Divorced and sold house 2+ years ago, and now living in a 2 bedroom apartment. Had boxes remaining from moving out of the house stored in a storage unit for awhile, but the ultimate goal was to go through all of it and only keep what I needed. I ended up with the storage unit longer than I intended, and started to get annoyed with myself for paying to store stuff for so long- eventually got rid of some stuff, and then moved the boxes into my dining area so I could close and stop paying for the storage unit.

But... the boxes in my apartment are such an eye sore, and a constant reminder that I have too much clutter. I have been too overwhelmed to deal with them, until this week.

The number of boxes overwhelmed me because each box seemed to take awhile to get through because I have to make decisions about each item, most of which were also reminders of how my crappy marriage went awry, etc.

It occurred to me that it probably seemed worse than it was, and that I should just go through every box in one day, find everything that I could easily be tossed or donated, and get rid of that stuff immediately. Then categorize the remaining items and consolidate them and label those boxes. I was able to go from about 20 boxes to about 5, and now I know what is in those boxes- they no longer feel like the some overwhelming task. I threw away about 5 big bags of junk (sorry landfill), and I have about 3 boxes to donate that I will take care of next week.

I wish I had taken pictures because the whole situation feel and looks so much better. It feels like a huge leap forward instead of the incremental progress I was making otherwise.

I’m currently in the process of a major declutter of our house. (We’re a family of 4.) Some rooms are looking great. Other areas are in progress too. The single best thing that has helped me the most is to get a box of those huge black contractor bags. I’m not talking the regular trash bags, you need the really thick ones they sell at Lowe’s or Home Depot. Use one for trash and one for donations. Don’t use boxes. In the past, I’d struggle to find boxes to use, or my family would see stuff in them and try to take stuff back out. The huge black bags have been a game changer. It may seem like a basic tip but a lot of the posts here are relatable so maybe this will help someone else too. I also give you permission to throw stuff away. Sometimes it’s best to just get rid of it to restart. (I struggled with this for years.) Good luck!

Hello everyone! This is a midweek megathread for those small updates, accountability requests, and success stories that you want to send out to the universe!

Maybe ones that don’t require a full post but that still deserve some recognition, plans made today for over the coming days, or solicitations for suggestions on how to complete your intended tasks!

Still feel free to make absolutely any posts that you want, but if you prefer a smaller-format update option here it is! I want to encourage participation in whatever form it takes :)

ALSO!!! Pictures are enabled in comments so feel free to add pics of your area to tackle of your progress if you please :)

So, my landlord, who is a relative, wanted to replace something in the garage. I had the garage all ready, but then they suddenly wanted to go inside, and they saw how much stuff I have. I have been working on it, but right now things are pretty messy. This has been an issue before with my landlord, and they are livid. I told them I have been working on it, but they are PISSED. I understand, I apologized, said I was working really hard on it. They basically had to leave, they were so angry. This is the worst thing I can imagine happening. I don't know what's going to happen next. I am filling trash bags right now. I had it scheduled for next week, but the truck is available tomorrow. So I am frantically trying to make a big difference. I'm so ashamed, and scared.

My house is close to hoarder level. It’s embarrassing & infuriating every single day. I have seriously contemplated the minimalist lifestyle because I am so sick of never being able to find anything in all the stuff I own. Has anyone with ADHD successfully downsized to minimalism? Or at least a house wide purge. I need help & idk what to do. Any advice on large scale purging would be appreciated. Thank you.

Does a service even exist that can remove junk, organize and clean?

My depression is at an all time low because of my home and feel like I can't move forward until the space is livable. I've even tried hoarding services (despite not being a hoarder) and again, all they do is remove shit.

I just can't anymore.

So… trying to clear out old photos. Some are over 190 years old! Some snaps have who’s in them other snaps nothing written on the back.

Before I get into trouble about the volume and f picture (2 medium under bed storage totes -1 smaller plastic container ) … As older gen family died off these snaps were handed down - now it’s just me - no one wants them including me.

However… while going through the other plastic containers I found pics that I want to keep. They’re snaps of family in earlier years.

I’ve spoken to cousins that would like some photos that would have info about WHO it is written on the back.

Since I really do not care - should I just toss the whole bunch and tell cousins I couldn’t find any that they would like?

I just dunno. I’m overwhelmed!

I have been procrastinating for about 6 months with cleaning my kitchen. I do the dishes every couple days and clean the litterbox/sweep the area there. But I haven't scrubbed the floor (or swept) for quite awhile.

