Easy self-care and organisation thread

[ibuiltahomeforyou]

I'm struggling with depression and low energy at the moment, and I thought it would be helpful to share some of the things I have been trying in case they help anyone else.

• showering and grooming

I set the alarm on my phone for eight minutes when I'm feeling low, and in that time I have challenge myself to dash into the shower, dry, dress, comb my hair and put on some lipstick. Eight minutes means I can just put the radio on full blast and it's over quickly

• breakfast

I bought some protein shake and just make myself one in the mornings for when I'm too tired to eat. It then stops me snacking on biscuits later 😳😳😳

• lunch

I boil some eggs at the start of the week, buy a bag of salad and some dressing, then those are my lunches for a few days at a time with little effort

• at work

I break my day into 45 minute long chunks, and do my best then have a 10-15 minute break so I don't get overwhelmed

• dinners

I keep things like frozen bags of paella in the freezer so dinner can be done in 10 minutes

I'd love any of your tips!

5 minute work rescue - good plan!

Well, I'm feeling a bit like this today. I'm going to write myself a list, prioritise it, do only the most important and urgent, and work out when I can have the list completed by. And then I'm having a nap. That way I'll know that by Sunday afternoon, possibly, everything will be back under temporary control.

I'm doing a very little self care act today - going to speak to the doctor about my depression. I take 50mg sertraline and I think it needs to be increased.

Like so many have stated this is a GREAT THREAD! I'm a new mum with PND and have easily been getting overwhelmed with doing the most basic of things so I'm following to see the useful tips. Sorry I don't have any I am in the middle of trying to sort my life out 🙃

I keep an interesting audiobook on the go that I'm only allowed to listen when I'm doing chores. Works a treat

So it's taken me this long to read the thread! I've asked Alexa to tell me I look lovely, but "Hmm, I don't know that one".

I've found a friend to play with- we go to the outdoor exercise machines at the park and see who can do the most reps, go like the clappers for 30 seconds, etc. We have a few other silly ideas planned. We both bore easily and found exercise classes unsatisfying.

I'm struggling with the basic self care though. But I've booked a physio assessment, and am seeing my GP. I'm cutting sertraline down at the moment- I think it's made me sleepy. So I hope I'll feel better when it's out of my system.

I also have a 'to do' list of nice things to do. It's got recipes I fancy, places I'd like to go, things I'd like to make, people I could ring or visit.

I look at it if I've spare time, or have no motivation to do anything and need to find a reason to get up.

I'm so glad that so many of you have found this thread helpful!

Today I got STRAIGHT in the shower rather than my usual ploy of delaying, looking at my phone, etc. It meant I was showered and dressed before breakfast so felt I started the day right!

Fab! It's always great if you can start the day like that.

Well today I entertained in my PJs because I left getting dressed to the last possible minute, then my visitor arrived a tad early! But we had a lovely chat and coffee anyway.

I don't like it when the house seems disorganised and cluttered, and it can feel overwhelming to start tackling it.

So I have invented a game. İt's called "repatriation" and it is 10 minutes of walking round the house repatriating things to where they should be.

Somehow makes it easier to think that I'm "playing a game" instead of "tidying up". İt helps my step count too!

And it is only for 10 minutes yet gives a great sense of achievement when it's done.

Yes to getting dc to help. Good for them to learn & I'm much less resentful when others are helping.

I sent mine out to scrub the decking yesterday & when I brought out a fresh bowl of soapy water they were squealing with delight at the bubbles. It didn't help a great deal but they were outside & not whinging while they did it & I had a lovely moment watching them while I did dishes.

Another that works for me is growing veg - a pot of lettuce outside makes making a sandwich or salad like a real treat rather than a chore.

Declutter, declutter, declutter. I'm going to tackle the sauces cupboard today & get rid of the stuff nobody eats - I have them all on a lazy Susan so I just turn it round to see everything but currenting it's a bit of a tower, so will be nice & streamlined for next weekend's visitors!

Great thread! More generally, I try to use the notion of the irreducible minimum when I'm really struggling badly with "getting things done": whatever it is that you need to do, there's always an irreducible minimum you can do and then walk away. If it's forms, lay them out on the table and then walk away. When you feel you can, put a pen next to them. Next step is to enter your name, because that's easy and doesn't really demand anything of you. You can walk away at any stage and do something else until you feel ready, but if you have made a start, you're more likely to be able to move on to the next step, it's less daunting. Doesn't always work (and isn't practical for some tasks) but it's a useful tool for the right occasion.

