HELLO.
I cleaned my room after 2-3 months of living like this and I’m so happy, there’s still more to get done but to have done this with my ocd which usually makes it more difficult or takes longer to clean makes me feel ecstatic!!

First two pics are from one month ago. I cleaned up just the floor section because it was getting impossible to walk around. The third pic is from today. This feels endless.

Partner and I run a business together (we make stuff). We both have ADHD. My workspaces alone are hard to manage but then I have to work around our shared spaces and his work spaces too. It's so overwhelming because there's so much that we are bringing in and scraps and trash getting generated in the process of operating a business and our home is slowly being consumed.

I don't know what the mechanism is that he just drops stuff and then walks around it like it doesn't exist. If I drop stuff I might put off putting it away but I eventually clean up. The only space left that I can keep under control (barely) are my personal office and the kitchen (which is the only area I'm constantly cleaning).

Its immensely overwhelming to even look for things (and we are constantly looking for things) because it's like a review of everything that got put off, at least for me. And cleaning one space is often just opening a can of worms because the same type of stuff is in piles in every room so I can't even find a place for anything until I have gathered every one of the thing to be able to decide how it should be stored. Not to mention the tools that I don't know what they do and can't help to organize them in a way that makes sense - easy to take out and easy to put away.

I hate squirreling things out of sight in junk bins because that's the way his mom comes and "helps" and now we have a whole basement full of junk bins that I can't even properly sort through. Out of sight out of mind. Where do I even start?

Today is a big day. The floors are mostly clean. There are some areas I need to spot treat but other than that things are going well on that front. For the first time in idk how long there is no garbage on the floor of my apartment. Not even under my bed. I want to clean the walls today and do laundry. Tomorrow I want to clean the bathroom and wipe down all the counters/organize.

Current apartment has been fucked for a year. Signed new lease for November 1st. Made some progress but generally habitat is still fucked. Got a good idea of how to manage the situation. All I need now is consistency. Wish me luck!

this is a long one. main topics are break up, ceiling leak, mold in apartment, car getting stolen, cat issues, aquarium tank.

so for starters i’ve been typically able to semi catch up with house chores with a decent schedule. i’ve been going to therapy for a few years and on consistent meds. i moved into another apartment unit which is just a 1 bed 1 bath, with my cat. she was found declawed so she has some issues with the litter box, typically in which she has to have it extremely clean. but she also doesn’t like to urinate in a litter box, but that’s a whole other story.

so i got broken up with/cheated on seemingly out of nowhere and it killed me. then the next day or two i saw that my closet had a leak from the ceiling, and i live downstairs, which caused a giant thing of mold on my carpet but also my dirty clothes pile. i had to throw away so many of my clothes because the leak just happened and i had no idea it was there. i basically live out of my dryer so my closet was hardly used in the first place, but i had some stuff for jackets and whatnot.

so then i found black mold on my closet door as well. i let maintenance know about it ASAP and cleared out the closet for them to fix it and clear the mold, but they only repaired the drip pan and the leak stopped. they left the mold there. i put in another request and it was ignored. i then decided to just give up and try to remove it myself with vinegar but i don’t think it worked.

i also decided to get myself a fish tank since i wanted a betta fish for years. i finally had enough money to get a tank and the proper set up, and got an entire ecosystem going. but then one day when im trying to go to work, i cant find my car and learn that it got stolen.

i just finished paying off my car a few months prior and was panicking to say the least, and had only 10 days to find a new car before my car insurance said i’d have to pay OOP for a rental. luckily someone was spotted driving my car, but at the same time they were in a high speed chase and completely totaled my car. it was unlike anything they’ve ever seen, the engine got tossed out of my car. i was on the local news for it. so long story short, i had a monthly payment that’s twice as much as what i was used to, so i couldn’t afford keeping up with my tank.

this made me extremely depressed and anxious. my tank got dirty and it started smelling like dirty socks in my apartment, and eventually i fixed the issue but don’t know what it was. i also washed my carpets or tried to due to my cats litter box avoidance issues. i don’t know if it’s related, but now i have the issue of random things in my place smelling like vinegar? like i’ll touch it and my hands will smell disgusting. my fish tank is just abandoned and only had pest snails in it originally, but they just all kept dying somehow. i feel awful about my house because i don’t know if my cat is happy being here. i got pheromone sprays and joint supplements, i spend time with her when i can.

