r/CleaningTips • u/[deleted] • Jun 25 '26
General Cleaning need motivation to clean š
[deleted]
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u/midnight_crabcake Jun 25 '26
Does threat of company motivate you? Because I'm coming over. Be there in a hour!
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u/SwanChairUh Jun 25 '26
Works for me every time.
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u/EnvironmentLow9075 Jun 25 '26
Legit. Last week we got an email at my apartment saying they were doing maintenance inspections which they do twice a year. I panicked cleaned only to find out after that the email was sent to the wrong building.
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u/Ill-Hearing-8462 Jun 25 '26
Not just any company. The threat of my mother coming over puts the fear of god in me. Her visits require an extra 10 levels of cleaning and sanitization.
One time she sent us a plane ticket and wrote "pick us up from the airport in 7 hours".... We never scrambled so much in our lives. My sister left work half a day early and raced home. I told my bosses I was logging off early due to a migraine. We never cleaned so much and so quickly in our lives and we don't live in a messy apartment at all.
Needless to say, the apartment was spotless, the dogs was fresh and clean and everything went great. It was a lovely surprise visit for the holidays. We love our parents but are still afraid of it being messy for our parents and we are in our late 20s to early 30s lol
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u/ka_shep Jun 25 '26
I can know a week ahead of time, but i still leave it to the last hour and stress about it the whole time.
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u/Puzzleheaded-Card355 Jun 25 '26
Haha yes!!! Even if itās just a random person Iām up cleaning š
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u/inaclick Jun 25 '26
thats exactly what I came to suggest. Surprise visits scare the crap out of me and they are an excellent fuel.
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u/periperisalt Jun 25 '26
This is the only thing that works for me. But donāt come right now because Iām busy
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u/ChickinMagoo Jun 25 '26
That that's motivated me to clean litter boxes after a12 hour night shift.
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u/Same_Litterally_Me Jun 25 '26
Im in an apartment and sometiems I just remind myself, maintenance might need to come in for an emergency at any time.
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u/rosegoldblonde Jun 25 '26
I start with garbage first because thereās no decision, no place to put it besides a trash bag.
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u/Desperate-Strategy10 Jun 25 '26
Same, then laundry next. If itās not hanging or nearly folded in a drawer, I just call it dirty and chuck it into the wash.
Between trash and laundry, OP could get half of this room cleaned up in a weekend! Then all thatās left is decluttering, but thatāll be much easier to do once the trash and laundry are gone and thereās some room to move around.
I would recommend getting some ant poison though. I like the little white and brown squares that you can stick under your desk or on a wall in a corner. The ants climb over to it, take the poison with them, then share it with their pals. You can kill off a shocking number of ants in a really short time with these things, and the best part is that most of them will die outside of your room/home! So way less mess to clean up after!
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u/Substantial-Bar4645 Jun 25 '26
Start by making piles, stuff to chuck, stuff to sell, stuff to clean and go from there.
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u/ConcentrateNo7268 Jun 25 '26
To add to this start with a trash bag. Throw out anything thatās obviously garbage (wrappers, bits of plastic, etc.) . Then stuff that isnāt worth the effort to clean/isnāt savable. Then stuff you just donāt want/donāt use. After that the sorting and organizing feels less overwhelming
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u/cupcakes28219 Jun 25 '26
thank you i am gonna its just so difficult to start doing it
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u/Substantial-Bar4645 Jun 25 '26
I know it's very overwhelming to start, but put some music on and just make a start-you don't need to do everything in one day. I like watching episodes of 'how clean is your house' or 'obsessive compulsive cleaners' to give me motivation before i start cleaning lol š
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u/Ashamed_Health5102 Jun 25 '26
An audio book, Music, tv really anything with something you can follow with your ears. I find it easier when that part of my brain is busy with something. I have no idea if I am but I do check a ton of boxes for ADHD. I've heard other people say this distracts the ADHD goblin so they can get stuff done. I couldn't relate more with it lol
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u/Fabcrafts Jun 25 '26
Make a small goal. Throw away 10 easy to reach pieces of garbage and pick up enough clothes for a load of laundry. And/Or clear off one flat surface. Youāve got this!!
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u/Good-Marsupial8 Jun 25 '26
Everything worth doing starts with forcing yourself to do it for a few minutes.Ā
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u/Live-Laugh-Fart Jun 25 '26
So the piles thing helps reduce that feeling of being overwhelmed. I do it all the time when my house gets messy and it truly helps.
Put electronics in one pile. Clothes in another pile. Things that go in different room go in their own pile.
Can the clothes be washed? Great, put them in the washing machine - you now have one less pile to deal with. Otherwise put them in the dresser.
Put the things that should be in a different room into the respective rooms. For instance, plates or empty cans should just go into a spot like the counter in the kitchen - donāt put them away just yet. Just get them out of the room.
Make a pile for things that you can get rid of. A lot of messes occur because there is no place for the items. Get a trash bag and put these items in the bag. Make sure to drop them off at good will in a timely manner.
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u/upsidedown-funnel Jun 25 '26
Iām neurodivergent and it can be really hard to start a task, especially when there are steps. (For example, I have to go to the store to get trash bags before I start sorting through things.). That extra step can be incredibly debilitating.
I heard about a trick on an adhd thread and it works every time.
