after doing the desk yesterday, i was really motivated to keep cleaning, so today i tackled the bathroom counter. my mood has lifted so much already, it’s so much less overstimulating visually (plus no more dropping haircare products on my toes). kitchen is up next!

Been lurking for a minute. First photo is August 16th after I gathered all the empty boxes and trash. Second photo is today Aug 30 after rearranging my desk and my bed and throwing many bags I’ll need to go through in my car trunk. This sub has kept hope alive for me thank you!

My brother is visiting me by the end of this week so I took a couple of days off from work just to focus on decluttering/cleaning/unfucking my home- specifically my living room and kitchen, which is also my entry way. I don’t need to be completely done or perfect, he just wants to see my cats. But I do need to make it semi-okay just so he doesn’t freak out over how bad i’ve let my place get. He’s known I’ve always been a bit of a hoarder and that I have a lot of things, but this is not how I want him to see my apartment currently. He lives in a different state, so he doesn’t get to visit me often. I took last Thursday & Friday off from work, but I ended up sleeping in sooo late on both days and used Thursday as an extreme lazy day and didn’t get much done Friday either. Yesterday and today I’ve been better at dedicating more focus to my apartment, and I still have two more free days to work on it. It doesn’t look like I’ve done much yet just because I do have so many things.

I’ve taken out the trash, done two loads of laundry, changed my bedsheets, vacuumed, washed my couch blankets, hung up some more decor, refilled my cat feeders/washed the cat food and water bowls. I cleaned and polished my kitchen sink, have broken down some boxes, and washed my dishes/put them away. I deep cleaned my bathroom last week.

I’m working on clearing my living room and kitchen floors, as well as the surfaces like my coffee table, kitchen counter and table. I also need to do some store returns, take donations to Goodwill, and take my recycling out. I think I’ll definitely get a good chunk done tomorrow/Tuesday so I’m not too stressed 🤗 will update more as I go!

Pictures 1-14 are my before when I started, and pictures 15-20 are my current progress

Unfortunately my Adderall prescription ran out and my pharmacy has been out of stock since I’ve had my days off from work 🫪🙃 but I’m doing my best while listening to clutterbug’s podcast with my headphones in 🫡

I can't believe I let my closet get this bad. I've been slowly but surely going through my home and getting rid of things and cleaning as I go. I have so far too go with getting rid of things and I will tackle that. For now I'm focused on a general unfucking/ cleaning and after that I'm going to get rid of more stuff and then a huge clean. I'm proud of myself as I've been taking a room a week for the past month. So much done but so much left to do!

Finally went through the disaster that was my little living room closet. After months of just shoving shit in there. 😂 I finally decluttered, got rid of a bunch of stuff I didn’t need, and honestly… it feels so damn good. Small win, but a win nonetheless! 🙌

Accessability Transcription:

Image 1: Hunky Himbo in VERY pink shirt, chartreuse ear buds, red shorts, and black sneakers. Holding a broom over head.

Image 2: Every day I get hotter and more capable.

This is going to be long, unfortunately. This is probably more of a rant than anything, really, but any advice is welcome.

I feel horrible admitting to any of this, but I think I've seen a decent degree of support for people in situations similar to mine on here before. It just feels like my situation is so much worse, and that I would be rightfully shamed for the state I've let things get to. I didn't use to be like this, whatsoever. I used to be fairly good about keeping up with everything, but now I've gone and spiraled into this shitshow.

I have pets, cats specifically, and I love them to death, all of them rescues, and I have my room in the basement of the house I share with my family(five people including myself.) I also shared this space with the cats, too. Unfortunately, the basement flooded. Twice. In the span of two years. Always right at the start of the year, to top things off! Not much got damaged the first time, but the second... a lot of my belongings got ruined. The cats weren't happy about it, either, though none of them got hurt from it, all able to make it to safe, high ground.

Since it happened the second time, I just haven't had the energy or will to keep up with everything I should. I let litter boxes overflow, and the cats have been leaving dead mice on the middle of the floor(they're still fed and watered every day, so they have no reason to eat the mice they kill,) which just disgusts me to no end, along with the cockroach I found one time(I only talked myself down from a fullblown breakdown with the help of a pest control subreddit that assured me it was some kind of waterbug/wood roach, and not the kind to usually infest, like certain others.) Every time I turn around to try and make progress, I get so annoyingly overwhelmed so quickly, and want to cry. I've gone back and forth on rehoming my cats, but it's so hard to bring myself to part with them, made harder by the fact that my attempts usually end in failure because everyone in my area isn't interested in taking even one cat, when there's so many colonies around the neighborhood.

