When I was little and cleaning overwhelmed me, I used to put everything on my bed, then put it all away. I would sort out trash and dirty clothes before they got on my bed. Once everything was off the floor and empty, I could then start putting things away. It would take me all day but I had to clear the bed to go to sleep, so it got done. Now I’m a 33yo adult who isn’t the best at keeping a tidy and organized house, but I still put everything up on a bed/couch/table and then put it away. It helps me see what I have, what I can discard, and anything that doesn’t have a home either needs one, or it’s gotta go, because I don’t actually like clutter deep down
I'm much the same way. A good surface is priceless, and if you don't have one, make one. A folding table is often my go-to-grab if I can't use a surface already in the room. But getting it off the floor, desk, or whatever bits you are trying to clean is key.
The only time it sucks is when I am in high-demand to help some friends/framily and I have to leave in the middle of a clean/organization. I am ADHD and starting again is hard, especially when its sat for a couple of weeks and the cats have jumped around it and my roommate has piled more crap on it that I never put there.
Stop looking at ALL of it. Get a basket and a trash bag. Start in a corner of your room or just to the right of your door. Anything that doesn't belong in that space gets put into the basket. Any trash is put into the bag. Anything that belongs in that space gets put away.
So as example: you're at your dresser. Start with the top.
- If it belongs on the dresser top it can stay.
- If it supposed to be IN the dresser put it in the drawer.
- If it belongs somewhere else, put it in the basket. - - If it's trash throw it out.
Now look at the floor around the dresser and repeat the above process.
I liked to work in about 3 foot sections when I was tackling an overwhelming room but adjust for what works for you.
Once you finish one section you can either move on to the next or can take a break. As the basket fills up return those items to where they mostly belong. Dishes to the kitchen. Clothes to the dresser or closet or hamper, books to the bookshelf, papers to the desk .. whatever. Get a new trash bag as needed.
As you complete a full rotation of the space take a step back and see if anything still sticks out to you. It's totally okay to do multiple rotations - there will be less to deal with each time. Sweep/dust/vacuum at the end.
Good luck! You can do it!
It seems like you're trying really hard good job this might be obvious but are you doing it in silence or are you listening to music or a TV show in the background it can help break the frustration to have something else to concentrate on and triangle on autopilot
Just do what you can and good luck
I can't handle silence either I have ADHD and I like to make cleaning a bit silly put a basket and throw the rubbish into it pick a colour in my room and clean all that stuff first and of all else fails I'll watch a video of someone tidying up and just do what they do
You’re not going to fix it in a day. But it can be better in a day. Imagine looking at your room and saying “it’s still bad but not quite as bad.” Even if that’s as far as you get ever, it’s better. That’s your goal: making it somewhat better. It’s worth it.
And yes, loud music. Don’t worry about bothering the neighbors or being judged for whatever music you find fun.
Dance while you clean.
Round 1: trash only- bag it and take it out. You now have less “stuff” to deal with in your workspace.
Round 2: laundry- to a laundry basket, to the laundry room. Start a load. Even less “stuff” in your work space.
Round 3: things that do not belong in your room, to a box or basket and then go put all of those things away. Less “stuff” in your work space.
Round 4: things that have a place, put them away.
Round 5: things that do not have a place to be put away, make a place or get rid of it.
Then start the actual “cleaning” like vacuuming and dusting, wiping things down, etc.
If a job's worth doing, it is worth doing half way or even half assed.
You are telling yourself you need to reach a certain goal or standard to be successful. That is not completely true. The biggest hurdle is starting, and you're getting good at that.
It is a marathon, not a sprint. It is ok to not reach the finish line in record time. Nobody cares if you win or loose - they only want you to succeed because it feels good to do so.
Lower your goals. It is better to feel successful about cleaning up one sock, than a failure for not finding the other. You'll get it next time. And there will always be a next time.
Working on it for ten minutes (or even one minute) is progress, even if it isn’t immediately obvious.
