How do I straighten up a messy apartment when I'ld rather just give up?

https://www.un****yourhabitat.com/th...y-house-cycle/

I can't face the job of straightening out the mess I've created in this apartment over the past couple of days. I'm in bed hiding from what I have to do. I'm looking for inspiration, and I found this article above. The author truly understands and offered some suggestions. But I'm still stuck. Does anyone have any advice or even just random thoughts on how to fix a mess when you just want to give up?

Thanks for the book suggestion. If it works for me, it will truly be a miracle. Altho my kitchen sink has been clean for going on two weeks now.

I find upbeat music will usually give me some energy to do things when I am not feeling it. Try to make it into something sorta fun. Sorry you are dealing with this!

I get really bad anxiety from this kind of situation too. My technique is to remove just about everything from the room, clean the room, put back what goes in there, then deal with the remaining stuff by trash, donate, or put somewhere else.

I need to anxiety and allergy medicate to tackle this task when it’s overwhelming.

My family HATES my technique and won’t help me will rather fight me. Lol. If I didn’t occasionally do this, nobody else would. Teen boys.

I make lists, it makes me feel good when I cross something off after I finish cleaning/organizing. I break it down into different parts. Playing music helps also. Rewarding myself with a cup of coffee or a simple thing like that can sometimes motivate me

I tend to do housework naked and drunk, which I'm sure is TMI but hey, works for me........

I did nearly nothing today, but tomorrow is another day.

I will probably toss all your techniques into my plan, when I start . . . except the getting naked . . . but I'll promise myself some cocktails as a reward.

It's awful to get froze like this. But we manage to unfreeze at some point. I have to turn off that inner voice that keeps saying I let things get so bad that it's beyond fixing. Rationally, I know that is false. Just have to get more rational.

Thanks all.

Five minutes. Pick a hotspot and set a timer. Take a break and go at it again. Increase by five minutes and turn it into a routine. I think on of the issues with stuff like this for people like us is we want to get it all done in a day and it's obvious that wont happen so we procrastinate and put it off and it gets worse. I used to be this way with my dishes and now even if I break it up into stages a load gets done everyday.

Thanks, Sarah. That timer thing used to work for me, and I'm getting back to it.

I did get over the hump and am no longer totally intimidated thinking what needs doing us beyond me. The place is straightened enough to where now I can see how I'm going to proceed. Dishes done . . . bed made . . . laundry sorted . . . mail opened. It didn't take all that long to make what looks like a big improvement.

My therapist has me using a technique for when I'm doing my homework, I set a timer for 30 minutes (or however long you choose) and just work- no distractions except for music. Then take a 10 minute break and during that 10 minute break I do muscle relaxation technique. Then repeat.
I'm going to try this for cleaning my appartment, it's a bit of a disaster due to my depression being bad at the moment.
I hope you are able to figure something out that works for you!

Thanks, Auggie. Good luck to both of us. Those depressive tailspins sure take a toll on our domestic environments.

Right now I'm just one or two meals behind on the dishes. Recently I was 3 days behind.

I came back to this thread because I have the exact same problem again. This thread was started over 6 months ago. So I got through the last 6 months. Somewhere along the line I must have gotten that mess of last October straightened out. I do remember the apartment looked pretty for Christmas. If I got the place sorted out back then, I can do it again.

I'm reading every post above . . . using timers, music, lists, etc. I'm getting encouraged to settle for getting a little done at a time. I might have to work in spurts. I feel like buying myself a little radio for the kitchen. I love radio talk shows. Listening to the radio would make working in the kitchen seem less dreary.

My sig. other is in the hospital. So I have much less cooking to do. Now - once I clean up the kitchen - it'll stay clean longer. If I get on a roll and want to stick with a cleaning project into the night, I can without disturbing him.

I want to donate a lot of stuff we don't need. I wonder if that's possible now. I wonder if places like Goodwill are accepting clothing now? Or do they worry that things donated might carry the Corona virus?

My goodwill says online that its open, but i havent tried calling or going there. The virus doesnt live indefinitely - i would think all they would have to do is let it set there for a while.

Eta - i just checked it again - our state is closed. But it looks like other states goodwills are starting to open.

Thanks, Luna, I will call them tomorrow and ask. I was thinking like you - that, if donations are left sit a few days, the virus particles disintegrate.

We have too much stuff. A lot of it is medical supplies. Half the things in bf's closet have not been worn in years . . . and never will be. I didn't want him to see me donate that stuff because he liked believing that someday he would feel better and go back to wearing things like blue Jean's. Getting rid of the things he used to wear is like saying "You're never going to get better. You're dying." Now, while he's gone, is an opportunity to give away things and make room. I could clear out half his closet and use that space. It's heartbreaking, even for me. to donate good clothing he used to look so nice in . . . leather boots he will never wear again . . . belts . . . suits.

This is a small apt. I need to make space.

I work with a junk removal service. They recycle. And they send stuff to Good Will and other places like that. So just in one fell swoop I can remove everything I've been accumulating. The are currently open where I am. My only concern is that I might have to put all this stuff on my patio for them to pick it up. I wish you luck with your stuff.

Thanks for the laugh! I like the idea of visualizing my favorite movie star cleaning my place while I actually do the work!

Thanks for tips about work 5 minutes or more then take a break or set a timer for 30 minutes and work without distractions. These tips can really help me when wanting to work on clean up project in my house or even study for a big exam. These events can seem overwhelming, but taken in smaller chunks they are a little easier to accomplish.