i’m stuck in this lease for another year and i can’t find a place i can afford to live in. i can’t afford a professional deep clean. i don’t know what to do about the mold. i just got a new credit card for a vet because my cat is more important to me and i want to make sure shes ok. i’ve tried so many different cleaning routines and the state of everything, just ruins my motivation to keep going. i truly feel like im in a cycle of constant despair and i don’t see the ending. i truly feel like the vinegar smell is the thing destroying me the most, as i can’t figure out for the life of me what it’s from. it’s just embarrassing altogether.

honestly, i just need advice with literally anything i think. this year was horrible for me and i didn’t even mention my family dog getting put down or my biological father reaching out to me after 13 years and admitting he stalked me. i haven’t even dealt with that because i feel like everything else is too much. i feel really really alone

Im about to start once again. I have made serious progress but I need to keep going. I need to continue on the floors and finish cleaning them today. I also want to do some laundry.

Currently watching celebrity traitors uk season 1. I need some good shows to watch while cleaning. I have been watching last week tonight, have I got news for you and and the graham norton show.

Anybody else clean things and stuff just breaks?! I'm so careful and spend hours researching/hyping myself up before attempting anything. I cleaned the oven glass doors and now they rattle, I learned I should be cleaning my washing machine detergent drawer and now my auto dosing function isn't working, I cleaned the soap dispenser bottle in the bathroom and it slipped and broke, lots of glass everywhere, just sick of it. It's killing my motivation! Sorry for the rant, just need to know if I'm alone with this? Oh I also attempted to clean my disgusting airfryer and left it with cleaner for too long so now I'm scared to use it and think I'll just replace it once I've saved enough money. I tried cleaning by scrubbing the inside of my kettle which little plastic bits inside broke off luckily that was a easy replacement. Im just scared to clean now!!

Hello everyone! This is a weekend megathread for those small updates, accountability requests, and success stories that you want to send out to the universe!

Maybe ones that don’t require a full post but that still deserve some recognition, plans made today for over the coming days, or solicitations for suggestions on how to complete your intended tasks!

Still feel free to make absolutely any posts that you want, but if you prefer a smaller-format update option here it is! I want to encourage participation in whatever form it takes :)

ALSO!!! Pictures are enabled in comments so feel free to add pics of your area to tackle of your progress if you please :)

It is going to be a late start to the day but I definitely have things to do. Most of the garbage and stuff is off the ground. First order of business is making sure everything is off the floor. Then I need to sweep and give the floor a good scrub. The majority of everything is picked off the floor but i have a couple of corners I need to complete. I want to get the floors done today so I can focus on the counters, windows and tidying up tomorrow.

Im pretty tired and sore today but I need to get this done. I am going to finish up watching an episode of the Chelsea Detective and then I am going to watch the graham Norton show while cleaning. I think Alexander Skarsgård and Olivia Coleman are being interviewed. I really want to go see wicker. I think when this is over with im going to ask a friend to go with me to see it as a treat.

Hey guys.

I recently went through a breakup and my ex partner moved out. Before we met I wasn't the most tidy. Over the past couple years that changed quite a lot. However, I feel like I was kind of in homemaker mode if that makes sense. Not that I wouldn't tidy when they weren't around, but it seems tied to habits surrounding OUR routine...now it's just me and I'm having a hard time. I'd never lived with a partner before this, and I genuinely love the habits I formed..I just want them for myself now 😕 I guess looking on advice to tap back into caring about it and caring for myself because I know my needs matter even though he's not here anymore. In the past anxiety just paralyzed me and made it incredibly difficult. I don't want to end up there again. Trying to get out if this funk before it becomes my new normal. ​

The goals for today are to scrub the floors, including under my bed. They could use a good cleaning. I also want to get under my bed clean so I can utilize some under the bed storage boxes I got that are taking up a ton of room in my apartment. So far I have taken out all the garbage and clutter I gathered yesterday (8 bags) and the recycling.

I am trying to get over the mental block and overwhelmed feeling I have with cleaning. It is very up and down. I have found that making a checklist and focusing on one task at a time is working best. I am trying to focus more on how much better I will feel once it is done instead of the dread of getting started. I have found that the hardest part for me is getting started, not the task itself.

My apartment has been messy for about two years now, and this honestly isn't like me. I think I might be depressed, but I'm not entirely sure. All I know is that my living space frustrates the hell out of me.

I want to finally get my apartment completely put together so it's comfortable, functional, and somewhere I actually enjoy being. I want everything to have a place, be able to keep up with the cleaning, and not feel like I'm constantly fighting an uphill battle. The problem is that I can never seem to get it completely done. I'd say the closest I've gotten is about 65% of the way there, but I've never managed to reach that final 100%.

