On cooking, it is all or nothing. Day-in day-out cooking gets a great big "UGH!", and people would do well not to not count on it coming from me. Because they're not going to get it! It's erratic. But sometimes I really get going and make everything at once. Soooo, that one I can't tell you how to handle well.

Laundry, I just do it. I have a limited quantity of clothes. That helps. Because I greatly prefer not to run out of underwear.

Now... cleaning. A subject near and dear.
If deeply depressed, I don't even see a mess. Or give a damn if I do. Most of the time though, it's good -- quite tidy and clean. Because I like it that way. It is not at all unusual for me to really get into cleaning even when not hypo. (When hypo, it gets ridiculous really.)It's like a hobby (and was once a business). It's also something I do when I'm nervous or avoid doing something that I'm supposed to be doing. The "enjoy" it part isn't so much in the doing (except feeling productive) as in the result. Looove basking in a good result. They say I sometimes go overboard. It's worth it. And if it takes Q-Tips, toothbrushes and dental tools to get there, so be it.

Step one: Get yourself some OCD. (I'm totally making a joke there. I have it, and though it plays into this, it's not like the misconception that neat freak= OCD. It's much more complicated. And annoying.)

Ok, now for the actual tips (how I handle it, not how to get motivation, sorry!)
1) Maintenance. It is waaaaaay easier to hit stuff here and there than to feel one must tackle it all at once. (And having that feeling of being immobilized and overwhelmed.) Where is that rule? See and Do. Toilet need a brush? Swish swish, (wash your hands and) walk away. When you notice an item getting egregious, take a couple minutes, hit it and go back to whatever you were doing. Sure, you will still want to do "proper" cleaning, but in the meanwhile, things are more tolerable, it's a small thing so not overwhelming, and when you do a regular cleaning, it will be easier because it's less of a mess. Related to this, remember you can do things in rotation, which is a good way to get those less-frequent things done. Let's say... washing curtains (To those who are laughing now, pick your own thing! It's all I can think of atm.). They don't need to be done in an epic sweep. Do the one or two that need it the most (probably kitchen). Another time, do the second-most in need. Eventually you will get to all of them. And if you don't, you still have a cleaner appearance because you got the ones you see all the time.

2) When you clean, clean smart.
Gravity's going to work whether you've considered it or not. And if you don't consider it, you'll probably be re-doing something, and that's a waste of time.
Give cleaners a chance to do what you bought them for. If something needs to soak a bit, let it and go do something else nearby in the meanwhile. It will be so much easier (and faster!) when you go back to it. (This one seems obvious, but you'd be surprised how often it's zoomed past.)

3) I cannot stress enough what a HUGE LABOR-saver and TIME-saver this next one is. It also brings down the overwhelm factor way way down.
LESS STUFF!!! Good God almighty, just plain too much crap is the biggest issue I see again and again, and cannot believe how much of a roadblock people put in their own way with this. This not only applies to sheer quantity of possessions. Consider any room. Are there things all over the very items in need of cleaning? Why? Maybe some of them are justifiable. Most of them probably aren't. Even a semi-zealot like me is going to say, "screw it!" when faced with moving all that crap (and moving it back) every flippin' time just to clean it. Over-population of knick-knacks and doodads? Again, why? Same issue. Also consider this. They are presumably intentionally displayed items, right? (As opposed to, say, most of the stuff on the bathroom sink.) But when there are too many, it's a major league pain in the patootie to clean that zone. So it doesn't happen. There goes the visual delight they were intended to provide! (Unless of course, one finds dust a visual delight, lol!)

Ok, before I hit "tilt" on a rant.... know that I'm not ranting *at* anyone. It's just an observation of something that's a super-common hinderance to cleaning/keeping up/what have you. SO common in fact, that it tends to be a blindspot. It contributes SO heavily to overwhelm. And I rant because for the life of me I can't understand it. It seems so obvious, but clearly, it's not(!)

Footnotes: *Note how laundry proves #3. The laundry CAN'T get out of hand. Unless I want to become a nudist. Which I don't. Less stuff gets less out of control.
*Yes, I have gone a little nuts in the possession-accumulation department when hypo. But invariably, later on, I'd get to feeling like it was closing in and get rid of it just as vigorously. Never piled static stuff on things frequently needing cleaning.
*BF, ironically enough, has the "display item" issue in spades. Tiny, tippy and tons of 'em. I won't deal with them. It's ridiculous. Their zones are restricted, because if they were everywhere, I'd be launching every 5 minutes over knocking the damn things over just doing basic stuff. For the 10 seconds spent opening a window, 20 min would be spent setting them all back from falling down(!) A colossal time-waster.