1. Make it a routine: Decide how much time you have to clean and when is the correct time to do it. When should you groom the dog? Before you vacuum. Is Wednesday pasta night? Every day is for something new. Maybe you can do the Thursdays for to clean the kitchen and dining room floors. Use a combination of steam and cleaning solution to get the stickiest food spills off your hard surfaces.

2. Work out with your vacuum: When you vacuuming, normally burns around 250 calories. Put your favorite song on the radio and move your body. You’ll see this activity it’s going to be fun.

3. Blot stains off the guest list: We’ve all had guests who stay just a bit too long. And it seems the longer they stay, the tougher it is to get them to leave. This is also true with stains. Don’t let these troublemakers settle in. Trust a carpet cleaner that you can use as often as necessary until deep-set stains are gone for good. Or program the visit of professionals who are responsible for cleaning carpets. Professionals like us: Steam Cleaning.

4. Make a Game of It: EpicWin is a fun app for iOS ($2.99) that allows you to get medieval on your brass, and anything else that needs cleaning. Choose an avatar (warrior princess, anyone?) to earn XP (experience points) when you complete chores around the house. You design your quest (fancy name for chore), and this game/scheduler tells you when you need to get it done. You even get extra points for completing tasks early.

5. As we said before: Make a Cleaning Playlist: Our favorite music makes us happy. Technically, it stimulates the release of dopamine. Essentially, it’s the way our brain “likes” or “favorites” a stimulus. So if you listen to your favorite quirky indie band while scrubbing the floors, not only will it put extra pep in your step, it will coax your brain to make a positive association with cleaning, making it more likely to become a good habit.