I had a gf who has a very bad case of borderline personality disorder- she developed a neurosis which involved getting jacked up on crystal meth and running around the neighborhood's apartment complexes in the middle of the night, raiding their dumpsters. She would then bring the contents of the dumpsters back to my 1-bed 1 bath apartment to sort through. Anyway, long story short, she went to jail and I got a restraining order. Now, my severe ADHD and I have to clean and remove literally a couple of dumpsters worth of crap from my apartment. I feel totally overwhelmed, depressed, and extremely amotivational. Does anyone have any tips or specific advice that might help? Especially about makeup stains in carpet?
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I’m so sorry you’re having to deal with all of this. Like others have said: good on ya for starting, and for reaching out for help. You’re already killing it.
I’ve not been in this particular situation, specifically, but have had to deal with cleaning very daunting messes with executive dysfunction, and definitely agree with the ‘body doubling’ sentiment.
For me, Dana K. White and Midwest Magic Cleaning, on YouTube, made the most sense, motivated me most, and made me feel less a failure for struggling in the first place. Both have a lot of good content you can just listen to while you’re working through the mess, and they’re also funny.
Succinct tips from these two that helped me: — Start in the most visible space — Give yourself permission to just look for trash — Better is good; you don’t need to make it perfect — Even a few minutes makes an impact — Take Before and After photos so you can see that you really are making progress, even when it doesn’t feel like it — Take breaks (your brain needs them just as much as your body) — Even a single item leaving the space means success — Watch out for stray moose — Every living room needs a spinkick section — There is no shame in this; you’re awesome
Links:
Dana: https://youtu.be/KB1hNf4zQT4
Midwest Magic: https://youtu.be/-HjkBfmO8SQ
You didn’t create this mess, but you CAN get through it.
Wishing you good days, and much healing.
Thank you so much for taking the time to reach out to me. I very much appreciate the good advice and encouragement. <3
Absolutely!
I really hope it helps, and just know that you aren’t alone.
You’ve got this.