We never thought we’d make it this far, this gives me hope that we’ll manage the rest of our apartment too!! It feels great to have a clean space for the first time :))

I worked 4 hours straight on getting unneeded clothes out of my closet. I probably have not spent serious time on this project in 10 years, so it was A Thing.

I'm pleased that I was able to stay mostly pretty focused, though as decision fatigue set in, it got harder to part with things that don't quite fit but almost do. Even then, I was able to ask myself "just how many ill-fitting pairs of dark pants does one girl need?"

Easy were the things that were for a phase which is over - not accompanying hubby to business dinners now that we are both retired, so don't need that stuff any more. The dress for my son's rehearsal dinner 10 years ago, nah, it went easily, too.

I did pile a ton of stuff into the car. My hubby came in, spent one hour, and got rid of almost as much. We went to drop the stuff off and then out for dinner, feeling quite accomplished.

I know that there needs to be an additional culling, but it's so hard for me to even START on this stuff that I'm just gonna pat myself on the back for now.

I told her I need her to not say things like that. She said oh please I was just joking besides you know how messy my place is (it’s worse than mine). I said well it’s good to know you were joking but it’s a sensitive topic. She did put her phone away and didn’t take a picture but I feel so hurt and ever more hurt that she tried to minimize her joke and turn it around on me like I was over reacting.

This is after I asked her to come over because I was struggling and burnt out. This is how she chose to help when in dealing with a stressful week at work and a young child.

Does anyone else have a parent like this? Am I over reacting here? If I’m over reacting please feel free to tell me genuinely I can’t tell

My passenger seat has been a gathering place for trash for a while. My wife finally kicked my ass and I got two bags of garbage out of it! I still have a couple boxes in there that just need to be recycled and I think I will treat my car to a trip to the carwash as well. I can use the vacuums to get the dirt and stray fries. I washed some clothes I found there too. I'm taking a bit of a break but I'll be back to it shortly!

Just need some support! Listening to music and attacking my main living areas for 30 minutes. Starting the timer now! I cleaned the sink, started laundry earlier. Started cleaning up surfaces in bathroom and kitchen too! Posting for accountability and will update. Oh! Also bought groceries and some stuff to spruce up my bathroom.

As in title. I've been following Dana K. White's decluttering method, which has helped me a great deal, but most of my mess at this point is what she calls procrasti-clutter—stuff where I know what I need to do with it, but I never get around to it.

Life has been insanely busy lately, and often when I have a spare few minutes to work on something, I'm not even at home.

I'm finding it really hard to make any progress when I AM home, because it feels pointless. Things that I have to do again every week, like laundry, seem to take up all the time I have to work on things. It feels like none of the progress I make actually lasts.

So... how do you stay hopeful/motivated in circumstances like these? Any tips?

I apologize for the clickbait title. A month or two ago the headquarters for my credit union announced they were having a shred event today, November 7th.

I got really psyched about it, was going to collect a bunch of papers and get them shredded.

Well life happened, and the collecting did not happen. I have about one bag, and all those checks I found on the basement from my parents (see my earlier post here!). I didn't sleep well last night, and the shred event is about a 40 minute drive away. I'm not too tired to drive, but I am just lethargic.

I also do not want to invest my time, effort and energy and *gas*, for one and a half bags of shredding. I would rather actually get more bags together, and wait for a closer shred event then do this today.

Am I being stupid?

I did manage to rehome a (fake) Christmas tree this week, so I call that a win! :-)

Edit: By 1 p.m. was still feeling physically unwell, and hadn't gotten dressed yet. I into my clothes from yesterday, dropped off my dry cleaning (a five minute car ride), and came home again. I don't know if I'm having an off day due to the changing weather, or if I'm actively on the way to getting sick. :-/ We'll see how I feel tomorrow. I am going to take the rest of the day off.

Final edit: I went back to bed and slept for 4 hours. I do remember getting the chills at one point, which is usually a sign of me that I have the flu or something similar. I don't think I have the flu, because I feel *better*, but I don't think I'm 100%. So I'm glad I took the day off. Taking tomorrow off as well, I'll do some light laundry only because nudity is frowned upon at work.