Also, I set things up for the next day the night before. So, if I am not getting on with a sewing project, set up the machine the night before, literally before going to bed. Food cupboard needs clearing out: empty the cupboard before going to bed, do the cleaning in the morning. Sitting room needs vacuuming: get out the cleamer and leave it in the room before going to bed.

Those help me in a general way. But I love the specific stuff that you are all posting. Thank you!

I give things 'a lick and a promise'.

So if the kitchen needs a good bottoming, I might swipe the counters, Hoover the floor, and call it done till next time.

The other thing is to make use of tiny moments of dead time- wipe a counter while my coffee is in the microwave.

Scrub the shower corners with a long handled dishbrush when I finish- it takes seconds, and I haven't needed to do a 'proper' clean for months.

My house is generally staying respectable with much less work because I do little bits here and there, the most noticeable/important bits, rather than doing a thorough job.

curtainsofdestiny I like your game. We have a similar one called 'Final Destination'. When you pick something up you don't just put it doen elsewhere. It has to go straight to the wahsing basket or back in the wardrobe/bookcase/bin/charity bag. No shuffling stuff from one room to the next. In theory.

Great ideas on here .

I did some tiny self care yesterday: I was going to call a takeaway for dinner as I was so tired, but instead I went into the supermarket and got a ready-prepped vegetable tray and some veggie Kievs and my DD and I had those with blueberries for tea.

Having some vitamins must have been better for me than a Chinese!

Are people aware that being utterly disorganised - and a procrastinator - can be a sign of having ADHD?

(ADHD is badly named! If you have inattentive ADHD, for example, there's no hyperactivity).

I view myself as chasing things around my house / herding the misplaced objects like sheep. I start upstairs in our bedroom (most distant from the front door), put away the bits of clutter, take everything that shouldn’t be there to the rooms it should be in but dont tidy them just dump inside.
Then move from room to room continuing this. Anything that goes in an already-tidied room has to be put away. Anything that goes in a still-messy room just gets dumped there until I get to that room.

It sound silly but I kind of mentally picture it as chasing small creatures around from room to room back to their homes you’ll all think I’m bats

Signing in. Self diagnosed adhd here too. I'm not really interested in a diagnosis but have found it hugely helpful to read about adult adhd. It ring fenced and labelled a series of behaviours that have dominated my life. I'm so much kinder to myself nowadays and have better strategies.

Yes to timer. Sometimes I can't even manage say eight minutes and have to change it to four min at a time. Sometimes I just need a timer to get started but then I don't need it all and can stay on task for quite a while.

My biggest challenges are sorting food. That knocks me down and keep knocking me down. I am also very messy and this is hugely stressful. It gets really bad when im low or struggling- I just leave a trail of destruction. Also kids uniform and sports gear is an ever present stress.

I have lots is strategies but rarely have the skills to execute them. I spend my life making plans in my head but then struggle to put clothes on cause it feels so tough!

@howmanybiscuits funnily enough I do wonder if I have adhd. Though when I started to take antidepressants it improved, so I am not sure where the line is drawn.

@PoliticalBiscuit

I'm a lazy perfectionist, so the phrase "Done, is better than perfect" speaks to me.

Eg - I can organise a shelf in the bathroom. Old me thinks I need - 1. space to put the items I am clearing out so I can sort them properly. 2. Cleaning products to clean while cupboard whilst its empty (because of course you need to declutter a whole cupboard at a time. Once you do it it makes sense to just tackle it all at once). 3. Organisational boxes for perfect storage. 4. New products to replace ones that are old, shabby, not right. So I can have a clean satisfying set of spare toothpastes not 3 old half squashed tubes of flavours I don't like.

New me doesn't do things properly. It just does a bit, and is learning to feel satisfaction in the small things.

Thank you so much for posting this. My brain works exactly the same way and I get caught up or blocked about doing things perfectly and end up never doing them. That can end up triggering a failure spiral. I’m going to try remembering that just doing something at all is better than doing perfectly nothing. :)

Thanks for starting this thread OP - excellent idea!

Those of you who do "to do" lists ... years ago a very organised person suggested to me that when writing my list to note a time next to it, I.e. mop kitchen floor 10 minutes. This has two benefits,1) if you heave a tendency to over elaborate/are a perfectionist it makes it time bound and 2( when you find you have say 10 minutes free you can pick a job and get it shifted.

Tell me, love that idea too!

I would really, really recommend Mel Robbin's book called '5 second rule' (it's also on Audible). It's been an absolute life changer for me.

Plus the app 'Simple Habit' which you can use to do meditation, most of them are only 5 minutes long and they even have special meditations for depression. It really makes a difference to me (and I'm the last person you'd imagine meditating!). They have meditations you can do while cooking, while in the bath, while commuting, etc too.