To ask you all for some help tidying my house?

[Sapph1e]

Not practical help, obviously, but advice. I have bipolar disorder and I'm finding it extremely hard to make decisions/stop feeling overwhelmed.

I've been away over Christmas and my sister has been staying in the house and she hasn't really kept on top of the housework. Everywhere is a mess, some places worse than others.

Where do I start?? What do I do?? I know this sounds really pathetic and crap but I find this stuff so hard I've even downloaded a home organisation app....!

make a list of what needs doing in each room and then work through it at your own pace. I find it helps keep my focused

Start with the obvious stuff, dishes, moving rubbish, putting dirty washing in the wash basket.
Then put things that have an obvious home back in it.
Clean the bathroom, clean the kitchen worktops, make beds, straighten sofa cushions.
Then dust all surfaces, and Hoover/sweep/steam/mop all floors

I always start with the kitchen, do the pots, clean the surfaces and mop the floor... It always feels better when the kitchen is clean.

I'd then move onto the sitting room, put stuff away, quick vac and polish and you will (well I always do) feel like the big jobs are done and you can at least sit and relax somewhere even if the rest of the house is a tip!

Don't think if it as having to do the whole house today! Good luck x

Start by putting everything in the room it should be in.

Do you have any giant ikea bags or similar? I find them great for laundry - grab everything that is dirty and bag it up. You can work through it as and when. Strip the beds. Even if you only manage to get a little bit done today, tucking yourself up in fresh bedsheets will be well deserved.

Start in the kitchen or bathroom. Dont leave the room til everything is washed and put away, surfaces and cupboard fronts are wiped over and the floor is swept and mopped.

Do the lounge last, nothing more tempting to stop work than a comfy living room.

Start with anything you can (something small) - dishes, chucking rubbish away in a bag, laundry. It doesn't matter what just do something. Once you've done that - pick another thing and keep going. If I think of everything it seems to much but just start and you'll soon get into it (music helps)

Little and often is more manageable than tackling huge tasks. Good storage helps, as it's easier to tidy up if it's clear where everything belongs

I start by putting a wash on. Then go round the whole house with a rubbish bag and get rid of any obvious rubbish. Then laundry...pick up any dirty clothes from every room and bring to the basket. Then crockery/cutlery- bring them to the kitchen. Once you've gone that, spend 20 minutes in each room getting it straight...make beds, open curtains, put things roughly where they belong. When each room is tidy, go round surfaces with a damp cloth. Finally, hoover the whole house, and open the windows for an hour.

What?!! A house organiser app, I so need one of these!!
Don't pressure yourself to do the whole house today. Put everything in the right room to start with. I tend to go round and dump the right belongings in the right room, then tidy them away when I move to that room to clean.
Do the kitchen & living room then you have a nice place to relax in.
Then bathrooms
Then bedrooms
Small steps, you will get there. X

Thank you very much everyone! I feel ridiculous, but honestly, the whole thing is so overwhelming. I think part of the problem is that my house is tiny so space is at a premium and it's hard to be tidy when things don't have homes!

Cookie it's called the Home Routine app. £2.99 but I'm definitely thinking that it will be worth it!!! Lol.

I only look at one job at a time, then it's not so overwhelming, I'm currently clearing a cupboard full of junk.

I start with a small area that I am motivated to tackle/seems easiest e.g a pile of paperwork, magazines etc. Often this leads to a spot of momentum for sorting out other (possibly bigger) tasks. Admiring the difference helps too.

I have bp too. Having a clean and tidy house helps me feel unstressed but getting it there is stressful.

I tend to tackle the things that will make the biggest psychological difference first just to get in the right frame of mind. So tidying my bedroom or the kitchen first in my case but might be different for you.

Can't help I'm afraid. Am in a similar position and keep getting distracted from one task to another do start off putting clothes away, then get distracted into sorting drawers and now hanging ds2's new glow in the dark solar system up.

Am going to look up App too.

i have this issues to today, but i have depression not bipola, so i can understand s ome what the over whelming feeling a clean house makes me feel better but i mess thrws me and i have no idea how t get it back.

my plan of action is

bin bag-- pick rubbish up
moves all dishs to kitchien
put washing in baskets
make beds

things s houldnt look to bad then, start with one room.
iv just done the kids room.
about to start the bathroom.

Ask your sister to help you.very unkind and lazy of her to leave your house in a mess

I have decided that even though my house is a tip, as long as I end each day with it a little bit tidier than when I got up, then I am doing well. That stops me from becoming too overwhelmed and also gives me a feeling of achievement.

Start with kitchen, collect up all the dishes in the house and wash, clean surfaces and sort things for other rooms. Then make a coffee and relax for 10 mins. Next, washing, sort into loads, put one on, and go and make the beds. Have another cuppa if you are flagging. Open all the windows in the house, open all curtains, and start in the living room. Tidy surfaces, hoover inc sofa, then damp wipe all surfaces. Sit and read a magazine, watch some TV etc. Then clean the bathroom. Last put your clean washing to dry and put another load in, put any dry washing away. Tidy, hoover and dust bedrooms last. This doesn't need to be done all in one go, aim to do one room a day and keep it nice, if you can do extra great, but you don't have to. Give your sister a rocket for leaving a mess though. Cheeky moo!

I've been tidying my house since Christmas. I've got a big plastic box that I take around with me to put all those 'we need to keep them but they don't have actual homes' things. I've found it allows me to focus on tidying what should be there and not rushing off into the untouched rooms and getting all stressed. I havent finished yet and I do have a box full of stuff, but I know that everything that has been tidied is in its right place, neat and tidy. Now I can decide if I really need to keep this stuff, get more storage, put it in the loft, whatever, but I can make those decisions in a nice tidy house.

DH seems to be doing his best to undo all my good work though, so some retraining will be needed...

Im with you OP - about to go start now so good luck.

clg99 I like your box idea.

Thank you everyone, all of your tips have helped :)

I have now sorted what was a pretty disgusting kitchen, vacuumed downstairs, straightened rugs, etc.

Yes - I agree - my bedroom being tidy would be a huge psychological advantage. It's the worst room in the house!! I feel like everyone else deserves to have clean areas before I do.

Off to walk the dogs now :) Thank you all again.

My bedroom is the worst in the house too!

I would love it to be tidy as it would mean the rest of the house was tidy too!

Even if you don't get around to properly sorting your bedroom yet, make the bed every morning.
Chuck the covers back to air it when you go in the bathroom but make sure it's made before you go downstairs.

It's makes the worst room look better and it's an incentive to get going and make the bedroom match the bed!