Let’s face it, most of us find cleaning the house a pain, especially when you have lots of other things you’d rather be doing. Why not change your mindset by putting on some fun music to get you bopping and grooving while cleaning? We all know there are many advantages of listening to music, such as reducing stress and lifting your mood – and you can even get a little exercise in at the same time.

Here’s our top upbeat songs to create a positive and productive environment for your cleaning – you’ll be singing out loud and dancing with the vacuum cleaner in no time!

1. Florence and the Machine – Spectrum
Florence + The Machine – Spectrum – YouTube

2. Tiësto – The Business (Official Music Video)
Tiësto – The Business (Official Music Video) – YouTube

3. Mark Ronson – Uptown Funk (Official Video) ft. Bruno Mars
Mark Ronson – Uptown Funk (Official Video) ft. Bruno Mars – YouTube

4. Taylor Swift -Shake it off
Taylor Swift – Shake It Off – YouTube

5. J Balvin, Willy William
J Balvin, Willy William – Mi Gente (Official Video) – YouTube

6. Shakira – waka waka (It’s time for Africa)
Shakira – Waka Waka (This Time for Africa) (The Official 2010 FIFA World Cup™ Song) – YouTube

7. Of Monsters and Men – Little Talks
Of Monsters And Men – Little Talks (Official Video) – YouTube

8. Avicii -Wake me up
Avicii – Wake Me Up (Official Video) – YouTube

9. Bruno mars – Just the way you are
Bruno Mars – Just The Way You Are (Official Music Video) – YouTube

10. Pitbull – Timber ft. Ke$ha
Pitbull – Timber ft. Ke$ha – YouTube

11. Imagine Dragons -Thunder
Imagine Dragons – Thunder – YouTube

12. OMI – Cheerleader (Felix Jaehn Remix)
OMI – Cheerleader (Felix Jaehn Remix) [Official Video] – YouTube

13. Lady Gaga – Poker face
Lady Gaga – Poker Face (Official Music Video) – YouTube

14. Bon Jovi – Livin’ On A Prayer
Bon Jovi – Livin’ On A Prayer (Official Music Video) – YouTube

15. MC Hammer – U Can’t Touch This
MC Hammer – U Can’t Touch This (Official Music Video) – YouTube

16. Tones and I – Dance Monkey
Tones and I – Dance Monkey (Official Video) – YouTube

Add these tunes to your new cleaning playlist, so next time you can actually look forward to getting the old feather duster out. Cleaning in preparation for having friends over for a dinner party? There’s nothing better than listening to good tunes to get you into the mood and we’ve got you covered for the party prep too, take a look at our tips on how to host a festive party.

As Mother’s Day is approaching, what better way to spoil mum than with a day of helping out around the house? It’s a great way to show her how loved and appreciated she really is.

For one whole day, do the chores around the house that she would normally do. Split them up between your siblings, depending on ages and who can do what, and let mum put her feet up. This way she will get to have some more down-time and be able to do more fun activities with the family once the chores are finished: what a treat!

Doing mum’s chores for the day will give you a great feel for what she does around the house and how much work and time goes into it. Here are our helpful tips of what you can do while mum has a sleep in or enjoys a hot cuppa in bed.

Clean your room:

Keeping a tidy or neat room is a big help for mums. They don’t like walking into a room with clothes lying all over the floor, or tripping over toys while trying to get to something. Pack away your toys and activities when you’re finished with them, and place your clothes in the laundry basket instead of onto the floor if they’re dirty and into the cupboard if they’re clean. You could also make your bed, remember to smooth out all the wrinkles on the duvet and really impress her! Tip: If you really want to get into mum’s good books, you should probably not limit this to Mother’s Day!

Do the laundry:

Surprise her by going into all the rooms and collecting the dirty laundry. You can gather towels, clothes and even bedding that needs to be washed. Laundry can be done between other chores, but you might be surprised how much time this takes, especially if you have a large family. It’s a good idea check with mum when it comes to loading the machine and setting the cycle, as the last thing you want to do is make a mistake and shrink her favourite jumper, or turn everything pink by leaving a red sock in with the whites!

Clean the floors:

Depending on your flooring you can either sweep, or vacuum. Don’t forget the corners when cleaning floors as that’s where all the dust collects. If it’s your first time vacuuming, then have a look at our tips on how to vacuum properly.

Cook mum her favorite meal

If you’re a budding Masterchef and enjoy being in the kitchen then you might have picked up a few handy tips from mum already. But if not, instead offer to help your mum, and who knows, you may even end up loving it! If you have siblings, you can also divide the jobs when it comes to cooking and each of you can make something you’re good at. For example one of you cooks the pasta and someone else makes the sauce or does the chopping, then you all put it together at the end.

Pick some flowers and set the table

You can start by picking some flowers from the garden and putting them into a vase with water. Set the table with a tablecloth and pop the vase of handpicked flowers in the middle as a centerpiece. Set the glasses, plates, napkins, knives, and forks for all the places, and if you have them, you can use placemats as well. She will be super impressed, especially with the added touch of handpicked flowers. After all your hard work, you can sit together as a family around the dinner table and enjoy the meal you’ve created especially for mum, to celebrate the wonderful mother that she is.

Note to mom: you may want to print this out and leave it lying around the house for a few days before Mother’s Day 😉 If the kids have a few mishaps along the way, while trying to make the day special for you, and something ends up on the carpet, take a look at our carpet spills and stain cleaning guide for some DIY stain treatments. And if all else fails, get our Drytron professional carpet cleaning team around to properly tackle the problem.