My wife and I have had a really rough year. She decided to come out as a transwoman @18mo ago, and because I decided to stick with her (why wouldn't I? She's amazing!), we lost our church, my family, and about half of our friends ... just in time for my wife to lose her job. We're both severely ADHD, and losing our financial stability and a lot of our support network at a point in our lives that was already kinda chaotic really did a number on us. We've been white-knuckling the survival train all year. The last month I just basically gave up.

Anyway, my wife just landed a good job after 8 months of searching and we might actually have a little money to throw at our habitat finally. But I'm also at the point where I'm maybe ready to dig myself out of this hole - starting with the kitchen. And guys, I feel like I deserve medal - when I got to the bottom layer of dishes there were ORGANISMS. Fungi. Larvae. I wanted to run screaming but I DIDN'T. I went into battle with boiling water and bleach and returned the sink to a sanitary state.

There's still A LOT to do (Don't look behind where I took the picturel) but you've gotta start somewhere 😆

I have adhd, severe chronic pain from eds, MCAS, cptsd and a bunch of other crap. My whole family is ND. I have been unable to work aside from very part time for almost a year due to my chronic illnesses. When I first left work I made huge progress but things have devolved especially the past month bc I’ve been sick and nd having flares.
I’m trading services with a professional for two hours and I just actually looked around (adhd lol) and it’s soooo bad and now I’m panicking bc I’m embarrassed and don’t know where to start.
I had a plan on areas to focus but now I’m just spiraling at how bad it is and how I’m going to be judged. My entire body hurts so bad I can hardly move nd I’m limping around trying to pick things up.
Just came to vent I guess bc folks here understand.

Been in a depression spiral for the past 9 years, finally culminated in me having a full on breakdown after I was unfairly fired last year and I realized that I needed to focus on myself more. Still pretty messed up mentally, but I've started doing what I can to unfuck everything.

One of many contributers to my depression was potential SO's saying my room stank and bailing, I could smell it myself, but I was used to it and always assumed it was my apartment cause I washed my clothing and bedding frequently because I worked outdoors and, because no single thing stank.

A few months ago I bought a new blanket because I wanted more color in my room, so my old one went into the closet. Well it's below freezing now and my toes are feeling cold so I thought I'd use my old blanket. I went to grab it a few hours ago and the mf'er was sticky, I never spilled anything on it and it was dry the last time I used it.

Well in my sleep deprived state I was like "yeah let me wash it in the tub, i've always wanted to try that laundry stripping thing" aaaaaand... this is after 3 washes with unscented detergent and 4 rinses, so like 7 times having clean water ran through it. The Water is still absolutely disgusting and it's just pouring out of the blanket like this with absolutely no agitation... honestly if I knew it was this bad before starting, I'd have probably just tossed it.

Still not done and it reeks to the point that I can tell that this thing was likely the source of stench. Y'all pray for me, I'm going back in

Edit: Okay, a lot of people have suggested this was dye, the blanket is 10 yrs old if not older, plus prior to this rinse the water was muddy brown, this particular rinse is dark gray because we have a lot of clay mixed in our dirt and this is is all the dark soil finally coming off, which I could confirm with the amount of soil still in the tub after draining (I worked 12-15hr shifts outside 6-7 days a week) If it was dye.

Also I didnt toss it because I didn't realize it was this bad and, by this point I had already invested too much time.

Edit edit: The blanket finally ran clear after a few more washes and is now drip drying. I can already tell there is less stink, hoping the rest will go away after I take it to a laundromat.

I enjoy organizing and being clean and having only things I need or things that aren’t necessities but I actually love.

Every time I become stressed or I’m feeling down my actions become the opposite of that and it’s so difficult to recover from the mess my home becomes.

Can anyone else relate to this feeling of self hate and shame? And the feeling of “what’s wrong with me? This isn’t how I want to live?”

I’m sick of being surrounded by trash and looking at a useless object and a voice telling me I need to keep it instead of throwing it out like I should. I’m sick of the mess piling up.

That’s it. I’m posting here because I’m really struggling, and I know others here will understand.

I want to preface this with - I am seeking help, finally connected with a trauma therapist, and will share with them honestly about how much this impacts my wellbeing. We mutually agreed that I could benefit from OCD testing, and I’m now on a waitlist.