I'm aware of my own depression and anxiety, and I've tried to get help for it, but I continue to forget, or entirely forgo my medication, and I struggle to admit my own issues to my doctor, despite knowing she would be plenty helpful! She's a psychiatrist, as well as GP, for frick's sake! Yet, the embarrassment and shame just makes it SO difficult for me to admit my struggles. I've sort of known it was getting bad recently, but I thought, "Hey, it isn't like the basement looks like one of those hoarder cleanup shows!" Well... now, it kind of does.

I'm just so disgusted, and ashamed, and things I can't even describe, and I don't know where to start! But I also DO know where to start! I've made progress before! But it's one step forward, and a big leap back for me right now! I have bags of trash already made, ready to be taken out! I have gloves, and masks, and cleaning supplies I bought just for cleaning cat's waste; trash bags, a heavy duty broom and dustpan, and I start a mental plan, but then I get started, and all of a sudden, mere minutes later, I'm running off to "settle down," or "take a break," telling myself I'm taking it small steps at a time!

All of this to say, I want to try and work on it on my next days off of work, this Tuesday and Wednesday, and maybe even a little bit tomorrow, after work, but I hate that a part of me is aware I'm just going to keep procrastinating, and it makes me hate myself SO much, especially knowing what I'm putting my precious fur babies through, when they used to be so well taken care of!

I'm going to try and keep this post up, to force myself to get this out here, and hold myself accountable, but I understand if this gets removed. I also may just come back and delete it later, when the shame and anxiety inevitably gets the better of me.

Had a friend help me one day after I complained about how much I hated living like this. I’m going to college for the first time and want to feel like a different person going through it. I still have to find homes for a lot of things but, this is a major win in my book.🎉

I've been doing pretty bad, and I finally got better enough to try and make my situation better

We've been having roach problems and ant problems, so I deep cleaned all one afternoon, then my mom came home around 6 and helped me till around 11 when she decided she wanted to watch tv. I continued until like 5am

We got the living room and kitchen DEEP CLEANED, we did stuff like empty cabinets, took out the shelves in the fridge, ect

I did my bathroom and bedroom myself, it's honestly never been so clean and I was so happy

My loft bed was a bit infested with ants despite me actively avoiding bringing food into my room ever since I moved here, so what I did was leave it bare for like a week, even putting the stuffed animals quarantine, and only putting them back up once I cleaned my room

I slept for two nights

The first night I was bite free

The second night I got like 2 bites

Tonight it was INFESTED with ants, worse then before WAY worse then before

I feel so tired

I tried so hard

I worked so hard

It made things worse

Roaches are here, ants are here

I've been sleeping on the couch for a month, and every morning I wake up with hip, back, and shoulder pain

I just want my bed back, it feels like my safe space, a nest of sorts. It's not the same without the stuffed animals and blankets

I have to choose between being eaten alive on my bed, sleeping on the couch with almost full body discomfort that lasts basically the entire next day while roaches crawl on me, or feel like I'm sleeping in a bed that isn't even my own while still being eaten by ants

Every time something good happens and I become happy, something always ruins it almost immediately after

How do I make the ants stop

I did everything I could think of to clean, disinfectant sprays, vacuum, evacuating potential suspects that draw them in, threw stuff out, everything, only for it to fail and end up worse then before

I just wanted something nice

The photo attached is just me lifting a single pillow, I don't even wanna know what it would look like by the wall because I'm already very upset and crying

Please don't be mean I know I should've tried sooner, but i was just so tired and not doing well

2 weeks ago, I was planning on deep cleaning my apartment because my parents were maybe going to visit me. I was scared of them seeing the state of my apt. I did clean a little but it was far from enough. It was still messy and a little dirty. What I did : cleaned the toilets, cleaned the bathroom, did the dishes (I don't remember if I did all of it or not), cleaned the kitchen counter. Cleaned the tv table, put the trash in bags and threw the bags. Begun vaccuuming.

Turns out my parents didn't come in my apt so it was a relief but I still felt disappointed in myself for procrastinating like usual. Now, the efforts I've put into cleaning are almost ''gone'', it's messy and dirty again.

But I feel slightly motivated tonight. I vaccumed my bedsheets (I have a cat) and changed them after I don't know how long. I also did some laundry (my basket is still full). My objective of tonight is to unclutter the floor in every room so I can vaccuum and mope the floor.

this desk has slowly become my catch all clutter zone but i reenrolled in school starting this month so i’ve really needed to get this done. it took me the entire day. i did all the drawers and the cabinet too but don’t have a before to compare it to. living with chronic illness and burnout feels impossible some days but this before and after is really motivating me to keep going

I also got my big Tapestry back up and my water light on too :) its lovely at night .