My ex used to come over and make a mess, which would set me back, and then the whole cycle would start over again. I think I've finally managed to get him to stay away, so at least that isn't happening anymore. But now I can't seem to find the motivation to get things done. I also struggle with deciding where to put my furniture, decorations, trinkets, and all the little things I've collected.

I really want to declutter, and part of me is tempted to just purge everything because I'm so sick of looking at this mess. But another part of me is afraid I'll throw something away and regret it later. I don't have much money to replace things if I end up needing them, so I feel stuck between wanting to get rid of everything and being afraid to let things go.

I'm just tired of living like this. I want my home to feel peaceful, cozy, and organized, and I want to be able to maintain it without constantly falling behind. But after two years of this, I feel overwhelmed and don't even know where to start anymore.

Has anyone else been through something similar? How did you get yourself out of this cycle? How do you declutter without worrying you'll regret getting rid of things, and how do you finally get your home put together when you feel completely unmotivated?

I'd really appreciate any advice, especially from people who've been in a similar situation.

Hello everyone! This is a mid-week megathread for those small updates, accountability requests, and success stories that you want to send out to the universe!

Maybe ones that don’t require a full post but that still deserve some recognition, plans made today for over the coming days, or solicitations for suggestions on how to complete your intended tasks!

Still feel free to make absolutely any posts that you want, but if you prefer a smaller-format update option here it is! I want to encourage participation in whatever form it takes :)

ALSO!!! Pictures are enabled in comments so feel free to add pics of your area to tackle of your progress if you please :)

Trying to start declutterring and finally went through a storage box of old t shirts from school clubs/events.

Haven’t even opened this box in 5+ years so I’m admitting that I don’t need to keep them to still have the memories, but looking for ideas on how to repurpose or donate so they don’t just end up in a landfill.

I’m sure a thrift shop wouldn’t want them, but the fabric is in good condition so I really hope there’s some way they could be used. It’s *55* shirts.

I do not want to make a quilt. I want them gone.

I tried to post to this sub and then I had to delete it because I just could not handle reading the comments. I'm a recovered alcoholic so it started to feel like a brand new person coming into the rooms of AA with all of these excuses, and they are just so blind to the fact that they are completely fucked. I am completely fucked right now. I can't ever keep a house clean. I didn't know if I was actually a hoarder because I thought hoarders just collected trash and shit from the TV show, but I watched a Clutterers Anonymous video with my wife and she was looking at me like this is you. I looked at their questionnaire, and it's me. I just stopped reading the questions because I was saying yes to all of them.

It's putting a strain on our marriage. We have wanted to move for a really long time because of the environment we live in. Not the cleaning of the house shit. I was hoping to use the move as a motivation to get rid of stuff, and my wife is like well why can't we start now and I crumble... When I was a kid my mom used to tell me that I just didn't care about my stuff. That's why I was so messy with everything and could never keep anything clean. When I was at school she would clean my room and throw everything away. Just fucked with me really bad. As I grew up I started collecting things, especially once I was out of their house because then nobody could take my stuff. Nobody could tell me to get rid of it. Thankfully I got better because of my wife but before she was in the picture I would just pick up tons of shit from the side of the road, from dumpsters, from the pay per pound Goodwill, from people's homes if they were giving it away, anything that I perceived as valuable or I could use later. And then I would get this reaffirming confirmation when I wouldn't finally use something because I'd say something like "see! I knew I'd need it."

I know that if I don't get help on this, it's going to destroy my marriage. When I posted this before I got really angry because people acted like they knew every single detail about my situation and jumped to a lot of conclusions, which I guess is understandable. But a lot of what people said is just wrong. When I showed my wife the comments she also said like what the hell. We're not trying to move as an escape from all this stuff. It's not a reason to move. I understand that I will just end up doing it there too. We want a change of scenery. We can't do the things we want in this location.

I understand that I have a problem. I don't need people to call me a piece of shit, or tell me how my wife is feeling. I'm open with her and she can tell me how she's feeling, which she does and that's why I also feel so bad.

I really need advice on how to get better. What do people do that have serious fucking problems with this? I'm not going to an in-person treatment facility with two kids at home. That's just ridiculous. I do have some of the best insurance in the world that will pay for counseling. I'm calling tomorrow to make an appointment but I don't even know what kind of specialist knows about that shit. Is it common enough that everyone is qualified to help? I have to say there's a part of me that wished my house burned to the ground with everything in it so I can finally be free. But then the most depressing part is I feel like I just do it again somewhere else. Honestly probably worse because I lost everything.

