Goal Tracking: Declutter and Cleaning

I've been working away on getting rid of 3 houses worth of stuff that ended up in my 1800.sq ft house. Okay, that I had moved to my house . Long, long story . On top of that , it is a fixer upper. A lot of the extra stuff I bought to use in fixing it up, then change my mind. I fell in January, and broke my wrist , putting me further behind.

I think mine is a bit of a success story - i've come so far that I actually let a friend come in to help me move something. But I could tell she thinks differently about me after seeing my AdHD environment.

I have what feels like a very stupid block against dropping things off at the Goodwill. I get it ready, then it sits in boxes in my kitchen for a week or so, then rides around in my car until i can't stand it. I've heard other people say they have trouble with this too. I want the stuff gone, it's ready to go - what in the world!

I am sorry - i have not posted here in a month. I have had a cold which i think i caught in my apartment complex's cootie-laden gym.

But today i am feeling much better - not coughing, not dizzy, not weak - so i am doing laundry. Im starting with my bed and misc blankets.

I did one of those "bargaining with god" that if i ever recovered from this cold, i wouldnt be such a slacker anymore, AND i told my t about it, so i am now stuck between a rock and a hard place!!.

I did six loads (the machines arent very big, theyre just regular toploaders) and that was it - i felt like i ran a marathon. I needed lunch and a nap. I'll be roughing it tonight then finish it tomorrow. If i can do 3 or so loads a day, i could have this place cleaned up by the end of the month. No t friday or monday so 4 day work (cleaning) weekend is possible. But right now, i think it is shower and bedtime!

I do hate to make plans about what i am going to because i hate feeling like a failure (or i have to get around my self sabotage), but then i have to at least prepare to do stuff somehow.

I spent quite a few years living in total turmoil...Not because I was lazy, and not because I wasn't diligent with keeping things tidy...I came to the realization that I just lacked focus and I wasn't organised. All I was doing was going round in circles moving stuff I never used and didn't need into different locations, which gave the impression that I lived in a neat & tidy home.

I finally made the decision to start the daunting task of culling everything I owned. When looking at this mammoth task, it was so overwhelming that I kept putting it off putting it off. Eventually I broke this huge undertaking into doable projects. I started with my hallway draws that were jammed with invoices, used light bulbs, batteries and pens that no longer worked...This job took an entire day because I didn't simply move the stuff, I threw the majority away, and filed the invoices & documents in a newly created system. The cleaned out draws now house a folder containing current invoices & documents, a working flashlight, scissors, packet of spare batteries, a cigarette lighter and a box full of loose change. The draws had now become functional...and this was my ultimate aim. This was the catalyst that kept me surging forward...the need to only keep what was needed, beautiful, valuable or sentimental. All the rest had to go.

The Hallway then got a complete makeover, I took down the dusty mirror and framed pictures and put them in the spare room, which now housed all my unwanted items. Then I painted the cieling with cieling white, waxed the timber floor and threw out the old hall runner.

Focussing on this one area truly galvanised my resolve to eventually do the same with the entire house. It is now 8 months since I started...and I didn't work at it every day or even every week...but it is all finally done. I think that if we look at this job in its entirety it really can be just too overwhelming....the key is to start small.

Oh yes..by the way.... After putting aside all my unwanted items, I had a yard sale. With the proceeds I was able to buy myself some much needed new computer software, and replace the ratty old hall runner that I threw out on day 1 with an authentic Turkish version.

I should be inspired by everyone's efforts but I don't have anyone to help yet. I can't do it alone. I need someone to carry out the bags for me.

Do you need like a little cart to carry out trash? Goodwill will pick up your donations - i think they have to be on the porch in bags or boxes.

I think i overdid it tuesday. I hope im feeling better by tomorrow. Plus the bus driver almost killed me yesterday. She thought i wanted the NEXT stop, not THIS one, so she kept going, but i was moving down the aisle - i was amazed i didnt land flat on my face! At least she didnt drag me along like that poor little girl getting off the schoolbus the other day, the poor thing

I hope you'll feel better soon!

No, there's a long stairway between my apartment and the garbage bins because I'm on the 2nd floor. I didn't know that was going to be such a problem when I moved in. I really do need to move.

I haven't able to use both hands since January when I broke my wrist , but kept packing stuff up in contractor size trash bags . Not sure what I was thinking. Getting smaller bags took longer to pack up, but I was able to get them to the dump myself.

Bins - i think chronically disorganized people buy lots of organizing materials. I realized this year that to get rid of stuff I needed to get rid of bins and boxes too.

But the storage bin aisle still calls to me.

