I need a kick up the arse please.

[mamicar]

I have zero motivation. Been at college since october and the house has really slipped. I am ashamed yo let anyone near it tbh.

There always seems to be piles of dirty washing all.over upstairs and piles of clean washing all over downstairs.

boys bedrooms are a tip x 3

our bedroom is a tip.

living room is probably the tidiest room in the house but still over run with toys and clean clothes.

kitchen is dirty. mucky dirty. I need to scrub it.

bathroom is a mess. nerds repainting too.

I also have a 1500 psychology report to write. 5000 word essay on adhd to write (already done 1000 and odd) 2 more maths assignments to do and revise for a biology exam.

its getting me down but cant seem to find energy to get it done. ive had a bad back. still sore but not as bad as it was. Also 3 boys at home now until the 28th. one of whom has severe adhd but is medicated.

please give a kick. or at least a plan for starting to tackle it :(

Oh, mamicar, I hear you. I really struggle with keeping on top of things (am a single parent, have a job, have other responsibilities and am also ill a lot of the time).

I've found the 20 minute rule really, really helpful. Set aside 20 minutes for doing some household task (putting clean washed clothes away, for example). Do your 20 minutes, then STOP. If you feel motivated to, do another 20 minutes later, but in the meantime, get on with all the other stuff you need to do (academic work and family stuff in your case, I'd imagine).

I combine this with limiting what I plan to do in any one session. I look at my TOTAL DISASTER of a bedroom (stuff all over the floor, my office on a corner overflowing with papers, etc etc) and if I think I need to clean the whole damn thing up, I'd collapse. But if I decide to do one thing - tidy my bedside table OR take all the paperwork off my desk and file it OR pick up all the clothes from the floor and hang them up or put them in the wash - then that makes it more manageable. The room as a whole will still be in a state, but one thing will be done, and that's better than nothing. Concentrate on a corner or surface which will look better when you've finished, rather than doing bits and pieces all over the room which won't look like anything when you are done, as that's more satisfying.

I've found the website "Unfuck Your Habitat" (which advocates the 20 minute rule) very helpful: www.unfuckyourhabitat.com/

Eg you say your kitchen is filthy. IGNORE IT ALL apart from the sink. Wash up for your first 20 minutes and leave the stuff to drain dry. Later on, come back, use your next 20 mins to put the dry dishes away and then scrub the sink. Use bleach if it's a white sink like mine. A sparkly sink as an oasis of clean in a kitchen otherwise full of crud is, I can testify, very satisfying and motivating!

thank you. I read back once id posted and kicked myself. I bought us new bedside tables this morning so me n the kids built them and then I cleared out old ones ready for tip and put new ones in there places.

it spurred me on and now my room and youngests room is done. ive sorted out mine and hubbys clothesand been ruthless and two of the boys clothes. just about to sort eldests clothes out now

Ha, brilliant! (But don't burn yourself out as that'll put you off starting next time.)

lol ive stopped now for today anyway.

might go again tomorrow.

I find it helps to have one or two messy areas rather than have the whole house in a state. So I have stopped having laundry hanging downstairs (used to dry it on radiators) and now only dry it upstairs. This will change a bit in the summer but will aim to get the basket upstairs again pretty quickly.