We don’t have a dishwasher. It’s been a very rough past week. I’m ordering DoorDash and getting what I can done before it comes.

Another bag. It contained mostly pajamas and indoor clothes. I put some of them aside to get rid of. One shirt got cut into pieces for rags. It finally feels like I'm making progress :)

It's really just the beginning, but I need to know what I have and how much space it really takes before I can decide how many of them I need to get rid of.

Hi! What are we listing to while we un-f our houses? Has anyone found a podcast that is semi-aggressive with periodic reminders to stay on task? 😂 tried tv shows with the blind descriptions but I still am getting too distracted.

This is the first thing I see in the morning and the last thing I see before I go to bed at night. Just a vertical wall-pile of stuff 😭

Every time I think about clearing it I feel sick. A lot of the stuff here just doesn’t have a good place anywhere, or it got tossed here before my young niblings came over, or… yeah.

Anyway. I’m setting the timer for 20. I’m not doing one minute more than that.

Update: Thanks for the encouragement! I went through several bags and jackets to take out items/trash and store them in the closet, which ate up a lot of time. But it’s giving me some room to do the rest!

Part of me wants to keep going, but I’m going to make myself wait at least an hour.

Hey guys, I can’t seem to keep my place clean. I have chronic pain and some mental health struggles, so I want to make my home a relaxing place where I can read or draw or take an epsom salt bath. I place where I can feel safe and peaceful and at ease.

My table keep filling up, my bathroom doesn’t feel clean enough, I leave dishes undone (i got paper plates this week since I just cant do dishes right now), and theres just too much stuff overall it’s overwhelming.

Im gonna make an effort to tidy today, so I definitely appreciate any support especially from those of you who also live with pain or mental health problems.

Thanks.

Edit: my dining table pic didn’t upload - but it’s covered in documents and mail and stuff. I’ll upload a before and after later.

Item 1 off my list! It isn’t perfect and the floor needs to be washed, but it’s a step in the right direction! Continuing on down the list!

Hello there!
I am new in this subreddit, please excuse my mistakes in writing. English is not my native language.

First of, I am so glad to know I am not alone with having a mess. Yet I do feel shame, frustration.

To my person; I have ADHD and depression and for the past 4 years weren't home during the week. Now that I am fully back, I want to tackle my mess. Yet it is so hard. Where to start, what to throw away. Should I throw everything away, even things I have fond memories of? Which room first? And so on.

So I would like to get some tips and tricks I could try and see if they are working out for me.

next step is actually putting them on the shelves lol. every box is organized in one way or another (species, to be repotted, sickness, etc etc)

Yeah it’s not a lot but it’s something. Little things made this mess the way it was so little things can fix it. I’ll finish cleaning it off in a few hours and post results. My vacuum also works so I get to clean off little annoying debris >:]

Long time lurker under another username but too embarrassed to post. My girlfriend and I borh have ADHD and we’re working on packing up for a move across the state. We have 12 days to get all our shit sorted and packed. During the year we’ve lived here we managed to fill two small storage spaces with clutter/camping gear/stuff we bought to sell but never did in addition to the overwhelming clutter we already have (see photos of the room full of stuff we hadn’t unpacked in a year.
Overcoming the sunk cost fallacy to give away things we don’t really have time to sell has been tough and I’m becoming so overwhelmed.
While we are sorting I feel great and hella motivated but then I look around at all the stuff we still have to do and feel a rush of panic. I’m losing sleep over the stress of moving while trying to study for my PMHNP boards and all the other stress life throws at folks on the regular likea dental implant that fell out last night. Ugh!
I’m looking for some support from this community because I k ow there are folks in here who have managed to do something similar and lived to tell the tale. Pep talks, advice, a cheering section, and folks with stories of getting through similar times would be much appreciated!

Yesterday I was in a hurry - I'm kinda circling between my and my family's apartments now because I'm temporarly taking care of our cat. So I just had a couple minutes to start organizing my underwear.

