The best way to be motivated during a big clean is to throw your own private concert. Brooms, dusters, and spray bottles all double as microphones as you groove around the house choreographing your cleaning moves. This curated playlist will help get you off your tush and into a sparkling home
Outkast – So Fresh, So Clean
Southern Rap owes much of its success to Outkast as pioneers of funky, certified hip-hop. Pay homage and get started with “So Fresh, So Clean.” The chorus sounds like soapy bubbles popping in sunlight. The contagious, happy, ‘feelin-ya-self’ mood will radiate around the house making your chores a rewarding effort to humble-brag about.
Eminem – Cleanin’ Out My Closet
Cast aside your inner demons and polish up those skeletons with Eminem’s unintentional cleaning anthem. These lyrics contain dark, explicit themes that can be ignored while howling the motivating chorus completing an often neglected task, closet organization.
Van Morrison – Cleaning Windows
If anyone knows how to clean windows, it’s Van Morrison. Before he was a successful musician, Morrison worked as a window cleaner in the early ’60s. His secret? Be happy, take your time! Find your zen and inner peace while letting the light shine through. Pause to jam with the guitar solo.
Billy Joel- Vienna
In a 2008 article with The New York Times, Billy Joel remembers visiting his father in Vienna where he noticed a strange, unfamiliar scene;
“So I go to visit my father in Vienna, I’m walking around this town and I see this old lady. She must have been about 90 years old and she is sweeping the street. I say to my father “What’s this nice old lady doing sweeping the street?” He says “She’s got a job, she feels useful, she’s happy, she’s making the street clean, she’s not put out to pasture”. We treat old people in this country pretty badly. We put them in rest homes, we kinda kick them under the rug and make believe they don’t exist. They [the people in Vienna] don’t feel like that. In a lot of these older places in the world, they value their older people and their older people feel they can still be a part of the community and I thought ‘This is a terrific idea – that old people are useful -and that means I don’t have to worry so much about getting old because I can still have a use in this world in my old age. I thought “Vienna waits for you…”
This song is an ode for aging gracefully in honor and a reminder of how cleaning can improve the lives of our community. Once you hear the lyrics, you crazy child, this piano piece is sure to bring a moment of reflection and appreciation for the work you put in.
Queen – Another One Bites The Dust
Obviously, Freddy Mercury is the Queen of sass and with this gritty hit, there’s only one chore that can be done, dusting. Good riddance to the dust of your home, this soundtrack will eliminate particles in style. Are you happy, are you satisfied with a clean home? You bet, darling!
The Beatles – Help!
There comes a point when cleaning a home that you look around and see a pile of dishes, pet hair on every possible surface, and sticky stains on the ceiling?!? The montage of dirty areas becomes overwhelming and you’ll need to cry out “HELP!” At least The Beatles understand. Legend says Lennon penned this frantically cleaning up a hotel room after a wild night.
Marvin Gaye, Tammi Terrell – Ain’t No Mountain High Enough
This song is a metaphor for the mountain of laundry that needs to be washed and folded. With this upbeat, popular karaoke song, you’ll find the passion to get through whatever task is standing in your way because ain’t no valley low enough to keep you from having a clean home.
Mark Knopfler – Cleaning My Gun
Find your inner cowboy while listening to Mark Knopfler’s (of Dire Straits) version of Cleaning My Gun. Unfortunately for him, the lyrics mention some unruly help, “We hired the worst dishwasher this place ever got.” While his world falls apart around him, the only thing he can do is to wait and clean his gun. Cleaning dishes is an acceptable alternative.
Taylor Swift – Clean
Are wine-stained dresses and butterflies turning to dust a common mess? Taylor Swift’s airy song talks about moving on from a break-up but replace the boyfriend with cluttered rooms and you’ll feel the same liberation. Recommended listening with open windows and fans at high speed.
Fat Freddy’s Drop – Clean The House Broken hearts make for good motivation to clean. From this Kiwi band, the groovy melody will inspire you to get out of a funk and back into a clean home and heart.LCD Soundsystem – Dance Yrself Clean
Droned and mumbled, LCD Soundsystem delivers a song to keep you on course with monotonous tasks then bursts into an electric-hit to finish strong. While there are hints towards heavy subjects of Nietzsche and Marxism in the lyrics, save yourself and focus on the task at hand. Sometimes cleaning yourself is part of the to-do list.
The War on Drugs – Clean Living
Not one mention of cleaning is in these lyrics, but the soft melody and whispered, husky voice is sure to give you the break you deserve. Light candles, admire your streak-free windows and meditate in your freshly cleaned living room.
Randy Newman (Toy Story 2 Soundtrack) – The Cleaner
Take a cinematic approach to tough stains with Toy Story 2’s soundtrack. This tune will have you feeling like an animated character who magically completes the hardest tasks. Unfortunately, wild woodland animals will not help you fold the sheets.
The Tibbs – Cleaned Out
Dust off your soul, you’ll need it to match The Tibbs’ sultry number. Brooms will make the best stand-in microphone as you feel empowered as the boss of your clean home.
Clean Bandit ft. Jess Glynne – Rather Be
Pretend the only place you’d want to be is inside cleaning your home and Clean Bandit will inspire you to check off every chore. The upbeat pop hit makes the list for the name of the band, who was surely influenced by their spotless surroundings.
No cleaning playlist would be complete without a little dirt. Sprinkle these songs in at any moment to remind you of the origin story of your clean home.
Michael Jackson – Dirty Diana
King of Pop should arguably be on every playlist. This song refers to adamant fans who he can’t seem to get off of him, similar to baked-on oven stains.
Steely Dan – Dirty Work
Perhaps you were tricked into doing chores. Relate to this bluesy song and belt out “I’m a fool to do your dirty work.” You’ll get your point across but may be requested to clean again after a solid performance.
The White Stripes – Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground
Headbang and make a game plan to sweep up your dirty ground. Stomp to the beat in protest or as a war cry against the trash that accumulated in your home. The White Stripes will encourage your efforts.
Now, it’s time to grab an ice pack and some lemon honey tea for sore muscles and throat after busting a move and belting your lungs out. Music can be the key element in gathering a team or motivating yourself to complete your list of chores.
