ADHD, my house is so tatty

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Anyone like this? My house is perfectly fine structure and location wise. It looked great 20-25 years ago when my exH and I moved in and decorated top to bottom. A couple of years in he was earning more money and we paid decorators to repaint some rooms, nothing too fancy but clean and presentable. Replaced the bathroom.

In the 12 or so years I've been living there as the only adult, everything has slowly got faded, broken, dirty and I don't seem to be able to make myself do anything about it.

Whole house needs repainting really badly, need new carpets and flooring in places. That would make a huge difference . The kitchen and bathrooms are hugely outdated now but...I will never be able to replace those.

But I haven't got the money to pay anyone these days and hardly the money to pay for new paint! And no energy or will to do anything.

I feels sad and embarrassed about it but I don't see a way out. It's overwhelming.

It's just a very ordinary mid terrace, not a mansion or anything.

I am paying for some windows to be replaced as that is really urgent but that will use up all of my savings.

Anyone experiencing similar?

My house is the same. I don't have the bandwidth or the money to do much about it at the moment.

I'm focusing on decluttering and keeping it clean and tidy between now and Christmas.

After Christmas I plan start with a bit of painting. I'll start with the smallest room which is our downstairs loo. I'm hoping that the sense of achievement from that will help me progress to painting the second smallest room and so on.

But as long as it's structurally sound, safe, clean, tidy and functional for you then you are fine.

Sorry - should add that I have ADHD and I am autistic.

Identify with this strongly. I'm trying to become more minimalist which would really help.

Thank you both, that makes me feel less alone. I try as much as I can to keep things tidy and reasonably clean but not so good in corners, under beds, messy drawers etc.

@reallyworriedjobhunter that's really good about the painting. I worry that if I do a bad job it'll look worse 🤦🏻‍♀️

@SquirrelSoShiny decluttering is excellent, I need to do more of that.

I can identify with that.
In my case it’s a combination of adhd, not doing stuff when the dc were little, being skint at times, and then putting money into big things like floors and windows (well that was DH’s decision but sometimes it’s wise to defer to the grown up).

I think over a stretch of time, the look of a room becomes either dated, shabby or disjointed if you’ve replaced a few things. To look right you have to tackle a whole room (which has a knock on effect on the look of the house).

Don’t be scared of paint - it’s not hard but you do need to prep well and pay attention to details (ok, I lie. It’s bloody hard with adhd not to rush at it or get lost in hyper fixation).

I find that decluttering really helps - though I have to do it a layer at a time. But the more I can get out, the calmer it feels and then decorating is easier. I’ve decided I’m sick of tidying my bedroom and bathroom and I’m just getting rid of anything and everything that disrupts the space so that there’s less to put away.

Yes I know what you mean about the prep! I would just want to rush in with the paintbrush and start 😂

And yes, over the years I've lost any sense of what the style is. There isn't one basically.
If I replace the yucky bathroom floor then it will make the rest of the room look even worse!

Having said that I am starting to look at bathroom floor options, it would be good to just get something done (cheaply).