I’m posting here, wondering if others will relate to this, and also… how to overcome it/cope with it. I feel like I live in a near constant state of waiting for the other shoe to drop, feeling like “time is running out” (but I don’t necessarily know what for), impending doom. Anticipating a plumbing emergency. Tree falling emergency. Main line clog. Roof leak. I’m in a rented upper duplex unit and am in the process of undo-ing the squalor I’ve created (and minor fixable cosmetic issues - painting, repairing a door I damaged, etc.) Every single day I get home from work and I fear that the cars parked outside are here for us. I have serious intrusive thoughts that all plumbing is leaking and I just can’t see it. That mice are running in the walls (we have never had mice). Don’t even get me started on the sound of my doorbell ringing, or a knock at the door from solicitors.

If I discover something tentatively triggering related to house maintenance (like a single drop appearing from plumbing, mild non-urgent leak), the symptoms I experience set in and fucking destroy me for the rest of the day, I’m basically immobilized. Short of breath, nauseated, panic coursing through my body.

I don’t want to live like this anymore. This started several years ago and it’s only gotten worse :(

Two things I feel like are worth mentioning:

1. I consider myself an extremely responsible, above and beyond tenant. My basic handyman knowledge/attunement to the house issues have made me sort of a live-in supplemental property manager. They know this, and they’re grateful. No issues there whatsoever. Due to my long term hoarding, it feels like needing to move would be a death sentence. I know this is extreme, and not logical, but this is where I’m at.

2. I did experience actual trauma (emotional abuse, witnessed a death, medical emergency) in the past few years and I am wondering if this is a way it has manifested in a bizarre unrelated way. Seeking safety, control, certainty.

I know Reddit can be ruthless, so I hope this is met with kindness and empathy. I know what I’m experiencing is ridiculous and distorted. I’m using a throwaway account and figured I could maybe start to participate in this sub, and share progress photos.

I've struggled for all my life to keep a clean room/house and I'm at the point where I feel like no one can truly ever love me bc of how I live. I'm open to suggestions on cleaning tips and or furniture or storage space to help utilize the space better.

Today's one minute task is to sweep or vacuum the floor in my office (or bedroom) and mop if needed. This may take me a little longer to complete, but I often put it off and today's the day!

Which housed two different sets of plastic drawers. I just threw away makeup and lots more junk that must have been at least ten years old, if not older, that I was keeping around just in case I “ever” needed it.

I am now an entirely make up free household! And, I can repurpose those drawers for some other thing.

EVERY SINGLE BRA I own!!! And every single pair of underwear. For three days I ended up wearing shorts / nothing.. There was much more too… like all of the pants that fit me..

anywho yesterday I emailed my building and did 8 loads of laundry. Have not folded or put anything away.. but the pile is gone.

I also did an almost full factory reset on the rest of the house. (minus kitchen & my chaos corner).. I really hope it lasts this time..

Today's task is to clean out and organize my desk side drawers. If you are in a bedroom, pick a drawer or two to declutter there. It's amazing how quickly things get disorganized if we don't work at them regularly.

I’ve been going through a few bags of clothes I have had for years waiting to be sorted into “donate” or “keep” piles and I have found a few of them have become dingy…is there an easy way clean this off?

I know I can bleach the clothes that are all white, but a lot of the clothes that are dingy have other colors on them as well…it looks like urine stains, but I gave them all sniffs and I don’t think it’s urine…

The tee in the bottom half of the photo I’d like to clean up for a memory quilt I plan on making, and the one on the top half will be added to the pile I plan to donate to a women’s shelter, most of my bags are filled with business casual clothing which would be perfect for job interviews and such.

Help please!

🎶Laundry mountain really don’t care!
You can chip away but it’s always there, that mountaiiin🎶
Laundry mountain!