I'm sorry to hear about your wrist. I hope it's getting a lot better. Yes, the smaller bags are easier to carry but I can't get a lot of bulk in them. I'll just have to see what I can do.

Yes, wrist is better, though I still can't lift or open heavy doors. It is frustrating because the little bags take longer, but at least it gets done that way.

I've finally started feeling like I can ask for help , so my son is coming today to help, and then the organizer/ coach next weekend. But I can't get started this morning. The week at work was very nonstop, and I really need to chill, but not with people coming.

It was so hard to let the organizer in the first time. It made it easier that we did phone coaching 3-4 times first, and then I sent her pictures. And of course I cleaned up some before i sent her the pictures, and again every time before she came. It really helps that I can just pack boxes and she takes them to Goodwill, but it feels stupid to pay her to do this at 40$ an hour.

I need help, someone to actually be here with me, in order to do anything. I think there's just something so overwhelming about it, we need to feel we're not alone with it.

I have asked my t to help me, but i am more afraid he will say yes - he keeps saying no. Everytime i report i have done something, he always asks, did you throw anything out? Like clothes, ie besides garbage. I am always surprised that i answer no! Here i think i have actually accomplished something, but not by his standards.

Anyway, today i worked more on my bed, its not done yet, but i did take a shower (i lied the other night) and now im all sweet and perfumey on a half made but cleaner bed

I did another 6 loads of laundry today. I let things stack up when i caught my cold so i am catching up on what i had already caught up on. Like stacks of underpants and towels. But this time i took a cool off shower about halfway thru, that made a big difference. Im tired but not dead tired. Not sure if im making the bed tonight. Not sure what i'll be able to do tomorrow. But this was a good workout today. I need to note it on my calendar.

I just convinced myself that today is a failure, even though it is 9:29 am and I have been up for 3 hours , and gave the kitchen island top another coat of poly, located the materials to put the cabinet doors back on, and done part of my hand exercises. I'm going to make a list of what has to be done for the day to be successful. Usually when I do that, I laugh at myself, because there is no way that I could humanly get it done.

I think my therapist thinks the mess I'm in is a. Because I'm renovating and b. Small issue in the scheme of things. I need to tell her that it consumes my waking moments!

I now take delight in throwing things away. My organizer / coach is coming Sat. And she likes to take things to donate away in her hatchback , so I'm getting some ready for her. My son took the last load. He found a little china doll in the stuff and couldn't believe I was giving it away. I actually think it's fun to think about someone finding it on the shelf at Goodwill.

Wha??? I just woke up!! To the sound of some college girl giggling on the balcony. Doesnt she know its a holiday and some of us are sleeping in? It will be a successful day if i dont yell at her. But i might have to slam my balcony door.

I'm new and so depressed that I haven't had the energy to make my home clean and tidy for months. I think that be surrounded by so much clutter have an impact on my depression and make it worse.

For tomorrow my goal is to try to start do some cleaning in the kitchen. Hope I can make it!

Singer, don't allow yourself to be overwhelmed...even tackling a small corner is an accomplishment. It takes time to catch up, so just be proud of any steps you make in the right direction!

Thanks Marla! I understand that it will take time and I'am so afraid that I will loose track because I don't see what I've managed. Another "thing" is that on very depressed days I'm not clever at doing the dishes. When that piles up it's like starting all over again, again and again ...

I want to say that even if the depression is deep, I feel a bit relieved since yesterday. I have cleaned a few things in my kitchen, but there is a lot more to do. Even if it is so, I think that the feeling of having started is a little push in itself. May be there is till hope for me.

Just getting caught up on this thread. My house is a tiny bit cleaner than it was - the BF has taken an interest in it not being such a disgusting mess, so maybe with two of us being kind of half interested in this, we'll get somewhere.

Singer, I hear you on the dishes - we were caught up for a few days, but now I think I am behind again. It always feels like such an accomplishment to be done with the dishes/laundry, but there's always more...

Angelique, I hope you can find someone to take the trash down for you.

Topiary, I do the same thing with the Goodwill boxes! It's really bad! I have had one box sitting underneath a table that I think I started two years ago. I try to just throw most stuff in the trash/recycling, because that gets picked up every week... but sometimes the stuff seems too nice.

Hankster, I hope you are recovered now - you must be caught up on laundry Why is there always more????

Nope, things have been on pause. I had a very busy week last week, t and pdoc appts every freakin day, it was exhausting! I have only two appts this week, hopefully i can get going again. This past weekend i put away some clean clothes, cleaned the kitchen a little, and am preparing for a new diet - more salads, more monounsaturates more exercise of course.

I now work two jobs and have no time but I get depressed if my place is untidy. So it's been tough.....

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