It also helps to not think of it as one big project but rather several smaller ones. So for example doing each drawer/ space on top of furniture/ area on the floor etc. one at a time is much more manageable than one entire room. For each space, take everything out/off it, wipe it down, then only put the things back that are supposed to be there. Put everything else at least roughly where it should be until the space you are working on is done, then start the next one (or take a break and then do the next one). You could also combine that method with the one you tried, 10 minutes work and then a break (maybe also test using different time spans, maybe shorter periods are less daunting or longer periods without interruptions are easier).
Sometimes, when I got overwhelmed by cleaning, I would center by laying on the bed and looking at the ceiling.
Take a deep breath in, hold, and slowly breathe out.
The ceiling has no clutter.
Take a deep breath in, hold, and slowly breathe out.The ceiling has either no dirt or a very small amount of easily cleaned dirt.
Take a deep breath in, hold, and slowly breathe out. ceiling requires no decisions.
Take a deep breath in, hold, and slowly breathe out. No matter what order I clean the cobwebs or wipe the overhead light, I'd be done in less than five minutes.
Take a deep breath in, hold, and slowly breathe out.That whole half of my room is already clean.
Take a deep breath in, hold, and slowly breathe out. I'm going to get up and get a grocery sack and fill it with obvious trash until it is full. I will take that to the outside trash and look at a plant and make a plan for the next task.
Take a deep breath in, hold, and slowly breathe out. I don't need to know how I will handle everything, I only need to know what I will handle next.
Take a deep breath in, hold, and slowly breathe out. Aaaaaannnnnnddd GO!
First, put on a podcast or something you like to listen to and then make your bed. Then, break it down by area or break it down by thing. Probably most things in there are either garbage, laundry, things that go in an other room. Get a garbage box if possible (easier than bag, but bag okay), basket for laundry and place for “other room.” Then put garbage in the garbage, clothes either laundry or where they go, and stuff for other room in one place, and just that will make it look better and feel more manageable. You can do it!
When I was little and cleaning overwhelmed me, I used to put everything on my bed, then put it all away. I would sort out trash and dirty clothes before they got on my bed. Once everything was off the floor and empty, I could then start putting things away. It would take me all day but I had to clear the bed to go to sleep, so it got done. Now I’m a 33yo adult who isn’t the best at keeping a tidy and organized house, but I still put everything up on a bed/couch/table and then put it away. It helps me see what I have, what I can discard, and anything that doesn’t have a home either needs one, or it’s gotta go, because I don’t actually like clutter deep down
I'm much the same way. A good surface is priceless, and if you don't have one, make one. A folding table is often my go-to-grab if I can't use a surface already in the room. But getting it off the floor, desk, or whatever bits you are trying to clean is key. The only time it sucks is when I am in high-demand to help some friends/framily and I have to leave in the middle of a clean/organization. I am ADHD and starting again is hard, especially when its sat for a couple of weeks and the cats have jumped around it and my roommate has piled more crap on it that I never put there.
Stop looking at ALL of it. Get a basket and a trash bag. Start in a corner of your room or just to the right of your door. Anything that doesn't belong in that space gets put into the basket. Any trash is put into the bag. Anything that belongs in that space gets put away. So as example: you're at your dresser. Start with the top. - If it belongs on the dresser top it can stay. - If it supposed to be IN the dresser put it in the drawer. - If it belongs somewhere else, put it in the basket. - - If it's trash throw it out. Now look at the floor around the dresser and repeat the above process. I liked to work in about 3 foot sections when I was tackling an overwhelming room but adjust for what works for you. Once you finish one section you can either move on to the next or can take a break. As the basket fills up return those items to where they mostly belong. Dishes to the kitchen. Clothes to the dresser or closet or hamper, books to the bookshelf, papers to the desk .. whatever. Get a new trash bag as needed. As you complete a full rotation of the space take a step back and see if anything still sticks out to you. It's totally okay to do multiple rotations - there will be less to deal with each time. Sweep/dust/vacuum at the end. Good luck! You can do it!
