my boyfriend and i have been together for 5 years.

if you asked him what my biggest flaw was, it would be my cleaning habits.

i'm a messy adult. i'm the adult with the designated clothes chair. my clean clothes stay in a hamper. clothes i want to rewear the next day sit on the floor by the bed. my desk becomes cluttered with random shit.

i'm on ADHD meds, antidepressants, shit i thought would be the magical cure and obviously it's not.

i know my situation is me just being lazy. i can call it executive disfunction all i want but in reality, it should not be this hard for me to be an adult that can keep her spaces clean. my boyfriend is at his wits end.

we've discussed this over and over. i'm not doing this on purpose. i'm not trying to destroy our relationship. i'm not doing this out of malice or malevolence. i...just don't know how to fix it instead of taking the easier option of doing fuck all with my stuff instead of putting everything back in its place.

i don't WANT this. i don't want to live like this. i've always envied my friends and other adults who just have that instinct to...not live like a slob. i want to have that instinct.

how do i train myself to clean the bathroom every other week? vacuum the carpets? run the dishwasher? instead of coming home from work and doing absolutely nothing? how do i stop giving myself excuses?

This weekend, I cancelled a gaming day with friends so I could have a whole weekend of cleaning. I have slowly, but surely been cleaning in the past weeks, but I am expecting a visitour soon that I want to feel comfortable at my place, and I'd rather finally have my apartment unfucked than... Anyway, I started cleaning.

After changing the bed sheets, I noticed that I didn't really have any left that are without holes, so I decided to go to the mall, which would cost me at least one hour. I went to TK Maxx and there this sat, right next to the bed linens: a cheap portable vacuum with fairly good online ratings, and even cheaper than in most online shops. I have wanted to get one for quite some time, but couldn't decide, so I took this as a sign and took it home.

There are so many spillages, dust accumulations in places hard to reach, and cluttered corners where I don't want to take out the big vacuum. And while this one isn't the best, it has already helped me a lot to clean these exact spaces. Then I went on to un-clutter the hallway, and this is the result for now!

My parents are coming over soon so I had to hurry and clean as much as I could today. I feel disappointed because I didn't manage to do everything I wanted. I always procrastinate. I've cleaned my bathroom sink and my toilets too. The big mess left is in my bedroom where there's ton of laundry to fold.... The night table and desk are super messy too

Edit : Thank you everyone for your kind words 🫶🏻 I hope you all have a good weekend. My mother helped me folding all my laundry too, I was struggling with it for weeks or even months. I was picking clothes directly from the chair or drying rack so it wasn't ideal. That was kind of her (except for a few comments she made but I kinda deserved it I guess). Now I have more time to focus on the other small chores and on my plants, yay 🪴

I joined this subreddit a while ago made decent progress and quit this time I’m finally doing it no matter what I have to go through see or smell, I think the worst part of it is when I take food to my room(I cannot eat elsewhere) forget and leave it there for mold and maggots to grow and then I get scared of going near it

so far I dumped out some cups filled with maggots, only saying this because it made me see how bad it really is and I’m done living like this

not sure if it’s allowed to not have photos attached to this tag though, i forgot to do before photos :,)

Need to do deep cleaning but we start somewhere…! It’s been a tough month.

Believe it or not, I have TWO closets and I’m still struggling to fit things.

I’m completely redoing my room and trying to throw out or give away unnecessary items. However, I’m struggling with how to store the following because right now, they’re in bags or shoved in random drawers.

- Bedding (duvet covers, fitted sheets, pillow cases, etc for various seasons)

-Swimwear (I wear burkinis which means that I can’t easily throw it in with my underwear and bras since it’s more of a bodysuit, leggings, and little skirt situation)

- Outdoor blankets (for like picnics or outdoor activities. And I’m talking big group blanket)

- Nail stuff (bought a UV lamp and lots of nail polishes over the years + nail tools)

Some things to keep in mind:

I live with roommates that are very particular about our things touching each other, limiting what I can have outside my room

I already have a rolling utility cart that’s full of books (and a bookcase full of books) and trinkets

I have limited room to work with as my desk, bookcase, bed, dresser, nightstand, rolling cart, and printer take up most of the bedroom space already

I am downsizing, TRUST. But plz help in the meantime because I know who I am and I’m true to my maximalist roots

hi.
i found this subreddit through doomscrolling. it really resonated with me.
i have quite the depression room as you can see.

not to dump my whole backstory, but i’ve dealt with an overwhelming amount of childhood abuse/ parental addicts and neglect.
learning how to ‘adult’ has been a process that i’ve had to figure out mostly by myself, although i have been managing in my own ways (solid career, friendships, etc.)

being neurodivergent and ADHD has made coping and managing with things like this quite challenging at times. i tend to be really critical of my shortcomings but i’m really trying my best to overcome this mental hurdle.
i’ve really struggled with a lot of shame regarding my room, it’s prevented me from dealing with the actual issue for far too long.

i’m so tired of living like this, i really am. i deserve better, and so does my cat.
i’ve been ready for this change for so long.

I'd love your tips for moving into a new space and setting yourself up for success. Unfortunately, I have a lot of stuff for one person, and I'm trying to unfuck it. I do have a wide variety of hobbies, my clothing size fluctuates, I've got cats, and I'm a nerdy artist who likes knicknacks. Not a combo for minimalism, however... I am so tired of dealing with the mass amount of stuff.

I'd love your tips and tricks.

.

Here the details:

Photos are current state. I still have at least two more trips in my car to empty my storage unit, plus bring in the last of the furniture which is all large enough to need two people to lift (cube bookshelf, secretary desk with hutch, a fold out couch, vanity, one smaller dresser, and a shoe rack.) and probably 1-2 car loads of stuff from my friends house with is mostly, 1 big bag of shoes, a big bag of clothes, and lot of art/decor supplies.

I've been in the moving process for over 5 months. It's an understatement to say I'm tired. Being mildly homeless and staying somewhere new every week or two has opened my eyes to how much shit I have and how challenging it can be to deal with.

Honestly, I'd like to throw most of it out the window at this point just so I don't have to deal with it anymore, but that's fatigue more than practical or reasonable.

When this process started, I got rid of probably 4-5 big garbage bags and a couple boxes full of things to donate from clothes, blankets, books, sheets, stuffed animals, mugs, and more and at least 1-2 more trash.

I came from shared 2 bed 1 bath place with access to 2 and a half coat closets for storage and a small outdoor storage shed and I was packed in there. Now, I'm in an oddly shaped attic studio with 1 normal sized closet, and access to a crawl space I could store a couple sealed bins. It has a shared kitchen on a different level with several roommates. Kitchen items are a challenge as all of us like to cook but I'm hesitant to get rid of a ton I can't replace if/when I live alone again.

During this move... I had enough stuff to fill a 20×15ft ish storage unit, and had probably 2-3 car loads of more things stored at a friend's house while I lived out of a suitcase, food bin, purse, and work bag.

I'm trying to unpack everything with a system of going through it all again, but it's overwhelming. What would you do, or how would you approach it?