Clean Based On Your Personality Type

Title: Clean Your Home Based on Your Personality Type

For many, having a clean home comes easy, but for some, it’s a constant battle. If you struggle with cleaning and decluttering, it’s probable that your personality plays a big role in your cleaning habits and style. Whether you’re a clean-freak or a pack-rat, your Enneagram type (take the free quiz here) plays a big role in how you tackle housekeeping. The Enneagram is a personality test that will label you as one of nine different types. Your Enneagram type influences your career choices, relationships, and preferences. It can also have a lot to do with how you clean your home. You clean your home based on your personality type. Let’s take a look at how each Enneagram type can maximize household cleaning tasks.

Enneagram Types

Type One – The Perfectionist

“A job worth doing is worth doing well.”

Ones are known to be naturally tidy and organized. They love to be organized and you will often find things color-coded and labeled. There may not even be much left to clean!  If your cleaning is already done, consider finding ways to organize your closets, cabinets, or drawers to make them more efficient instead of cleaning them out and simply reorganizing. Or, if you have spaces that are clean, consider reorganizing them so you’ll reach for the nicer items first, like that expensive pair of shoes you never wear.

If you’re a One, you may also consider taking on a “fixer-upper” project, such as repurposing a piece of furniture or doing a full room renovation to feed your desire to improve the world around you.

Type Two – The Helper

“I will just do it”

Twos are naturally caring, giving, and people-pleasing. A home for a Two is a warm, loving place to retreat to for themselves and those that they love. Cleaning as a family might be difficult because Twos will naturally take the most challenging task for themselves, or try and complete the entire task alone.

Since Twos love to entertain and provide welcoming spaces, focus your attention on areas that people gather around the most, such as the living room, kitchen, or entryway. Focus on details that typically aren’t part of your regular cleaning routines, such as laundering pillow covers, throw blankets or curtains. And don’t feel guilty asking others in your home for help! Assign everyone a task that they can accomplish during your cleaning session.

Type Three – The Achiever

“I can hear the germs screaming out in pain”

Threes are ambitious, adaptable, energetic, and image-conscious. Motivated to distinguish themselves from others, Threes are similar to Type Ones in that their space may already be incredibly clean and presentable.

If you’re a Three, it may be that your home is clean, but you feel like you don’t have the time to deep-clean it the way you’d like to because it doesn’t seem like productive time. Or, in an effort to stay on-trend, you may have purchased clothing or other items that you didn’t love as much as you thought you would. It’s OK to get rid of those items! Additionally, if someone is helping you clean, try not to be overly critical of their cleaning work.

Type Four – The Individualist

“There is a method to my madness”

Fours, the least common of the Enneagram types, are known for being unique and non-conformist. Typically Fours have nontraditional spaces and favor the unique and unusual. If you’re a Four, you may enjoy more unique, or even environmentally friendly cleaning products as you tidy your home.

Fours are often focused on the moment. To balance out the ability to always be fully present, Fours benefit from time-blocking when tasks need to be done. Schedule cleaning tasks into your calendar and find time slots during your day. Try and overestimate the amount of time you’ll need to complete a task so you can keep your schedule flexible.

Type Five – The Observer

“It’s not that big of a mess”

Fives are natural minimalists, often accidentally and not on purpose. Known for being economical and independent, the home of a Five is a simple, peaceful retreat that often lacks unnecessary clutter.

Fives love to downsize. Having less stuff means less obligation, less energy expended, and less to clean. If you have an area of your home that could use some minimalizing, it would be a fulfilling chore to tackle. Even better? Find systems that allow you to utilize your space even better!

Type Six – The Skeptic

“I need details first”

For a Type Six, cleaning is usually an all or nothing chore. Six’s are known to stuff items into closets and drawers and then avoid cleaning them out. Anxious by nature, Six’s love systems. If you’re a Six, you may benefit from utilizing a cleaning checklist in order to get the task done.

Thriving on a sense of security, a system will help any Six alleviate any sense of anxiety or worry that cleaning might bring on. If you’re concerned about your cleaning materials, consider using a multi-purpose cleaner that will tackle many jobs in one convenient product.

Type Seven – The Enthusiast

“Don’t look under the bed”

Sevens are energetic, scatter-brained, and spontaneous. The home of a Seven is typically eclectic and reflects their distractible nature. Downsizing and minimizing as a cleaning strategy would likely be difficult for a Seven as they tend to collect items as their interests come and go.

If you’re a Seven, try and use a downsizing method that eliminates unnecessary items and clothes by only keeping the best quality items, your most favorite items, and necessary items that you always need on hand.

Sevens often fear being deprived. To make cleaning more fun, find some interesting cleaning products in cool scents and blast some fun music.

Type Eight – The Challenger

“You call this clean”

Enneagram Type Eight individuals are known to be assertive, decisive, and self-confident. As “go big or go home” personalities, cleaning may turn into a day or weekend-long undertaking. Eights take pride in their homes as they view a house as a physical representation of hard work and independence.

An Eight would benefit from having a game plan before cleaning their home. If you’re an Eight, start the cleaning session with a short meditation session to visualize how you want your cleaning time to go and how you want to get the job done.

Type Nine – The Peacemaker

“I will get to it when I get to it, don’t judge me”

Nines strive for harmony and peace in their environments. A nine will likely take good care of their belongings but can become complacent, shoving items they don’t have a personal connection to in closets or under the bed.

Often prioritizing their own comfort over pushing themselves, a Nine would benefit from creating short, actionable cleaning to-do lists. By choosing three to four things that need to get done each day, a Nine will finish the list feeling accomplished but not overburdened.

Do any of these types seem familiar

Learn more about Enneagram and cleaning

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