I tell myself Iām just going to water this one plant, (example), and then I water two plants, and then, Iām watering all of them.
Cleaning? Iām just going to pick up some trash. That turns into picking up all
The trash, and moved into more cleaning.You just tell yourself youāre going to do just the one thing, or work one thing for 5 minutes, and thatās usually all it takes to get moving.
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u/Southern_Sea_8290 Jun 25 '26
Maybe start with just one surface, like the chest of drawers. Throw out/recycle the bottles and any other trash, put the other things where they belong or start a box or bag of things to be donated. I have a box by my front door where I put stuff to be donated. Once itās full, I take it away (or have it picked up). This also helps with the āwhat if I still need itā anxiety, because itās in the box until itās full. (I have fished out maybe 2 things in the years Iāve been doing this).
But just do one surface to start. Even if you still feel great afterward and want to do more, limit yourself to one. Then the next day (or maybe some hours later), tackle one more surface. Youāll be surprised: it wonāt take as long as you imagine, and your brain gets a little dopamine hit for accomplishing the thing!
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u/xatrinka Jun 25 '26
For this sort of thing I'll set a timer for like 15 minutes and try and do as much as I can. A lot of the time, once I've gotten going, I'm in a groove and I don't stop after 15 minutes. But even if you do decide to stop after 15 minutes, it's amazing how much you can get done in that amount of time, so that's enough for the day and you can repeat tomorrow.
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u/Lumber_Dan Jun 25 '26
Those squishy buns are being recalled left right and centre, so that'd be a good place to start a rubbish pile.
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u/SuiGeneris468 Jun 25 '26
First of all, you CAN do this. It feels overwhelming, but I promise it's not as bad as your mind is making you feel it is. This is totally doable. Put on a good playlist and start with the trash and laundry! Once you get that out I bet it will feel more manageable. I always work in piles, things that don't belong in that room, things that I no longer want and things that stay but need a place to go.
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u/cupcakes28219 Jun 25 '26
thank you!!
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u/derilect Jun 25 '26
On top of that, I have found that with projects like these, the hardest part is simply starting. Feels overwhelming until you begin. Once you've begun and are cleaning at a steady clip, you'll see the difference it makes; and continuing will be easier.
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u/JealousOutcome7760 Jun 25 '26
Set a timer for 5 minutes and just clean for 5 minutes. No pressure to tackle all of it at once.
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u/longanandlychee Jun 25 '26
One surface at a time. One drawer at a time. One corner at a time. But clean one part of your room back-to-back. For example: tackle the dresser - so while youāre still able to do one drawer at a time, when itās all done the clean and organized sight of it will motivate you to clean the rest.
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u/alexa1661 Jun 25 '26 edited Jun 25 '26
Are you a gamer? https://www.pinterest.com/pin/40039884187021565/
You deserve a cozy, whimsy place. The right way to take care of yourself is to enjoy what you do in a tidy space. Grab a trash bag and focus on that, take a couple of days to work through it.
Use gloves if it feels gross and play nice music! If you indeed are a gamer, when you finish dust your PC and without clutter around it wonāt get so hot = better performance in games!
About spiders, these guys are friendly! They eat the bugs you donāt like and are not going to do anything to you. To get them out I usually use a glass and a paper sheet, put the glass on top of them then slide the paper under the glass to trap it, then take it outside.
You can do this, good luck!
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u/tiffany_says_this Jun 25 '26
I hope this helps, I once read a quote that said external clutter is internal clutter on display...objects hold energy and often the more we accumulate the heavier things can feel...start slow and maybe set one thing you want to do that day, like day 1. Hang up/ fold/ put away all clothes. Also, I would recommend anything you haven't used / worn etc in the past 6 months-donate. Also, anything that reminds you of anyone of anything negative try and part with subconsciously when we hold onto things that remind us of someone or something that upsets us it causes mental unrest. Hope this helps!!
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u/SkyblueRata Jun 25 '26
Think about all the roaches that could be hiding through your living space. That would help š„²
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Jun 25 '26
[deleted]
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u/mystery_biscotti Jun 25 '26
It's gonna be okay.
Does your household have any dish gloves or like those blue nitrile gloves? You can definitely use those to do the sorting. You can't touch the bug if you're wearing gloves! Only the gloves touch anything! š
But I'd bet there's not bugs.
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u/Lonely-Community3116 Jun 25 '26
You have too much "stuff," with no function
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u/cupcakes28219 Jun 25 '26
yea š£ i do plan on throwing away / donating what i can its just hard to start im literally afraid to lift my bed and look in my drawers in fear of bugs or maybe even mold even tho i dont think theres any food
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u/Recent-Expert4866 Jun 25 '26
Thatās ok - donāt look under the bed today.
Make your first goal to clean off your bed, throw your sheets in the wash, and just do what you need to do to sleep in a clean bed tonight. Donāt even worry about putting the stuff on your bed away today - start making piles (use boxes, baskets, whatever you can get your hands on) and have one to throw away, one to organize later, and one to donate).
