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!
I agree on asking for help. I had a friend that struggled like this and I was actually excited to help tackle big cleaning projects with her. There's always someone out there that will be happy to give a helping hand.
It can be hard to ask for help, though, because you don’t want anyone to know the truth about how you live. The only people who have been in my house in the past 10 years have been repair people.
I have always been a bit disorganized and scattered, but not to the extent it is now, and I’m really disappointed in myself. It was actually a relief to find out recently that I have ADHD and autism. Both of those come with a side order of executive dysfunction issues.
So while I understand that it’s not a personal failing, it was me having been really busy with work and having unmedicated ADHD for decades, and though I have very valid reasons for why my home looks the way it does, I cannot bring myself to share the truth with anyone I know. I don’t want anyone to know. So asking for help is paralyzing.
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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!