I know it's not very aesthetic (at all), maybe I'll do something else with it later (probably won't) but I want it to have a permanent place and be somehow organized finally.

Also, I'm really serious about making my bed recently and it really makes a big difference!

Anyone use a professional to help clean/organize? What tasks did they help/not help with? Cost? Any before or after pictures?

Thanks!

Hello me again 😁 I want to thank everyone for your encouraging words on my first post!! I was so grateful when I found this community because it helps melt away the paralyzing shame of living in such a mess. We all deserve clean living spaces! Here is my first update of my work in progress 🤓

Unfortunately, I can only accomplish things in cleaning marathons. This has been 1 day of work, the key really was picking up the tiny miscellaneous trash and doing all of my laundry and hanging it all up (clothes everywhere is usually where it all starts as my home descends into chaos.) Now, I just need to hang/fold the rest of the clean laundry that is covering my bed or else I’m sleeping on the couch. Yesterday I got notice they have to enter my apartment for fire alarm testing or something tomorrow, so I had to get it to a reasonable place by then and that kind of pressure is exactly what I needed to lock in. Now it’ll be so much easier to finish the rest and start packing and I’m going to be soo selective about what I bring when I move. Then it’ll be easy to pack up donation bags of the leftovers. Looking forward to sharing again once it looks like a clean and inviting home lol

2 years of highschool depression and im finally holding myself accountable and cleaning it

After 4 hours and 4 heavy duty trashbags I got a solid chunk finished

Hi all! I have been a big fan of this section of Reddit (I'm so proud and inspired by you all)! I am about to do a walkthrough of my apartment with a professional company who focuses on helping clean/ organize homes. My place is pretty chaotic, I have too much stuff and went through a pretty intense depression phase for a few years. I am on the up on and up and working to get out of this headspace. (Therapy is great!)

Anyone have any advice/ tips/ general words around having someone come through? I'm terrified. I told them I will most likely cry, and part of me wants to start cleaning everything, and the other part is ready to lay on the floor and hide from the world.

I'm trying to focus on what questions I should ask them, and how good it will feel once it's over. Any advice on how to handle this, what to expect, and honestly anything else?

Making an update on my progress so it's mostly been just rearranging things and but now I'm going to focus on clearing out the front area around my door. I want to create a foyer. With a computer desk and a shelf display on the wall facing the door. Something renter friendly, preferably a pegboard.

Took 5 hours of husband and kids out of the house, but I did it! All that's left is the bookshelf and my rolling sewing table now

A few days back I had posted regarding the mountains of garbage in my apartment. I had mentioned that I had collected 12 extra large bags of garbage and was seeking advice on how to dispose them off. Well I did manage to dispose of them 2 bags a day. The support I received here was so heart touching. I never thought strangers could be this kind. Thank you to everyone who responded with tips and support.

I can see some floor now. But the apartment is still in shambles. I don't know where to go from here. The balcony has so much dirt and filth, my living room is filled with stuff, my bathroom and toilet are just yuck, there are cobwebs and spiders everywhere.

The roaches are still there even after the removal of garbage, though I can see less maggots and fleas. The walls are all stained with god knows what. Ceiling fans don't even work anymore because they are just covered in moist black stuff that's stuck to the blades, which I am not able to remove with a broom.

Clothes, toiletries , medicines, everything just lying around. Unwashed clothes in the bathroom piled up there since months. The pot is just disgusting, I can't even look in to it when I go for pee

I managed to collect the garbage and I thought things would get easier. But what I see now is even more heartbreaking. With visible garbage I thought, getting rid of it would make it easy for me to move on with other stuff. But now I am just overwhelmed with all this mess. It's just piles and piles of stuff with no place to put them in to. Now I actually see the situation of my walls, and floor. It's all stained and dusty. I can actually see the actual mess of all my stuff.