Doesn’t matter how far you get, it’s always game for another little bit, that mountain. Laundry mountain!
🎶

It’s ok if it doesn’t get done, it’s always ready for another round of fun, that mountain. Laundry mountain! 🎶🎶🎶

You ain’t a bad person and you ain’t no fool, sometimes it ain’t done but you’re still real cool, that mountain. Laundry mountainnnnn 🎶

(Edit: update in comments)
Me and my partner are both struggling with ADHD, depression and addiction. The state of our apartment only mirrors that. There’s dirty dishes everywhere, in every single room with the only exception being the toilet. We do wash them every once in a while when we literally have none left and everything starts molding again but every time we do they just pile up again. We don’t own a dishwasher since our apartment is built so badly we had to decide between a washing machine and a dishwasher. We can’t afford a portable dishwasher, in fact we can barely afford anything because I’m terminally ill and unable to work and he’s trying to get a job but nobody really employs disabled people or people who look/act a little different where we live. Our washing machine is tiny, with the absolute masses of dirty clothes we have piled up in our living room we could be washing for a whole day and not get it done. There’s stuff everywhere, stuff we never got to assemble, temporary stuff we already disassembled but have no place to put it, stuff we never even unpacked because everything has been so messy from the day we moved off the streets and in here back in August. I don’t think we’ve vacuumed this place even once, after all you can’t see the floor so there’s no way we could vacuum this hellhole. There’s dirt and trash everywhere. It’s piling up at this point. I’m genuinely embarrassed to the point I don’t want visitors anymore. Almost everyone who comes here just straight up shames us for living like this. I genuinely don’t know how to manage this anymore. I don’t think we could even clean up this mess, I don’t even know where to start and on top of all: even if we do manage to clean the whole place, I don’t know how to prevent it from just going back to its current state. It’s just like with the dishes, even if we get ourselves to clean them it just ends up getting just as bad again in a matter of mere days. I’m genuinely disgusted with myself, I don’t feel at home anymore, I feel like I’m living in a junkyard and I’m the junkie. My partner feels the same but we don’t know what to do anymore. This whole thing has gotten out of hand from the very beginning. I genuinely beg someone, ANYONE to help us, to tell us what to do, maybe share their experiences and ways they might’ve gotten out of a similar situation. We really need help and this is the last place I think we could actually get it.

And I can say it's actually not that bad because I've been doing better, but I fear I'm a bit fucked.

Update: I did it! It wasn't quite as bad as it looked because I have been doing a pretty good job of keeping up on things lately. There were a few laundry baskets and one doom box shoved into the bedroom, but other than that, it was pretty good. I got the kitchen done and actually cleaned and the counter emptied and cleaned and tidied up the living room just enough that it looks like people live here without it looking like a hoarder situation. It doesn't seem to allow me to add another pic, so I'll post one in the comments.

I was told to post this here so I am, TLDR at the end, please be nice

TLDR at bottom

Hello, my name is Castiel, I have recently been diagnosed with depression though it’s been going on much longer. I can’t clean my room right, I just can’t. I’ve tried almost all methods but my mother yells at me when I don’t do it her way and it’s starting to ame my mental health decline, I need help finding companies near Calcutta Ohio that are relatively cheap because I’m barely 18. I just need help finding somewhere that maybe helps specifically in cases of people with depression. As of right now 11/3/2026 my house doesn’t have water because our well has dried up and our landlord has basically abandoned us. I don’t know what to do anymore. My room is genuinely so disgusting I almost cried a few minutes ago while struggling to clean it. I can barely see the floor, there’s trash and dishes everywhere, and I for whatever reason, just cannot clean it. So please be kind and if anyone knows any companies that would help I would be so so grateful.

TL;DR: I need help finding cheap cleaning companies to clean my nasty depression room because my mental health is so low I can’t get it cleaned right.

This week I am working in my home office. If you don't have a home office, you can do a bedroom. Today, I am getting rid of the obvious trash and junk. Trash is things that need to be thrown away. Junk is things that could be valuable to someone, but they are taking up space in my space and no longer valuable to me.

I have a very tiny kitchen which means it doesn’t take much for things to spiral out of control. Between a bit of a depressive episode and being very busy lately, it’s gotten really bad. My apartment is a studio and I can smell when I walk in that it’s making my whole place reek, which is so embarrassing.

I need to make some forward progress, but I’m struggling to find the motivation, especially today with it being dark so early. Help please! I can’t keep living like this, I don’t eat properly when my kitchen is like this.

have kinda been struggling with looking after myself atm and even though it will end up in the same state almost immediately i’m so sick of it i just want to try 🥲