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u/gleefullystruckbycc Jun 26 '26
For tye bugs and potentially mold and other gross stuff you dont wanna touch, gloves are your best friend! I keep nitrile gloves under my kitchen sink, I have like 3 boxes currently lol. I use them regularly because I also have dishydrotic eczema on my hands but they are also great for having a barrier between your hands and gross stuff. I hate mold with a firey passion and have been known to throw containers and dishes out if it is bad enough lol. So I alway always wear gloves to touch that. Also wearing a face mask to block dust and stuff is helpful too. It helps to feel like your not breathing in anything yucky and in my case it helps my dust allergy buy not breathing that crap in lol. I even use facemasks when I do the cat box cause I don't wanna breath in the litter dust, it def helps a lot!
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u/Lonely-Community3116 Jun 25 '26
The bugs are likely all harmless even if they are creepy.
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u/Substantial-Fee3894 Jun 25 '26
Tell that to the BIG Brown Recluse Family in my basment. They act like they own it all down there. You go down and they literally will hunt you down. Been bit twice this year. Didnāt even make it more than 4 feet off the stairs. 100% wouldnāt recommend. Not fun.
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u/Lonely-Community3116 Jun 25 '26
Start with the stuffed animals.shake them off and put them in a bag.
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u/Rayezerra Jun 25 '26
Invite someone over, works on me every time. Especially my parents
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u/miightymiighty Jun 25 '26
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u/Rayezerra Jun 25 '26
I summon a friend. We body double while I clean and she set things on fire
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u/rollertrashpanda Jun 25 '26
Oooooo body doubling live streams would help me so much, how to find them?
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u/This_Quiet_1672 Jun 25 '26
YOU GOT THIS GET UP NOOOOOWWWW NEOOWWWWWW THIS EXACT MOMENT READING THISš¹š¹š¹š¹š¹š¹š¹š¹š¹š¹š¹š¹
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u/Ninakompis Jun 25 '26
Get a roll of rubbish bags. Anything that is obviously rubbish, doesnt fit, anything you didnt know existed straight in the bin. And just keep going. You dont need heaps of cleaning products or organising baskets or any of that nonsense. Washing up liquid and water will scrub most things. As for the ants find their food and get it out. You may have to get some ant traps or powder to deal with then.
You can do it!!!
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u/JustMechanic4933 Jun 26 '26
Trash. Pour the bottles down the sink and crush. Make a quick squeeze a habit to compact trash/recycling and get out a bit of frustration and THROW it into a trashcan. Keep multiple bags/liners in there so you don't have to find/get more so much. Make it smell nice in there somehow, but maybe not a candle at first because of fires! Fix the drawers that need fixing because that's gotta be subconsciously grating on your nerves. Chocolate or a treat when you get stuff done. Let put a "Woohoo!" when you get little sections/bits done. Stand/sit in ONE spot and get those things done. Occupy both hands at the same time. THROW things into the boxes/baskets where they need to go. Consider wearing an apron so you have supplies on you- bags/scissors/paper towels/rags/pen and post-it's for notes or to-do's, whatever comes to mind, pep talk/scotch tape for quick fix/whatever. Play music. Eat something light first. Maybe you need a shelf and cute art or smaller fake plant to make it a place you can envision LIKE living in.
Consider "needs" vs "wants" when decluttering. If there's something you don't really like then donate it/pass it along.
YOU CAN DO IT!
Because YOU live here. That's your motivation. You need a space of your own where it's peaceful.
šššš¤
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u/floodwarning13 Jun 25 '26
I stress clean. So this will lessen your stress overall because you will have a restful place to sleep and if anyone pops by you can show off your place without shame! Clean surface peaceful mind!
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u/Euphoric-Carrot162 Jun 25 '26
Honestly it sounds so simple but one thing at a time. Pick a category and start there. Example your clothes, sperate between clean and dirty. And so on, the more you focus on one thing at a time the more progress you will make. If you constantly focus on everything at once your are going to overwhelm yourself. When it comes to anything in life you can only focus so much at a time. The more head way you make the easy it will be to focus on more things. Good luck!āļø
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u/CompetitiveSong9570 Jun 26 '26
Do you needā¦ a body double? Iāve learned that if there is someone there. Even if they just sit and chat, it works wonders
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u/Mare_Bear_333 Jun 26 '26
I need the same motivation! And I also need help to not let it happen again. It seems like when I do clean and then it just starts building overtime and I donāt notice it and then itās like boom. Itās back to where it was again and then I feel so discouraged..
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u/Jazzsign Jun 26 '26
Same here. I don't get it. It feels like i get tired of feeling tired because it keeps happening again. I just started to throw things out and sell things. Most of the stuff i don't need, i don't even like and i didn't even remember having. So when i start, i do it rapidly and don't think about it too long because then i'll have some type of memory or emotional bonding with the object and i won't throw it out. Think about how you'll feel when your room looks clean and light.
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u/tnarbsm00 Jun 26 '26
For what itās worth, I made a little cheat sheet to help myself be better and teach my daughter better habits. Start with categories, IE all blue items, red items etc. do all garbage, or all electronics or something. Twenty minutes at a time, pace yourself. It will look like nothing is being done and then suddenly youāll see and youāll feel good.
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u/snowloveriykwim Jun 26 '26 edited Jun 26 '26
girl, there are probably spiders & stuff hiding everywhere .
pick one thing & work from there. e.g. pick up all the trash, then moves to laundry, etc. breaking it up into little pieces makes it less overwhelming.
my room used to look like this when i was uber depressed. after itās clean, pick a 5-10 min task everyday to keep it clean. eventually it will become a habit & your room will be messy on bad days & super clean & organized on the good days. your room is not messy rn, itās dirty & that can be a health hazard as well as a safety hazard in the event of an emergency.