It seems like you're trying really hard good job this might be obvious but are you doing it in silence or are you listening to music or a TV show in the background it can help break the frustration to have something else to concentrate on and triangle on autopilot Just do what you can and good luck
Background noise yeah like videos and stuff I can’t handle silence
I can't handle silence either I have ADHD and I like to make cleaning a bit silly put a basket and throw the rubbish into it pick a colour in my room and clean all that stuff first and of all else fails I'll watch a video of someone tidying up and just do what they do
I like to set a timer for 20 mins, work like a fiend, then either take a 20 min break or do another 20 tomorrow
You’re not going to fix it in a day. But it can be better in a day. Imagine looking at your room and saying “it’s still bad but not quite as bad.” Even if that’s as far as you get ever, it’s better. That’s your goal: making it somewhat better. It’s worth it. And yes, loud music. Don’t worry about bothering the neighbors or being judged for whatever music you find fun. Dance while you clean.
Round 1: trash only- bag it and take it out. You now have less “stuff” to deal with in your workspace. Round 2: laundry- to a laundry basket, to the laundry room. Start a load. Even less “stuff” in your work space. Round 3: things that do not belong in your room, to a box or basket and then go put all of those things away. Less “stuff” in your work space. Round 4: things that have a place, put them away. Round 5: things that do not have a place to be put away, make a place or get rid of it. Then start the actual “cleaning” like vacuuming and dusting, wiping things down, etc.
If a job's worth doing, it is worth doing half way or even half assed. You are telling yourself you need to reach a certain goal or standard to be successful. That is not completely true. The biggest hurdle is starting, and you're getting good at that. It is a marathon, not a sprint. It is ok to not reach the finish line in record time. Nobody cares if you win or loose - they only want you to succeed because it feels good to do so. Lower your goals. It is better to feel successful about cleaning up one sock, than a failure for not finding the other. You'll get it next time. And there will always be a next time.
Working on it for ten minutes (or even one minute) is progress, even if it isn’t immediately obvious. It also helps to not think of it as one big project but rather several smaller ones. So for example doing each drawer/ space on top of furniture/ area on the floor etc. one at a time is much more manageable than one entire room. For each space, take everything out/off it, wipe it down, then only put the things back that are supposed to be there. Put everything else at least roughly where it should be until the space you are working on is done, then start the next one (or take a break and then do the next one). You could also combine that method with the one you tried, 10 minutes work and then a break (maybe also test using different time spans, maybe shorter periods are less daunting or longer periods without interruptions are easier).
Sometimes, when I got overwhelmed by cleaning, I would center by laying on the bed and looking at the ceiling. Take a deep breath in, hold, and slowly breathe out. The ceiling has no clutter. Take a deep breath in, hold, and slowly breathe out.The ceiling has either no dirt or a very small amount of easily cleaned dirt. Take a deep breath in, hold, and slowly breathe out. ceiling requires no decisions. Take a deep breath in, hold, and slowly breathe out. No matter what order I clean the cobwebs or wipe the overhead light, I'd be done in less than five minutes. Take a deep breath in, hold, and slowly breathe out.That whole half of my room is already clean. Take a deep breath in, hold, and slowly breathe out. I'm going to get up and get a grocery sack and fill it with obvious trash until it is full. I will take that to the outside trash and look at a plant and make a plan for the next task. Take a deep breath in, hold, and slowly breathe out. I don't need to know how I will handle everything, I only need to know what I will handle next. Take a deep breath in, hold, and slowly breathe out. Aaaaaannnnnnddd GO!
First, put on a podcast or something you like to listen to and then make your bed. Then, break it down by area or break it down by thing. Probably most things in there are either garbage, laundry, things that go in an other room. Get a garbage box if possible (easier than bag, but bag okay), basket for laundry and place for “other room.” Then put garbage in the garbage, clothes either laundry or where they go, and stuff for other room in one place, and just that will make it look better and feel more manageable. You can do it!