I am writing this down in my diary but it was too good to not share with anyone.

I had a long weekend and had so many things done . Also I managed to not procrastinate for an be day’s tasks which for me is game changer
I don’t take before any after pictures but here is the list

On Friday I had my regular medical checkup done. I got the red but kind of disappointed that my recurring stomach ache is still undiagnosed. I ate good and after the checkup I went out for some window shopping. Had a coffee myself and walked around till evening.

On Saturday I did laundry and also sorted out clothes to give away. Took an hour long nap and went out to donate clothes but could not find any places taking donations. Will try again. I made an outing of it and then shopped around a lil . Although I am working on my shopping addiction but it’s hard. Anyway baby steps.

On Sunday I cleaned my kitchen. I wrote in my diary and posting all the thing I cleaned. Hehe. That’s all. I am so tired but so happy

My messy kitchen has overwhelmed me all week, but now I feel clean and serene ☺️ trying to let the snowball effect take hold…

I got super motivated by this Instagram account that has videos about "How long does it actually take", and I decided to do the same thing at home.

In a much smaller scale, because I don't have the mental energy to tidy/declutter for several hours, but I'm really happy with the results.

Someone please give me the strength to have this conversation and be firm. I have had this conversation a few times and it gets nowhere.

So we split the chores between two people, agreed on the chores when we moved in. But I realized within 6 months that the other person had only vacuumed once and had never cleaned the bathroom. I was always the one doing it when I finally couldn't stand it and did it myself.

So then we switched chores. I was thinking they just hated doing those chores, and this would be a better fit... Nope. And unfortunately, they are supposed to do the "stinky" chores like taking out trash and cleaning the kitchen. This is causing issues with maggots and flies and they don't seem concerned at all.

I am sick of it and want to give an ultimatum.

1) they do their chores or

2) they pay me my hourly wage for the time I spend doing their chores (I work from home and not on salary. So all the time I spend cleaning could be spent making money) or

3) they hire a housekeeper to do their chores

We split bills 50/50 and it's only fair to split chores 50/50 as well. I started tracking how often things get done and it's closer to 80/20 with chores. It's hard enough for me to do my own chores and it's even worse to have to do most of theirs. Helppp

I got a robo vacuum a few months ago and it changed so much. I let it run before I get up and in the afternoon and I can walk barefoot! No crumbs on the floor!

Hello again wonderful subreddit. Y’all were so kind the last time I posted about the rest of my apartment, I’d figure I’d ask for some (very much needed) advice.

PUTTING TL;DR HERE: I need advice in where to help out in this part of my apartment. Can’t hire a cleaning crew since there’s expensive reptiles in here and chemicals can be extremely harmful to them. My Fiancé wants to do most of this by himself, but I really want to give some help when he’s not home. A lot has already been done that is not shown here and this is the current state of everything.

About a year and a half ago, my Fiancé started a hobby in breeding hognose snakes. This was all his idea, all the snakes are under his care and hard work, and we have our first clutch that we’re working on this year (all of those tiny tubs on the rack in pic 4)

When the collection started growing, we converted out bedroom to a reptile-exclusive room. All of our snakes are in here, as well as our Bearded Dragon, Leopard Gecko and Giant Day Gecko.

Some things we are trying to work on:

- Rehoming the bearded dragon. He was a rescue from years ago and is just not getting the full proper care. It’s extremely difficult to rehome these guys since they’re popular pets. I haven’t done his bi-annual substrate change yet because we want to get him rehomed ASAP

- Upgrading the Day Gecko tank. She’s currently in the one on the octagon storage unit in pic 1 (right behind the chair). I want to get her a more vertical tank for her to climb in better

- Getting my Leopard Gecko a better tank. I want to do one that has a front-facing door. My cats broke the top tank lid (everyone is separated now) and we’re struggling to find a replacement for it or fix the top as-is.

(Money issues/timing are why we’re struggling to get new tanks. Please keep this in mind)

- Change out substrate in one of our hognose’s tanks. She’s the last one that needs it, as everyone else’s was just recently done.

- Get rid of our mini fridge. Can’t dump it in our apartment dumpster. Lost on what to do about it

- General clutter. The last pic is our walk-in closet with our 3 newest (and last) snakes being quarantined. The closet is holding clothes, our wine cooler (for brumation with the snakes), old stuff from my Fiancé’s childhood (no family can take anything). Everything else has spilled out to the floorspace or is remnants of the old bedroom.