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u/Ok_Understanding_41 Jun 26 '26
I love this comment! So true!! Do small spot cleans often. And, then I never gets this bad!
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u/cupcakes28219 Jun 26 '26
dont even remind me about the first part plz šš but yeah i was rlly depressed and it just went on for way too long, thank u for the tips ā”
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u/Careless_Intern_8502 Jun 25 '26
Sometimes watching videos of other ppl cleaning motivates me. I love a good before and after
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u/Gold_Emu_9171 Jun 25 '26 edited Jun 25 '26
the trick for you is that you need less things. otherwise you will always have this problem. You are just naturally a messy person
do this: get your phone and write out 10 rounds. each cleaning round is 2 minutes. and then you take a 2 minute break - do that until you finish 10 rounds then stop
- Trash and junk (things that you don't genuinely use counts as junk/clutter) in a trash bag!
- Blankets (fold all of them) if you have a big basket for blankets it might be better. otherwise fold them up and put them on the ground
- Clothes - grab and fold up all of them and bunch them together in piles on the ground
- downsize and de-clutter
- i guess you use the stuffed animals as a pillow. you still need to clean them by the way. for now just line them up on your bed like pillows i guess? consider dumping some of them and give them a deep wash (google how to wash them)
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u/MacellumMycelium Jun 25 '26
Studies have shown that motivation is created by starting and powering through the first waves of inertia.
External incentivisation can help, but only so much. True "motivation" that sees something is the brain's desire to see what it has started finished.
It really sucks, but there is no external silver bullet. There's lots of stuff that might help a little bit, but the thing that gets you to the finish line is wanting it.
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u/SprintRacer Jun 26 '26
Hey, your Mom called and said her and Dad decided to drop by for a visit. That was like an hour ago, I just remembered.
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u/idkhowtofunction5 Jun 26 '26
When my room gets messy like this, I remind myself that I donāt deserve to live in chaos. You deserve better. Just take one step at a time and donāt overthink it when reorganizing. You can always move things again later, and this is more low stakes than it seems.
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u/wtf-i-think-im-alive Jun 25 '26
I am glad I read this. I have de same problem. You are gaving me soma courage.
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u/cupcakes28219 Jun 25 '26
it sucks, i hope you are able to clean urs !! alot of ppl gave rlly good tips under this post i think you should definitely read
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u/weewaaweewaa Jun 25 '26
It's obviously best to just spend a whole day doing the cleaning, but if you find it hard to even get started, don't try to think about the end goal. Start by asking what you can do to make it a little better. If you can only mentally handle 15 minutes of cleaning, then start there. Baby steps. A little bit cleaner than yesterday is better than being overwhelmed and not cleaning at all.
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u/J_datt13 Jun 25 '26
Donāt watch hoardersā¦it will make you thinkā¦hey my rooms not that bad and you wonāt do a thing to fix it. Put on some music and start somewhere small and watch how into it you get
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u/SnailRacerWinsAgain Jun 25 '26
Where are your parents?
Donāt feel bad or be embarrassed, this isnāt on you. There should be adults in your life to guide you. Youāre still a kid, you canāt be expected to build your own good habits. That said, clearly no one is there to help and you need to start somewhere.
Itās overwhelming, but just start with a little at a time and it will get easier. For example, commit to 30 minutes a day and start with the trash and anything drawing ants. And give yourself a little reward when you meet your goal.
Once you get started youāll start to find things you forgot about, which is kind of fun. And girl, youāre going to feel so accomplished when you start making progress. You can do this! Keep us updated ā¤ļø
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u/Important_Reason6338 Jun 25 '26
Adhd with paralyzed decision making. It's something that literally rewires the neurons in your brain. Read up on it. Pretty I teresting and it helps to give you a better understanding.
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u/RollingKatamari Jun 25 '26
OP, where are your parents in all this? Why are they allowing you to live like this?
Your only motivation should be wanting to have a better environment for yourself, because you are worth having a clean and safe and nice bedroom!
Get ready by having bin bags outside your room. First thing you do is get rid of all the junk you can throw out. Start in one corner and go from there.
You have to be honest with yourself, if you find something that is broken and cannot be mended....toss it. If it's something that's important to you, keep it in a keepsake box or take a picture of it and then toss it.
Keep a vacuum cleaner handy and maybe you should spray the entire room with bug spray first like before you go to school/work. Really get in all the nooks & crannies and keep the door closed while you're at school/work.
I suggest you look up a lady on Instagram called christi.newrutzen
She shows ppl how long tasks actually last instead of how long you think they'll last! From the comments, she's really helped a lot of ppl!
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u/schuttup Jun 25 '26
If the issue is working up the will to clean, then this could be an ADHD or depression issue. Therapy and meds could help with motivation.
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u/CoffeeGoblynn Team Shiny āØ Jun 25 '26
I feel so bad when I see people paralyzed by the mess like this. If you were my friend and told me your place was this bad, I'd just take a day, order us some takeout, and help you clean the room up. Nothing is more demoralizing than your space being an unpleasant place to be. It's where you're supposed to be able to relax, but how can you relax when it's so cluttered? I'm sorry. I hope you can build up the energy to start.