I'm using voice to text and it's late and I'm kind of emotional. I heard one person say to film your house and then watch it later and just hearing them say that made me want to cry. I will explode and turn an area into a shit hole in 5 seconds. I have a thousand projects at any given moment. I will start one then and then walk away from it to start something else and then avoid everything I need to do because I'm so anxious.

I'm not going back on meds either so please don't recommend that. It's between me and my doctor which I have and we talk about it. Thank you.

If possible can you please just tell me what worked for you and talk about yourself, I don't think it helps when people tell me what to do. It's so much more powerful when I hear what you did and it actually worked for you and then I can try that. Maybe I sound like an asshole saying that I don't know.. it's just what I learned in AA and how I speak to others. I try to just talk about what works for me because I don't know what will work for them.

AuDHD & have listened to ClutterBug and other podcasts. Hopefully getting another PCA but that doesn’t change that i need to actually get rid of stuff to uncover this beautiful room and have people over. I grew up in a hoarder house & find comfort in shopping (compulsive, addictive thrifting)
It sucks because i want to find a place for everything but I know the right step is to get rid of things to get everything to a manageable state. Theres also another car load of suitcases and costumes from a trip i just went on

Im off work for the next 2 days and I just got home from work. I will probably be posting here a lot in the mext week or so just to have some accountability. I think tonight i am going to set a timer and get going. I need to gather garbage, sweep, and clear a cabinet to make room for stuff. I also want to go through a box in my closet.

The dumpster behind my apartment is currently full so I won't be taking trash out tonight. I live in an area where a lot of people go through the the dumpsters to find food and resources. I dont have anything useful for them unfortunately. If I put my garbage out now im afraid I will come out to it strewn around the alley tomorrow. Hopefully they empty the dumpster in the morning.

Based on my experience yesterday, setting a timer after work and cleaning for that alotted time helped ease my anxiety about the whole situation for the night. I need to focus more on the reward of having my crippling anxiety temporary lowered and less on the anxiety that makes me procrastinate in the first place. I will feel better after doing this. Even if the first 5 minutes are horrible.

Hopefully this will give me some motivation to pull through to the other side of tidying.

My husband's position was eliminated in August 2025. He's been the primary earner in our family for the last 27 years so the loss of his income hit hard and fast. 😠

We were faced with the tough decision of having to sell our home because even though he's found another job, it is a fraction of what he once made so life here is unsustainable. 😢

Decisions were made quickly so we had to unfuck a lifetime of ours in short order. We've had AMVETS out here three times for a donation pickup, we ordered a Bagster bc we couldn't afford a dumpster, my mom sent us moving boxes and we got down to business.💪

In a few short weeks we have made our home unrecognizable to us and our two adult children. It's a very somber feeling knowing that we won't grow old here, but I have hope that this house will find the right family. 💙

After I shared a picture on here of our largest donation to date, I decided I wanted to share some inside progress pictures.

Maybe they'll comfort someone who is going through the same situation because it's rough out here these days.

Maybe they'll inspire someone to donate to others who could use exactly what isn't being used in their home.

Maybe posting them will make me feel better about ending a chapter that I had no intention of ever taking a break from writing.

It's just a house, I know, but we loved her so. Keep your fingers crossed she sells soon (at or above asking lol) and that her next occupants love her just as much (and that they keep the color of her door!!) 🤭🤞

this is probably the worst it’s gotten, i really need a trash can in my room. i’ve been going through a bad depression/autistic overstimulation recently and let a bunch of trash pile up next to my bedside. i finally took the plunge and put it all into trash bags. next step, actually taking them to the dumpster…

it’s still not perfect, but it’s a LOT better than it was

hi! after FINALLY getting my apartment clean enough i’m not ashamed to have guests, i tested my apartment for lead and the deeper layers of the paint came back positive. before i knew this, id put multiple holes in the wall (probably 100+) in various places in my apartment. i’ve vacuumed since then, but theres some furniture i haven’t moved where drywall dust, etc. could have fallen behind. so i’m looking for some instruction/tips on how to clean. right now i have my cat in the area where ive cleaned the most since doing anything with the walls, and im a bit nervous letting her back into the main apartment until i do something to clean. ive also turned off fans/AC to stop any dust circulating. i struggle with depression and adhd and honestly this whole thing is kinda making me shut down and panic. im having trouble breaking it into doable steps, and even knowing what needs to be done. please help before i curl into the fetal position for the next year or so!

