So so overwhelmed ☹️☹️

To do that much all on your own is a fantastic achievement. Put your favourite music on and continue. Well done 👊

Well Done!! Keep us updated 🥰 you’ve done the hard part in starting, now you need to keep going. We’re all with you xx

Every bin bag filled is one chunk of the load lifted. You are doing great. I'm proud of you for persevering. It's hard and you have stuck to it! Well done. Reward yourself with a long hot soak later x you got this x

One room at a time. You can do it.

Well done. Take it one small step at a time. Taking photos is a good idea, you can look back at the progress you've made.

Well done for making a start.

My Mum and Dad divorced, and my Mum had to sell the house and move to a flat.

She had never been any good at organisation/housework, and we didn't have particularly good relationship. I was an older mother at 42, working full time with two toddlers and she did used to come to us for lunch on a Sunday. One day I went round to surprise her and she wasn't home, so I let myself in - OMG. I cried my eyes out. The veg rack absolutely stunk with rotten carrots and potatoes with food long legs, and there were about twelve milk bottle in different stages of decay with dead blue bottles floating in the milk. I rang my aunt who came round to help me sort it all out and clean - when my Mum came home she admitted to being depressed and couldn't care less. I used to go round once a week after this to help tidy/clean.

This is a great post! Well done you - you have made an amazing start and you can continue this process just filling those bags one by one.

Congratulations on making a start, that really is fantastic! Now congratulate yourself (be kind to yourself) and use the positive thoughts to keep going, just a small area at a time and hopefully it won’t be just so overwhelming.

Well done , proud of you and you've turned a corner in making a start, don't give up now ,
We're all here willing you to see this through bit by bit , you deserve to treat yourself tonight for what you've achieved 😊

Cheering you on here, you have done so well already! I hope you get your lovely clean bed and self today!

Keep up the good work and don't lose sight of how absolutely amazing you are going to feel afterwards, in a much easier, uncluttered, environment.

Bless you you're doing great. Don't beat yourself up either it's an illness and it's fantastic you are pushing yourself to sort it

Congratulations on taking steps to improve your life! It takes a lot to make big changes, and it sounds like you've gotten of to an amazing start!

I am going to try to do this tomorrow. I only have one room to do so it should be easy, should be........

Well done xx

In haste, so haven’t read the full thread.

But I recommend:

TOMM - the organised mother method (also for non-mothers!)

on Facebook - the Neuridivergent Cleaning Crew, etc

There are lots of resources out there.. you are not alone!

Well done,, just keep going slow and steady. It's hard work just cleaning.outba cupboard sometimes so you are doing great.
You will feel so much better when you've made a dent in it, and it will be so much easier to keep tidy.

Well, well done.

Well done OP. Imagine what it will be like waking up in your calm bedroom tomorrow morning!!

You've done the hardest part, which is making a start - massive well done!!

The more u get through the more determined you'll be to finish it when u see how much progress you've made! Keep up the good work and treat yourself afterwards 👏🏽 xxx

Proud of you!! Keep going!!!!

If you can OP- get a huge skip.

Put the stuff straight in there.

Sometimes the bin bags full of stuff can just sit around and it will take probably multiple trips to the dump and some councils have a restriction on how many visit you can make.

You’ve got this! Fabulous efforts have already been made and the more you do, the more motivated you become to continue.

I am so proud of you!

Amazingly well done @SoEffingOverwhelmed . It’s so very hard to start something, anything when you’re in the mind space you describe. You are an absolute star.

Well done you OP, you have taken the first step. Put some music on or radio on while you sort, 3 piles, keep, dump, donate. You can do it.

Oh well done for deciding to make a change. That’s the hardest bit. You’ll feel overwhelmed. That’s to be expected. One step at a time though, and you’ll get there.

Sounds like you are having a big blast at it today which is great. It might be hard to go at it full pelt every day so may be set yourself smaller goals for days you don’t have as much ooomph. May be to fill a bin bag? Or throw out ten things a day. Ask yourself ‘is keeping this more important than my long term well-being or is it better to tolerate that short term sense of loss/anxiety for my longer term wellbeing?’

Anything that is a memory but something you really have no use for, you could take a photo and then one day create a photo book if you feel the need.

Good luck!! You deserve to live in a nice environment. I can recommend a book called Real Life Organising for when you are more on top of it. I think you are brilliant and courageous for noticing your unhelpful patterns and tackling them head on. Much easier to keep avoiding. You obviously have some strength within you, it is always there so keep searching for it on tougher days.