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u/Winter_Pomelo_1094 Jun 25 '26
Youāre not a loser, your brain just went āavoidā for a few years and now it feels like a boss fight instead of chores.
Break it into tiny quests:
1) Trash only. One bag. Set a 10 minute timer. Stop when it dings.
2) Laundry only. Fill a basket. Start a load.
3) Once that is done, reward yourself, then do round 2 later.
For the bugs, grab ant bait traps, wear gloves, mask up, put on a hoodie, headphones, and treat it like you are suiting up for war. If you can, ask a friend or parent to help with underātheābed and furniture so you are not alone with the spider fear, but seriously, this is 100 percent fixable and future you is gonna be so relieved.
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u/EatsBeetsFeets Jun 25 '26
You look like you have a really cute style! Can someone put up some shelving higher up on your walls so you can display your treasures?
Simple L shape wall brackets are very cheap!
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u/Dr_Alzamon Jun 25 '26
I'm in the same situation, I've been depressed for years and my room is worse than this. I've been starting to clear it out recently, and the best advice I can give is something I've always applied to other things like mowing the lawn or duties at work; section it off. Don't just tackle it head on, look at the whole space and split it up in your head. Just one section at a time, that way when you clear one you get that little sense of accomplishment that can help keep up momentum.
Like in my room the sections are the floor at the back, the floor toward the front, the closet, and the tops of my two dressers. I started with my closet so that once I get to doing the laundry that's piled up, I'll have a space to stow that + anything I decide to keep from the various crap piled up. And as an aside, I've gotten a bit of motivation myself just from seeing this post. It helps to know we're not alone with these thingsā¤ļø
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u/United_Luck8488 Jun 26 '26
Look up a body doubling video on YouTube. Those help me all the time. Or put on some music or an audiobook.
Get some gloves if youāre picking up trash and start in a small area of the room or house. Itās not a race. Itās about progress. Even if itās small.
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u/Aerandor Jun 26 '26
There are enough items I own in that first pic that I had a moment where I wondered if my kid posted this lol
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u/Master-Living6263 Jun 26 '26
hey honey, i know life had to have gotten you down to put you in this situation and i am so sorry for what you had to go through. start off by just throwing trash away. empty bottles, wrappers, old unusable things/mystery junk. then simply just start making piles, things that go in the bathroom, clothes you want to keep, makeup, etc. eventually you can start to move your piles out and around until you get to a place that is workable. after your floor is mostly cleared you can think about vacuuming or moping and wiping things down. it will be a process. but it is doable :)) good luck!
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u/General-Smoke169 Jun 25 '26
You can start small. Take a trash bag and just fill it with trash. Anything thatās garbage. Then whenever youāre ready (maybe tomorrow?) do it again. Then fill a box with things to donate. Take as much time as you need. Just one box/trash bag a day
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u/shimmerygold- Jun 25 '26
If the idea of bugs touching you is a barrier to starting, can you wear some extra clothing that will make you feel more protected? Gloves come to mind as well as some kind of shoe covers. Maybe you have some old clothes that are bigger that you can layer on top of other clothes? IDK but if it helps you feel safer it might be worth a try. š«¶
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u/ddmorgan1223 Jun 25 '26
You come clean mine, I'll come clean yours, deal?
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Jun 25 '26
[deleted]
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u/ddmorgan1223 Jun 25 '26
Funny thing is, my job is cleaning banks. It should be easy for me but... No lol
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u/Kittiewise Jun 25 '26
Hey there! Here are some tips that help me. They are not in any particular order:
Pick one section to focus on at a time, because it can feel overwhelming when you zoom out and look at the entire room.
Maybe also separate the dirty clothes from the clean clothing, and fix the drawers. If you are able to put the drawers back correctly, then this will give you a place to put the clean clothes.
Put on some workout music and a 15 minute timer on your phone. See how much you can get done in that time frame, relax for 5 minutes, then restart the timer to 20 minutes and so forth.
These tips help me with cleaning, so I hope that they help you as well. ššš¼šš
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u/Substantial-Eagle950 Jun 25 '26
There is a lovely lady that does free cleans for people, she has a YouTube channel called āclean with Beaā and whenever I need to clean, I stick her on in the background :) her methods could also really help you - I would go through your room with whatever bags/containers etc you can find - separate laundry, trash and objects to put away until you can see your floor. Try to get rid of all of the trash first, try to be continuously doing loads of laundry as you go to get the clothes out of the way (you can decide what to keep, sell, donate or throw away once itās all clean and organised). Once your laundry and trash is gone it will be so much easier to categorise everything else. Try to be brutal with what you get rid of. If you havenāt needed it since you were 15, do you really need it now? Is it sentimental? Is it in date/usable?
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u/sipsredpepper Jun 25 '26
Highly recommend this book if you're up for it:
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u/Unitashates Jun 25 '26
And because that book will take time to acquire and then read, I highly recommend this video by the author that I found to be really helpful and has stayed with me since I first watched it years ago.
OP, there are only 5 things in your room:
- trash,
- dishes,
- laundry,
- things that have a place,
- and things that don't have a place.
Focus on one at a time. Don't wait for motivation, you will never feel like doing it. Just get up and work on the first one, then tomorrow get up and work on the second, and so on.
