If you’re like me, you have a bit of a problem keeping your living space tidy. It’s not that you like having a bedroom that looks like it needs a disaster relief charity, but whenever someone suggests you sort out your room and spend an hour or two cleaning it—whether it’s your mom, your friend, or the health department—you always manage to find something you’d rather do. So next time you're confronted with several exhausting hours of vacuuming and folding laundry, simply refer to this handy list of more enjoyable activities you can distract yourself with.
1. Watch Netflix.
Okay, this might seem too obvious, but I’m not just talking about an episode or two. I’m talking a hard-core binge-watching session, the kind that keeps you on your couch in a comatose state for days. The only time you should take your eyes off of your TV is to order take-out or use the bathroom. How could you possibly make your bed when you have 10 seasons of friends to get through, right?
2. Interact with Your Peers Through Social Media.
All of your time needs to be spent staying on top of what’s going on in your squad. Snapchat, Instagram, and Twitter are essentials in this day and age for having a healthy social life, so just spend hours hopping between these three apps, refreshing until your fingers are sore and cramped. After all, friends are far more important than clear floor space.
3. Learn to Bake.
Cookies, brownies, cake—whatever floats your boat. Just make sure you spend an enormous amount of time trying to figure out the recipe and end up making a huge mess that you probably will never clean up either. And when you’re finished, you can eat the whole cake yourself. Alone. Because you can’t leave the house. Because you’re grounded. Because you still haven’t cleaned your room.
4. Google Organization Tips.
This is a great way to technically be in cleaning mode while still not doing any work. Just scroll through a bunch of Pinterest boards on how to make a DIY Jewelry Display and waste all your time preparing to clean instead of actually cleaning. There’s some great stuff out there!
5. Have a Fashion Show.
Now is the perfect time to figure out how to pull off how to wear that weird orange skirt your mom got you for your birthday. Have a great time throwing on different funky ensembles from the depths of your closet and posing in for pictures in your mirror. The best part is that every time you take an outfit off, you just throw it on the floor. Who cares if you’re just making the mess in your room worse? You’re a superstar!
6. Throw A Dance Party.
I mean, you can’t invite anyone because you’re still grounded, but just crank your Spotify playlist and let loose! You know how to show yourself a good time.
7. Watch YouTube Tutorials.
Nothing is better to distract you from a task you should be doing like an attractive college girl explaining the art of contouring in detail. Before you know it, you’ll have wasted hours learning how to do a five-strand braid and still not have folded a single t-shirt.
8. Read a Book.
Reading is educational, right? So how can anyone really be mad when you’re spending your time curled up with a good book? I mean, you’re just trying to improve yourself and be an intellectual member of society, am I right?
9. Take a Really Long Shower.
Hygiene is so important, so it is totally acceptable to spend over an hour in the shower. You’re just trying to make sure you’ve exfoliated properly! Besides, you need the time to work on your Beyonce karaoke.
10. Go Online Shopping.
Even though you probably can’t afford those gold-plated high tops, you can still look, right? I recommend Amazon—you can lose hours of your life on the website like that! Before you know it, it’s midnight and it’s way too late to start cleaning now. You'll just have to wait until tomorrow...or next week.
11. Sleep.
Yep, just sleep. That will make the mess go away, right? Right?!