire house and taking care of loose ends, so you don’t spend the weekends perpetually cleaning.

A Slob Comes Clean Podcast

I’ve listened to this podcast at a time in my life when I really needed it, as things were getting out of hand. The house we were renting was too big, and during our three years there, we accumulated a lot of useless stuff.

Dana K. White describes her “deslobification” process in a hilarious and down-to-earth way. Listen to her podcast to learn about terms such as “Slob Vision” and “Procrasticlutter” and glimpses into a slob’s mind in their natural habitat.

“The dirty little secret about most organizing advice is that it’s written by organized people,” Dana says. Expert advice doesn’t always work because it doesn’t reach the root of the problem. Her audience loves her because she’s real and honest, and her advice doesn’t sound too advice-y.

Check out her book, too: How to Manage Your Home Without Losing Your Mind: Dealing with Your House’s Dirty Little Secrets.

The Minimal-ish Podcast

I’ve only recently started listening to The Minimal-ish Podcast, but I can already see how it’s unique in bringing a sense of calmness and space into the act of cleaning and decluttering.

Sometimes, organizing isn’t enough. We need to purge our possessions to feel like we can breathe again. Extreme minimalism isn’t possible for everyone, but you can find a middle ground by living the “minimal-ish” lifestyle.

Podcast host Desirae Endres talks about downsizing and pursuing the life she wanted for her family: her like-minded husband and young daughter.

“We talk about minimalism and decluttering and how to get there, yes. But we also have conversations about pursuing intentionality in the things that matter: like our motherhood, our faith, our relationships, our work, and our mindset.”

— Desirae Endres

Are You Living in CHAOS? Podcast

Are you suffering from “Can’t Have Anyone Over Syndrome?” CHAOS for short. Well, this podcast might be the answer for you.

Marla Cilley, aka The Flylady, is an absolute legend. I’m probably even too young to know about her since she first pioneered the world of motivational podcasts about cleaning more than 20 years ago.

Over the years, she hosted multiple podcasts, released an app, and shared useful tips on her website: flylady.net.

I can relate to Marla Cilley’s life story because depression caused her to neglect herself and her home. That’s why she’s so adamant about rules like dress yourself to shoes (with shoelaces!), put on make-up even if you’re not leaving the house, and shine your sink every morning.

She divides the house into zones and has complex cleaning systems for daily, weekly, monthly, and seasonal upkeep.

Her tips on zone cleaning aren’t for everyone. I can attest to that. But I still like listening to her for her soothing voice and encouraging words.

Takeaway

Most of these podcasts are hosted by mothers and women working from home, but as a childless career-oriented woman in her 30’s, I still find them motivating and universally applicable.

After a couple of years of listening to wise women talking in my ears every week, I started seeing patterns. I’ve distilled recurring themes that most of these podcasts have in common in the following tips:

• Make yourself look presentable first thing in the morning. If you’re happy about yourself, you’ll be more motivated to do the work.
• Use timers as a way to keep focused on what needs to be done. Don’t get sidetracked and stick to your plan, since it’s easy to lose yourself in specific tasks.
• Declutter and purge regularly. Owning less stuff leads to clear surfaces, which in turn are much easier to clean.
• Figure out your organizing style: are you visual, or do you like your things hidden? Don’t feel like you have to organize according to the experts.
• When crisis cleaning, start with the visible areas. It’s the fastest way to get your house looking great and have visual proof of your progress.
• Embrace clean-enough. This is self-explanatory, but imperfect upkeep is better than cleaning marathons over the weekend.

Don’t forget to have fun. That’s the most effective way I’ve found to beat procrastination and anxiety. And don’t beat yourself up about being a slob. These women were all slobs or “naturally messy,” and now they’re wildly successful and inspiring others worldwide.

So put your earbuds on, and happy cleaning!