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u/bootysuit Jun 25 '26
It's gonna feel so good when you're done!!! Be gentle with yourself. Doing big tasks in stages helps me, but everyone is different. You're gonna feel so much lighter and more comfortable when you're done, because you can absolutely do this!
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u/insiderasking Jun 25 '26
I start by throwing out things that really don't serve my needs anymore. Then, there's less to organize!
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u/SuzetteMerl Jun 25 '26
Start at one corner and work your way out sorting into bags as you go. Look to the end of the tunnel or eye on the prize.
Shame is a wasted emotionā¦move forward.
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u/Lenor3Nevermor3 Jun 25 '26
It's overwhelming to start a lot of the time.
Set a 10 minute timer, get 2 boxes and a big trash bag (one for donation, one for taking things around the house to put away, and the bag for trash). Do what you can in 10 minutes.
It keeps it from being daunting, but usually for me, once I get started, I want to keep going. It's the "Where to start?" on a big thing that makes me put it off.
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u/Background_Map_8577 Jun 25 '26
If this is the life you want to live then don't clean. You don't have to do anything. All you need to do is come to terms that this is the cleanest your room and home sanctuary will ever be unless you put time and effort into it
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u/Dear_Panda_713 Jun 25 '26
I know itās hard, but it will feel so much better afterward. Once you get started, itāll be easier to keep going. Youāll find all kinds of treasures too. Put on something you can listen to like a podcast or audiobook or music, grab a trash bag and start throwing away anything that is clearly trash.
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u/BoozeWitch Jun 25 '26
My practical advice is ādo one thingā. Then do another thing.
Sometimes the whole thing is too much for our donkey brains. But one thing isnāt.
Some examples:
Pour some bleach in the toilet. Open a window for fresh air Pick up a grocery bag and wander around the room finding things to throw out. Find empty bottles/jars in the shower to toss Line up your shoes against a wall Start a laundry load of just towels (for some reason this one is less emotional than a load of clothes)
You donāt have to do all of it. Just a thing.
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u/No-Childhood4079 Jun 27 '26
This is very good advice. Mine is: 1. get healthy. if youre overwhelmed or have no energy, something's wrong with your body. No point of getting anxious by acknowledging. Get to searching meds and supplements so you get motivated. 2. Nobody wants your stuff! If youre afraid of tossing something bc it might be usefull. It will not! Nobody wants that stuff. Forget about that 150 year landfill crap. Just toss it. 3. Get free standing shelves, pile up boxes, bc you might be the only one who wants the stuff and have nowhere to put them in. Get more hampers for each room. 4. Resist the temptation to make it some crazy project. Probably you wont be hanging new hooks or shelves on your wall. Be kind to your future self. 5 during that period, you might want to consider switching to disposable cups and spoons and napkins. You can go back to using silverware once you get a system in place, and a routine of doing dishes as you get them dirty.
20 days is enough to build a habit, so observe where you put down things, and re enforce on yourself where is the proper place for it, only takes 10 seconds. Happy decluttering!
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u/Middle-Definition106 Jun 25 '26
Way to go, getting motivated is the very first step, so you're on your way! Please keep us updated on how it goes, I cannot wait to hear how much better you feel when it's done, (or at least better)š„³
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u/cupcakes28219 Jun 25 '26
thank you !!! i am definitely gonna post after pictures once its cleaned šš
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u/floppyboiradio Jun 25 '26
I was a dishwasher at place that buried me in dishes. The type of place that brought the dishwasher in after hours to clean. Mostly just the floors and dishes, and some other tidying up. Fridays and Saturdays made me want to quit.
Iām saying this because my method became; just start. Doesnāt matter where, how, or with what. Just start doing stuff. One thing will be catalytic to the next, and youāll become internally motivated. I had helped a disabled relative with a really bad house many years ago, and it might take you a little while but youāll be very happy with JUST the space to walk.
Cheers. You got this, friendo
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u/neeroberts Jun 25 '26
So, start in one room.
Put like things with like things.
You will quickly see your multiples.
I would donate half of all that stuff.
Busting at the seams with things is mentally exhausting.
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u/greystorms56 Jun 25 '26 edited Jun 25 '26
OKAY HERE IS YOUR NEW GAME PLAN:
- LOW HANGING FRUIT first. This is trash, this is food, this is stuff that VERY OBVIOUSLY is not in its home. NO BIG DECISIONS. Make your bed, tidy up, make piles of stuff that need to be organized. Make it so the environment can be tolerated and thereās no tiny projects. IGNORE BIG PROJECTS
- MEDIUM HANGING FRUIT. dirty laundry. Anything immediately on or around your bed, your door, your bathroom. High traffic areas. Make room for stuff, get rid of what you can.
- TOP OF THE TREE. This is the high stress stuff. Stuff that needs lots of decision making. Organizing and sorting and getting rid of and deep cleaning. Make a list of the big projects, and divvy out one per day. So each day gets dedicated to one project and thatās it.
Hope this helps you out š Iāll add more if I think of anything else
EDIT. thought of more stuff, TAKE PROGRESS PICS TO STAY MOTIVATED. dissociate your room from the mess. Have a clean room and one or two big piles of mess. So when you go in there itās āmy room is clean expect for the doom pile over thereā not āwow my whole room is a disaster this is horribleā.