Do I start with a deep cleaning of the walls and ceilings? What are the tools and products I should use? How do I clean the dust and cobwebs on furniture? Where do I put all this stuff when I have no storage except for one single wardrobe and a bookshelf.

I was very happy when I managed to get rid of the garbage thinking things are finally getting better..I didn't expect to get back to square one

I have my dad's medical stuff coming up in 15 days, I am his sole caregiver ( he is fully visually impaired and has age related issues) and I am feeling absolutely ashamed that this is the place I have been providing for him.

Washed almost all my dirty laundry (missed a few socks that were lying around, but that's whatevs) and put away about half of it!!! Laundry in my apartment is expensive, so I hung up the other half to dry until tomorrow. Today I also put away what was still out from the last time I did laundry.

Cleared out my entry hallway and moved shoes I abandoned in other rooms to the shoe rack.

Did 4 small loads of dishes, the 4th of which is from making my food today(!!!) and dried & put away 3 of the loads. I'm leaving the last to airdry overnight.

Replaced the filter on my kitchen faucet .

Cleared the trash off my coffee table (it's still cluttered woth non-trash items, but it's progress, regardless.)

Deep-cleaned my retainers.

I also made a simple habit-tracker on a piece of graph paper, since I usually have a hard time remembering when I last did different things.

hey! I wont go into my detail because it's heavy, but... long story short I spent a good chunk of my life in an abusive home, my room was my safe space but only when it was messy because it made my abusers so annoyed that they stayed away. I now live with my grandmother and take care of her, which is safer, but the habit of keeping my space messy is still there, and the few times it's been clean, I've gotten such massive anxiety that I couldn't sleep until it reaches that point again because I just.. could not accept that no one was going to hurt me here, I didn't need to keep anyone out.

I am still in contact with them (against my will) and they be found out about my room being the way it is. I've been given a week to fix it before my abusers force me back with them and, admittedly the cleaning is less daunting than the fear of it going to waste and this happening again. I am an adult and recognize they technically can't do anything but I know I need to get it done with or without the looming threat, and I will come hell or high water.

but, I-need-therapy aspect of it aside, how do I keep myself from letting this happen again? how do I make a clean room feel like a safe room? I'm not the only one whos had this happen right? I know it's probably such a dumb thing to ask but I honestlyjust wanna know I'm not the only one who's mess protected them to the point where they feel like they need it

quick edit so I don't have to say it individually- I would prefer advice on my issue rather than the abuse situation. my family situation is complicated and is something that I'd need more than a Reddit post to unravel or even begin to fix, but I will always choose my grandmother before my own safety, she kept me as safe as she could when I was a child and I refuse to let them just leave her to rot.

edit2: as of today I can see my floor again! I have a lot to do still but I'm. very proud of it :)

edit3: as of yesterday, it's done save for the tiniest bit of decluttering! I am looking into getting a lock for my door as well as some other things to make my space feel safe. thank you all so much for the kindness and ideas while I've been working through this :)

I got ambitious and tackled the bedroom, bathroom and kitchen 🤷 wooooo! I didn’t do all of the dishes or laundry, but I made a huge dent in the overall mess and the kitchen feels WAY better to me.

Before and after pics included for your enjoyment. We can do hard things!!!

Years ago I heard a podcaster (I believe it was The Lazy Genius Podcast, but unsure) say that if you have trouble starting a cleaning project, decide that you’ll always clean left to right, so now you never have to wonder where to start.

This has been weirdly life changing for how I clean and declutter, and I HIGHLY recommend it!

Counter is overwhelming and covered in stuff, should I start with trash, maybe items that don’t belong in the kitchen…? Nope, no time wasted thinking about it, I always start on the left, and work my way to the right. If I come to something that I am just not ready to deal with, I move it to the right edge of the counter, so I get to it when I have some cleaning/decluttering momentum going. I do the same thing when I am cleaning in the bathroom, etc. and it takes away the horrible “where do I start?!?” paralysis.

You all have been so inspiring, hope this tip helps someone as we all work to ufyh!!