Hire it out
If you have a hard time staying on top of your housekeeping, or just hate doing it, hire a maid service to come in once or twice a month to do the big chores like washing the windows, cleaning the baseboards, scrubbing the tile, wiping down the walls and cabinets, and cleaning the bathrooms. Knowing that you don't have to everything yourself may help motivate you to keep on top of the rest of it. If you know someone that has a service come in to clean, talk to them about hiring that person on a once or twice a month basis, or shop around, cleaning services can be reasonably priced. Check for flyers and coupons in the mail or newspaper. These often include offers for setting up regular service, or a certain number of appointments with a service. Once you've expended that offer, you can move on to another offer, from another company.

Make a date
If you have children, set up a play date with another mother every week. Invite the mother and her child or children over to your house for the kids to play and the moms to talk once a week, if you have the time, twice a week would even be great. If you don't have kids, invite a friend over to work out with you at home, do a yoga, aerobics, or pilates video, have a movie night or start a book club, or scrapbooking night. Knowing that you have company coming over on a regular basis will help you stay on top of those every day cleaning chores!

Give yourself an incentive
Think of something that you would really like to do or that you really want. And commit to only treating yourself to it after meeting your housekeeping goals on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis. Maybe it's getting a massage, going to see a movie you really wanted to see, or buying some of those chocolates that you've been craving. It could be something simple like trying out that new restaurant, or taking a nap, or getting that stress relieving soak in the tub you need to get away from it all. If you are a member of a gym or recreation center treat yourself to a weekly swim or steam.

Make the time
Set aside a time to do the things you need to get done every day. Make a schedule for yourself, setting a specific time or times for certain chores. If you figure out that you need an hour and a half to devote to cleaning your house every day to keep it maintained, then set aside that time for yourself every day. Breaking it up throughout the day may be more realistic for you. Set aside thirty minutes in the morning before you go to work, or before the kids get up for the day, or right after you get home from taking them to school. Set aside another thirty minutes or an hour in the afternoon, and again in the evening after dinner, or after everyone else has gone to bed.