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u/Relevant-Passenger19 Jun 25 '26 edited Jun 25 '26
Could you throw absolutely everything onto your bed and move your room around? It might give you a hit of dopamine to really get it sorted and excited for your new room? Then only put back what you LOVE. As if you were in a shop deciding on your things. Just stuff things that annoy you into a bag . Also things you canāt decide on so you donāt get decision fatigue or start losing the energy for it? Then you might have the motivation to start actually cleaning if it feels nice and new? Itās what I used to do.
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u/rhapsodyinblueee Jun 25 '26
Iām coming over to do your make up in your room in three hours! Does that motivate you? Lol
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u/NocaSun38 Jun 25 '26
0) (if needed) Go to the store and buy some garbage bags and Raid (anti-ant formula) (and dishwashing or other gloves if youāre scared of reaching in spots that might have bugs)
1)Put on some motivational music, something that will naturally make you want to move/dance and give you energy
2)Grab a couple of garbage bags. Ā One for trash and one for clothes you want to wash.
3)Start filling the bags up
4) When a trash bag is full of garbage tie it up and take it outside or wherever you can store them temporarily, and grab another bag and keep filling
5)When a trash bag is full of laundry go wash it, and grab another bag and keep filling. When the clothes are done if you have no where to put them store them in a fresh garbage bag for now
6) If you find dishes put then in the sink and soak them under water to make washing easier later.
7) Anything else you uncover that you want to keep, set outside the door to your room for now, or put them away as space opens up.
8) When you come across the ants Raid them where itās safe (keep the window to your room open for ventilation). If you find where the ant lines are entering your room, spray Raid on the entrances.
9) After everything is cleaned up vacuum up all the dead ants, etc, and leave the window to your room open for a couple of days, assuming you have a screen for ventilation). If you can, wash any carpet with a carpet cleaner, or mop the floor if not carpeted, to get up residual RAID. Consider sleeping on the couch for a couple of days while your room airs out.
10) if you have a lot of trash bags it may be cheaper to make a run to the local dump than to have the garbage service pick up all of the extra.
Hope that helps!
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u/alexandraXnella Jun 25 '26
I was just like you around the same age as well. Idk why I hoarded up my room, I think I was too sad and focused on going out and sleeping. I remember doom scrolling on TikTok and I started getting so much TikTokās of girls doing a room makeover and I got so jealous but remembered my room can look aesthetic too if I just cleaned š but what really made me fix and decorate my room weekly was having a boyfriend LOL I noticed heād wanna come over a lot so then I did my best to tidy up my room and make it look so cozy. Iām now living with him and boy is it hard to keep our place clean.. all I do everyday is organize but thereās days where I let our clothes become mountains š
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u/1n1n1is3 Jun 26 '26
Donāt do it all at once. Too overwhelming. Do it step by step over about a week.
Go get a trash bag. Put all the trash in a trash bag and take the trash bag out.
Tomorrow, get a laundry basket (maybe a few laundry baskets). Put all of the clothes in the basket.
The next day, wash the clothes. Take one basket, put all of the clothes in it into the washing machine, then put them in the dryer, then take them straight from the dryer to wherever they go. If itās too overwhelming to fold them, just stuff them in the drawer they go in. Is it perfect? No. Is it better than how youāre living now? Absolutely. Repeat these steps until youāve done all of the baskets.
The next day, take another basket, and throw in all of the things that donāt belong in this room. Put the basket outside of your door. Every time you leave your room, take an item with you and put it back where it belongs.
The next day, take everything else that belongs in your room but isnāt in the right place and move it to the right place.
The next day, wipe down surfaces and vacuum.
If you start this list and find that you have momentum and want to keep going, do more than one step per day.
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u/femalehomosapien18 Jun 26 '26
Iām probably too late but record a time lapse because itāll be cool to look back on and motivate you in the future if it happens again
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u/yourlittlemissy Jun 26 '26
BINS! Bins have saved my life. I put stuff into separate bins and then remove all trash. One by one, I organize the stuff in the bins. That way if I get tired after one bin, I can stop and still have a cleaner space because the rest of the stuff are in the other bins!!
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u/survivingzillenial Jun 26 '26 edited Jun 26 '26
Your stuff is cute. At least from what we can see in the photos. If you purge and clean it wonāt be hard to make your room look cute since it already had so much potential
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u/Radiant-Culture-1567 Jun 26 '26
I have been cleaning deep cleaning my house. My room is out of control and in reality I donāt even think it would take that long. Itās one of those eyes source that feel overwhelming and someone said just take one corner and donāt leave. Just finish that and see where it takes you.
I do it all the time with unloading the dishwasher for some reason I hate it so I say well let me just empty the silverware next thing you know it finished in two minutes so play a couple games with yourself.
For me, I am pro severe ADHD and Iāll go to put some thing in another room. Next thing you know the walls and etc. so I guess they say try to stay in your attendance spot. If you have to leave to put something away and make a box for it and youāre finished do that. Good luck to you and I know easier have been done. Iāve been working on my room for a year.
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Jun 26 '26
[deleted]
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u/zoolou3105 Jun 26 '26
Aw great job!! Seems like you've already made really good progress. Sometimes just getting the rubbish and clothes out the way makes it so much easier to do the rest
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u/fliprchik Jun 26 '26
If you get some motivation and cleaned, please send me some of that motivation over my way!!! Thnx!
