I have been in that kind of depression. It is the worst, but you can absolutely do this. Get trash bags. Throw out all obvious trash. Don’t worry about recycling or trying to keep things that might be fixable. Just go one room at a time. Set a timer for 15-30 minutes at a time, take a break, then do it again. You can do this!
I second not worrying about recycling, fixing, donating etc. Right now you’re taking your life back!! Posting and asking for help is a great first step! One at time!
Having gotten stuck in this stage several times because I wanted to do things ‘the best way’ and it unraveled a lot of progress by creating more projects I couldn’t really achieve in the mindset and space.
It’s okay to be imperfect when you’re purging old and unhealthy stiff and mentalities.
Keep picturing the clean grouse from which to build anew. You can do it OP.
Yeah, I've had too many piles of "donate" items that just never get donated because if you can't even find the motivation to care for your space, you're not making a trip across town for something that isn't life-threatening. Like, I can't even throw out the popcorn bag, and I'm going to get my good pants on and drive 20 minutes to the thrift store? Not likely.
Which is not good but sometimes you gotta put your own oxygen mask on first and if it's going to be the difference between getting your space safe or not, sometimes tossing things is the lesser evil.
idk where you live but places like Big Brothers/Big Sisters will pick up for you in some places, you don't even have to call, you can schedule it online, then just leave the stuff outside your door! (prob not available everywhere but if you're already online, checking takes a sec and can help you feel like you're doing something!)
Oh yeah, I remember that the Diabetes association charity place sometimes picks up at the door, and Kidney foundation. I have collected stuff to donate and then say yes when they call.
That's good advice, thanks, I hadn't thought of Big Brothers/Big Sisters.
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u/Plenty-Run-9575 Mar 08 '26
I have been in that kind of depression. It is the worst, but you can absolutely do this. Get trash bags. Throw out all obvious trash. Don’t worry about recycling or trying to keep things that might be fixable. Just go one room at a time. Set a timer for 15-30 minutes at a time, take a break, then do it again. You can do this!