Hiiiii! I finally healed up well enough from my fall down the stairs. It took so long for me to heal because lower body injuries always take a long time to heal in this house.

Ok so! I found a lot of boxes! Like, seriously soo many boxes. Some full of stuff, some completely empty. I had a hard time going through all of them because my goggles fogged up really bad for some reason. Some of them were empty at least.

There was mostly garbage in the pile, the only exception was a lot of scrapbooking stuff of my mom’s, somehow still in decent condition so they were kept. I did however find another trash can, fully buried in the pile, with a couple papers in it.

I’ve basically uncovered the full Christmas tree! I think the next time I clean I will be able to take it down, box all the salvageable ornaments up, and toss the tree.

That pile on the floor and underneath the table should also hopefully go on the same day, there’s not that much stuff left. But once that’s taken care of that’s the living room done! And then I move onto the dining room.

Ok, now I yap. So like I said earlier I fell down the stairs mid July and busted my tailbone pretty badly, and unfortunately it took a long time to heal because this house didn’t allow me to rest it properly, I am doing better now, it still hurts somewhat, so I’ll be taking it slow and only cleaning on Sundays for October. It’ll give me a chance to recover fully and get used to cleaning again.

I did also actually do some cleaning last week, I got the area right in front of my bedroom door cleaned! Now it’s flat and has 2 bins of clothing there instead. (I can still get in and out of my room dw. ) I upgraded to some larger bins and spent the day going through my older, smaller bins and all the bags of clothing in the car and the house.

I did have a bit of a jumpscare Saturday evening. So I’ve spoken before about how my window was cheer through by a mouse and then I had issues with it chewing larger and larger holes.

Anyway I caught that mouse and felt with the mice that were doing that again this year so i thought everything was good. Yeah Saturday I saw a rat in my room and I got extremely lucky in that it ran basically right back out my window.

I told my dad that I saw one basically immediately after, and that a I knew a couple stores nearby that had them, and he said we’d have to tell mom and then wait until mom got home (she was on a weekend trip) to get a trap and set it up.

Now, I have not heard any rat movement (trust me, anything larger than a bug cannot move silently in my room there is too much garbage for that) since I closed my window, so I believe the issue is resolved however I did still have mom get a trap just in case. I will set it up and see if it catches anything or if I’m right and we’re lucky.

I will also be researching how to remove the window screen frame in my window, it is a 1960’s window so wish me luck on finding the right guides.

Yesterday I went to the dump and got rid of a bunch of old furniture. Im currently at work but I need to not fall back into the trap of just immediately crawling into bed the second I get home. Tonight I need to clean under my bed, clean the kitchen sink, take out the trash and go through an old box of things.

I called AmVets to schedule a pickup 3 days out. What started as just a few items I wanted to donate turned into a 3 day binging of everything I looked at, touched, used, saved, but didn't know why. If someone else would benefit from it more than me, it went. 👋

I. Was. Unstoppable. 💪

And yet...I KNOW I could have donated more. I'm actively trying not to think about how many more trips AmVets could make to my house before the unfuck-itch is satisfied. 🥴

P.S. - I gave myself some extra pats on the back for not going back and taking things out of the bags. That was a first for me! 🥳 Thanks for allowing shares! They're so encouraging!!

🚨🗣UPDATE INFO ON THE PLACE I DONATE TO🎖❤️

(All info below can be found on AMVETS' website)

AMVETS (American Veterans) is a volunteer-led organization formed by US World War II veterans and represents the interests of 20 million veterans.

I come from a military family so I grew up donating here. When I get a decluttering bug up my butt, I schedule a pickup because not much fits in my VW Beetle! 🚘 If it does fit, I try to donate to local places.

✨️Pickup service is dependent on your location and and regional AMVETS chapter or partner. In IL (🙋🏼‍♀️) and IN, AMVETS has a partnership with an organization that schedules all pickups which are 100% free. Some donations qualify for a tax-deductible receipt (which admittedly I have never filed.)

✨️Typically accepted: Gently used clothing, shoes, accessories, small household appliances, books, toys, electronics, and small furniture items like nightstands or office chairs.

✨️Typically not accepted: Large furniture (like couches), large appliances, mattresses, box springs, car seats, cribs, and newspapers.

✨️You have to pack your items in boxes, bags, or bins (which they will keep) and leave them outside your front door/driveway by the morning of your scheduled appointment date. They arrive early so I always put everything out the night before.

✨️Accepting donations is just one of many services AMVETS provides. There is a wealth of information on the other services and programs they provide. 🥰