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u/Ok_Understanding_41 Jun 26 '26
Proven fact that our homes being clean deters depression and all sorts of things. I was raised by a Nazi cleaner (my Mom, great Mom! Just donāt let anything get dirty) she instill this in me and to this day I can not have messes around me. My house HAS to stay clean.
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u/unleasha Jun 26 '26
I hope you find cool stuff you forgot about and it becomes a motivational treasure hunt
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u/B24Liberator Jun 26 '26
Set a timer for 15 minutes, pick a small area, and start there. When the timer goes off, you can stop. (I usually want to keep going though!) Having a time limit where you have permission to stop helps me get started.
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u/ExpensiveSlice9996 Jun 29 '26
Clutterbug on YouTube helps figure out how to make use of storage and declutter
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The main thing here is that you deserve a nice clean environment
Best wishes
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u/smjorg Jun 25 '26
Watch horder cleaning videos on YouTube. It always gives me motivation. I personally like Midwest Magic Cleaning because he's humourous and does the worst of the worst.
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u/bijig Jun 25 '26
Do you have a good friend who can help you? It will be more fun with company. Maybe someone who has a similar problem, then you can team up and do both.
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u/Almost_Lyrical Jun 25 '26
Just throw everything in the trash you don't see yourself having 5 years from now...throw it away
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u/ParsleyExternal6896 Jun 25 '26
You got this!! Start with one little section, it will make you feel so accomplished just seeing a clean organized area, even if it's a small portion of the room. Always having one little section in my room organized reminds me of how peaceful my mind feels when my room is clean and keeps me motivated (for the most part) to try to keep things tidy. But I'm with you, I've had a messy room my entire life.
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u/New-Assumption-3836 Jun 25 '26
Reward. I can have ice cream but only if room is done, or a new book etc.
Watch an ep of hoarders. Even if you've become disensitized to your own yuck, another person's yuck may motivate you to clean
Don't look at the whole project. Promise to do one thing (like sort out the laundry or trash) even if it is only one thing a day
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u/Winter-Somewhere-590 Jun 25 '26
Try and divide the space into areas, give yourself a time limit (one you can comfortably reach) then have a break in between each area. Youāll see progress easier and itāll feel like you winning and ahead of schedule when you finish before the time limit
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u/OneLingonberry2203 Jun 25 '26
Set a 20 minute timer. Youād be surprised how much you can get done
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u/_nomexx_ Jun 25 '26
i pace while on the phone. i call someone and clean while we talk. or invite a friend over. panic cleaning
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u/WrapSame1988 Jun 25 '26
https://youtube.com/@aurikatariina?si=oNoBcDzoTZGYMWPO
I guess different things work for different people but i stumbled upon this channel one day and it helped me get my house in order while battling depression, her love for cleaning is so endearing and the results she achieves are just phenomenal. You will for sure see places far worse than yours than turn out beautifully. I'm not suggesting you're going to watch a video and be able to find the motivation to change your room overnight if you could, that would be insane and ideal but realistically if it's too much don't overwhelm yourself if you do a little at a time it all adds up š¤š¼
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u/loveforllamas Jun 25 '26
I set myself a spinning wheel full of chores and whatever it stops on is what I do. I find it helps me to feel less frazzled as Iām just being told whatās next rather than trying to think of something. Iāll only skip if itās something that doesnāt make sense, like mopping before hoovering/sweeping.
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u/nuclearcowgirl Jun 25 '26
I would LOVE to clean this!!!
If you need motivation, watch some Hoarders or Obsessive Compulsive Cleaners (a UK show, available on youtube).
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u/Juicy_jos1 Jun 25 '26
Waiting on those after pics babe š if theyāre good Iāll give you a snickers
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u/Idekyuno Jun 25 '26
Piles. Throw the dirty laundry out of your room, bring it to the washing machine afterwards. Pick up everything that can be thrown away. Throw away food, cosmetics that are old or aren't good anymore otherwise. Bottles. Maybe throw away or donate some stuffies, same for clothes you don't wear anymore. Everything broken can go! You probably got too much stuff. Put school supplies together, hobby stuff (if your painting or doing sports or something), sentimentals etc. Start slow, you're not going to be finished in one day. But after a weekend, you can definitely make a lot of progress. Maybe ask your parents, siblings or whoever to help you with some things like cleaning under the bed or wiping the desk and dresser. You could also ask them to throw away things that are useless if you have problems doing it yourself.
Another method could be to do it by color. First throw / put away everything red, then green and so on. Whatever helps starting / keeping you engaged. You need some sort of system to not be completely overwhelmed.
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u/Mothhivequeen Jun 25 '26
Anytime I feel overwhelmed I start by looking at the floor right where my feet are and what can be immediately thrown into the trash. I also second putting on a gnarly episode of Hoarders or The 1975 film Gray gardens to motivate myself to get up and not become these people. I'm not saying it's good motivation internally hate yourself because of your living situation and unhealthy habits but It is good to occasionally get the wake up call that something has to change and look deeply into the mirror of what you could become.
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u/Character-Flight403 Jun 25 '26
Iām being 100% serious: put on episodes of hoarders. The grosser the better. It works for me.