I'm overwhelmed. Give me one job to do to help me get my house tidy.

[Couldhavebeenme2]

I've been struggling with hugely minimises a few things recently, and my house is now at the point of 'where the fuck do I start', which is further affecting my MH.

On the back of another thread, and me waking up with a vaguely can-do approach this morning, please give me one task at a time so I can start to make a dent in it.

I've started already by making the bed properly, showering and getting fully dressed, soon to be followed by emptying and reloading the dishwasher. I'm also going to bung some washing in the tumble dryer.

Hoping you can give me the gentle kick up the bum you supportive bunch can to get me started, thanks vipers!

Empty all the bins and open the windows.

Pick one room and take everything out of there that's not supposed to be there and redistribute to the correct room. Then repeat.

Looking round my house I'd say laundry. There are clothes all over our house, some are clean, some are waiting to be put away, some are waiting to be washed, some are just lying there and I'm not sure why.

Then I'd clean the bathroom.

Pick a surface and move everything that shouldnt be there

Following as I'm in the same boat. My tip is go through the clothing in your drawers and aim to fill two black bags for charity. This means you have space to put away clean laundry.

I might join you here as I have a kid free day and am not working. My house is a bombsite.

I'm still in bed but when I get up I'm getting a in bag and a big bag for life and going around the house finding any rubbish and recycling. Then I'm going to try to make a pile of stuff in each room that belongs elsewhere.

Once that's done I really need to start into sorting the clean washing in the utility room as I've just got baskets full of stuff. Floor also has piles of washing on it.

I feel exhausted writing this down.

What's the level of crap on surfaces? I'd start with an easy one to get me motivated.

Timers are.my friend in this kind of thing. Ten minutes in each room makes a great dent in it all.

Good luck!

Pick up all the shoes and put them back on the rack/in the cupboard, that always makes our house look better!

Or clear any clutter of kitchen sides and make a cuppa to fortify yourself for the rest

Open all the windows and curtains.
Anything on the stairs waiting to go up or down put away into the correct room so the stairs are clear.

If you have rubbish lying around, like wrappers, junk mail etc. Get a bag and walk about filling it.

Put all washing up next to the sink, then wipe clear surfaces.

Put all dirty laundry in a pile near the washing machine. Put one load on.

Start with the kitchen.
Emptying dishwasher and refilling is a good start. Wash anything that couldn’t go in the dishwasher. Then clear all the work surfaces, clean hob and floors.

Keep doing laundry all day. I’m not sure where you are but weather seems to be good for drying outdoors.

Then do living room, bathroom then bedrooms.

Once all looks clean, start decluttering one shelf or drawer a day. It won’t take long and by the end of a couple of weeks or so, youll have sorted your whole house out.

Start upstairs. Worst room first. Bin bag for rubbish, box for the charity shop, cloth and spray cleaner in hand. Work from the highest surfaces, shelves, wardrobe tops down. Put some music on, audio book whatever you find relaxing. Remember to breathe, and it sounds nuts but really helps me, count the items you put away/ditch. 17 will make a room look better. Keep a big bottle of water to drink nearby. Stop every hour and enjoy how better things look. Everything you're dealing with is the result of a bad decision or procrastination and you're putting it right. Resolve to tidy up as you go along in future.

How are you getting on ?
Would it help to buddy up with someone and both 'work ' for 15 minutes at a time?
Something that seems to motivate me is to list 6 jobs that need doing and throw a dice to decide next one!!( if you don't have a dice there are free apps for dice or spinners)
Good luck.

Please can I join in. Been in isolation with a 3 year old so it’s pretty messy!
I’ve emptied the dishwasher and I’m starting with laundry and clearing all the toys from the stairs/landing and bathroom.

Good luck everyone

I use my 'layer' technique when I feel overwhelmed. So do one 'type' of task at a time, on a 15 min timer. 15 mins then stop, move onto the next layer. The premise is I'm gradually bringing down the level of the overall chaos of the house.

The layers are
Laundry
Rubbish

Dishes
Surfaces
Floor

As soon as one category is completely dealt with, or partially on stop (e.g the laundry is in the machine and I can't do another laundry task, I replace it with 'declutter' and so 15 mins of sorting and chucking instead. It works really well for me!

Consolidate the crap. I just fettled our playroom by putting plastic bags in front of the sofa: charity shop, toys, plastic tat, rubbish, keep?/not keep? and toys. I moved through the room that was not in a cupboard (so everything) throwing everything into relevant bag or onto the sofa if it didn’t match a bag. At the end I had an empty room apart from a few things on the sofa to find homes for.
I do a smaller version of this in living room and bedrooms-Chuck everything that’s out of place onto a sofa or bed (in broad areas /home rooms if I’m feeling organised) and then there’s a small space to tidy which feels less overwhelming. Good luck.

I second putting the music on.
I love the idea of walking around with a bin bag and filling it. I love cleaning but it's never occurred to me to do that ! The simplest ideas are the best.
Get moving, folks !!

Dont get distracted by the mess behind closed doors. Concentrate on the first layer of mess first.

I always start with the bathroom. It's usually the quickest and easiest, and it smells clean after so feels like an achievement. Then, I can look forward to a lovely long soak later on too

When I’m feeling overwhelmed, I can get stuck because I start trying to do too many things and they all end up half finished!

Sometimes I just pick one thing, like picking up all the clothes and putting them in the basket. When that’s done, I pick something else, put all the books back on the book shelf. Next empty the bins. Very very small steps! Don’t forget to eat/drink something to keep you going between jobs. Often I forget and then feel awful!
Good luck

“20 things”. So pick up 20 things off my work top, if it’s not clean do another 20 things. Pick 20 things off the floor. Etc. I also find timers work great so set timer for 8 minutes and see how much I can get done and repeat.

Right. Thanks for the kick. Slight delay due to taking offspring to mates for day trip.

Bed made
Shower had
Dishwasher emptied and refilled, on
Tumble dryer on for first load
Un tumble-able stuff on line to dry
Next load of washing in
Windows and doors open (jumper on)
Kettle on

MUSIC ON
Shit's getting real, folks...

Kitchen table cleared of junk and wiped
Crap put in garage
Kitchen cupboards wiped
Worktops cleaned
Ebay/marketplace bits posted online while I had a coffee

Have a quick walk to the shop to get some fresh air and treat yourself to some lovely smelling wax melts or zoflora. Housework is always more joyful when it smells lush!

Sounds like you are doing amazingly well.