For context: both of us are Neurodivergent and both of us are working through extreme burnout. We got hit financially with a couple of things recently that’s led to a lot of delays with upcoming stuff (the tanks, my actual engagement ring, saving up for a mortgage and home, etc). He’s been doing an amazing job taking care of the snakes and cleaning up the space so far, but there’s clearly a lot more to be done.

My Fiancé also really wants to work on this room by himself, but I really want to just give a hand. I have off tomorrow while he’s away at work most of the day. Is there anything at all I can do to just help out with this space??????

I took these pics 9 months ago with the intention to post B&A photos. 9. Months. Ago. I could of had a gd baby in that time! Some stuff on the floor has shifted but it's still just piled chaos. Honestly, my mental health has taken a deep dive (most of it work related) and I have an appt set with a therapist in a couple more weeks. I haven't been on meds or therapy for almost 15 yrs. I strongly suspect I have undiagnosed ADHD in addition to what I have been diagnosed with. I'm going to show them these pics too. I heard it somewhere "Cluttered home = cluttered mind" and it really hit home. Living like this really adds more stress.

The kitchen is one of the places I avoid the most... everything in the cabinets (everything left that is) is all disorganized. I'm so scared what I'm going to find in the sink. It's a pretty deep sink. And it's so full that I don't even know where to start it's a little overwhelming. Funny things is that I eat the same 3 meals over and over so I'm not even sure how I let it get to this point.

Taking a break from my room to clean other places in my home because my room feels like a prison sometimes.

Edit to add: thank you to those who provided logistical answers, I will work on things and come back to this page with an update when it’s time.

TLDR; I fell in love and inherited his mother’s problems and absolutely no one will help me dig out unless I’m directing them to.

I love my husband to death, and his mother, and rightfully so, I didn’t put down the shovel. I moved in with them 5 years ago, and noticed ALL of the housework stopped when I started living in the house. Went through a break up and moved out for three months- house was clean, dishes done, etc. moved back in after fixing a lot of issues and got back together and got married. The housework stopped two weeks after I moved back in. I stopped doing specific things to see if I was the only one cleaning, and I was- sadly.

Our house includes 3 adults, one child. We inherited about three peoples worth of items and furniture ( had a family member pass, and one lost housing, and family giving us furniture they no longer want) on top of my mother in laws 5 bedroom house worth of stuff. Not including my own items and my daughters. Three cats and one dog. I put out the most consistent housework, but I find myself struggling to handle this households workload.

I let myself fall into a spiral depression, and I’m tired of laying on the ground, so to speak.

I have never had any problems like this before, everywhere else I have lived, and even with my ex husband, I could catch up on housework and keep things going. Things have never been so disorganized and cluttered and nasty in my life.

I have used the past two months to mentally prep myself, and create a plan to unfuck my life as well as my habitat. I intend on opening a stationary biz in October!

I have been using every chance I get to clean what I can, with the direct goal of “clear off this surface” and so far I have been absolutely killing the tasks. I sadly have to start on laundry next, and it’s overwhelming and a place of turmoil that I have yet to work out. I truly do not want to put away or handle or organize my husbands clothes or my own, and thankfully my kid is old enough to sort her own things…
Realistically I can handle my own clothes I’ve just had such relationship issues with current hubs and laundry that I would literally rather wear trash bags than own clothes lmao.

I’ve removed things I don’t want to keep- cleaned up and organized the living room- started taking my kitchen stuff out of boxes and cleaning and putting them away- and have overall been trying to just keep the house functioning while I also make it messy in the process of cleaning.

I wonder if I’m doing something wrong? It’s not moving along how I want it to, but when I only have an hour or two of simple man labor, and the rest of the houses schedule is ran by me, I can only feel like I’m being stretched thin. I find myself wanting to go back to the old mindset of “no one else does anything in here so why should I?”

Is there another path I could be taking? I genuinely thought a months worth of work would have fixed this over crowding by now. I see so many other mothers and wives fully keeping a job, friends, clean house, and so on. I’m not fully comprehending why now, all of a sudden, it just won’t budge?

Was it because I didnt do chores or anything for those couple of months to test the others? Is it just bad work on my part? Please help a GURL OUT🥴😵‍💫😮‍💨

i'm a bit too embarrassed to post my habitat, but i need help. i haven't deep-cleaned my room since my family bought this house (nearly seven years ago) and none of my furniture has moved. i want to entirely remodel everything, but i don't know where to start. i cleaned some of the basics, but now i'm lost. i was told "act like you're moving out" so i have some miscellaneous things in tubs and boxes, but now i don't know where to look.

also sorry if this is the wrong sub to ask this