Sooooooo my fridge took a crap on me a few days ago which led to having to clean the fridge which morphs into washing other things in the kitchen(ie the counters, canisters, table, pantry and the garden window my 3 cats love to lounge in). I get done after about 17 hrs (I have to do it in little spurts so I don't have my back screaming at me) It's Saturday morning and my beautiful (Part Maine Coon/long haired beast) knocks a can of wet can food off the counter onto the floor. I come out and am immediately like "What the fuck, see why I don't clean? Cause you are a hot mess and don't appreciate it!" (yes I talk to my kitty like he is a person, I know he understands me) And for a few min I was in a bad mood and fuming over all the hard work I had done!! But I got ahold of my feelings and told them to fuck off!! I did the deed. And now I am gonna enjoy the fact that I cleaned not mad about what I have to clean next!!!

After I clean up the mess I am back to admiring the once again clean kitchen. Then for some reason I look up. And realize. . . . . . . . .

I FORGOT TO CLEAN THE FUCKING CEILING FAN!!!!!! WELL SHIT THE BED FRED!!! I KNOW WHAT IM GONNA HAVE TO DO TODAY BEFORE I LOOSE THE MOTIVATION.

Hello everyone! This is a Monday (and Tuesday!) megathread for those small updates, accountability requests, and success stories that you want to send out to the universe!

Maybe ones that don’t require a full post but that still deserve some recognition, plans made today for over the coming days, or solicitations for suggestions on how to complete your intended tasks!

Still feel free to make absolutely any posts that you want, but if you prefer a smaller-format update option here it is! I want to encourage participation in whatever form it takes :)

ALSO!!! Pictures are enabled in comments so feel free to add pics of your area to tackle of your progress if you please :)

My kitchen table has been a disaster for almost 2 months. Mostly bags of groceries I needed to put away. In typical ADHD fashion, at 10:30pm I finally got the motivation to put it away. I have a table & floor again & it only took about 30 minutes. 😅😩🤦🏼‍♀️

I have a problem. I accumulate stuff in the entryway. Ideally, my house would have a "staging area" or even a "staging room" which would be designed for "Preparing for going out of the house." But I have a small apartment, and thus, I do not have a specially designed "Staging Room." The thing is, I do stuff outside that requires me to take stuff with me. That stuff gets loaded into the car, I go and do activities, and then I come back with the stuff, and it ends up everywhere.

Even when I clean the entryway and hallway, it rapidly gets messy again. There seems to be no convenient and intuitive place to lay my stuff down when I come in the house. This is primarily because the entryway is somewhat of a bottleneck, or chokepoint, with narrow hallways going to the bedroom, living area, and kitchen (which isn't good for storing stuff).

I need some help and ideas. I've include a drawing to illustrate, as well as a list of examples of what this stuff is, mostly things needed for outside the house, and not inside the house. It's like my house has become a storage for outside things.

Note: I have closet space in the bedroom, by the entryway, and under the bathroom sink. That is all.

https://preview.redd.it/zhz1b27k7exd1.png?width=896&format=png&auto=webp&s=982fc11671d403ee8ebcaf88a301e24ab1c7ecdf

Stuff ready to go out

• Skateboard

• Bike

• Kite

• Skim board

• Backpack full of hiking gear

• Backpack for trail running

• Backpack with a change of clothes for sudden changes in weather

• Backpack with laptop and work gear

• Gym bag

• Side pack with basic stuff for a day about town

• Hiking clothes (Hanging on door)

• Misc hiking gear

• Misc camping gear (scattered everywhere in the house)

• Beach/picnic Chair

• Shoes

• Coats

• Books, journals, notebooks, and art material I take outside

Stuff coming in

• Mail

• Groceries

• Water bottles (kitchen counter)

Closet

• Coats

• Lightbulbs

• Face masks

• Hats

• Sunscreen

• Random stuff

I need a body double. I had to call my therapy coaching line today to get me started on cleaning that I've been putting off (specifically) all week (but really before that too). Once I started, I was okay. Does anyone who wants to body double once in a while happen to live in Lawrence, KS?

Posted here before about being very ashamed, and struggling to clean due to a recent injury. I have been following people's suggestions, I wanted to say thanks. The suggestion about the bathroom and kitchen being a priority was very wise.. Now I'm working on my front room. I have a junk truck scheduled in two weeks when I get paid again. I am really trying. I am not any less embarrassed but I am trying to move forward even if it's a little at a time.

First: love this sub, so much positive encouragement and so many detailed suggestions. I have been reading regularly for a few years now. I greatly admire and cheer on those who are making huge changes.

I'm a lifelong, ummm, "keeper" of things. I could tip over into hoarder territory but I never quite get there.

I can't let go of anything if I can justify keeping it for one of these reasons:

1. someone I care about gave it to me (this person can be long dead, or can not care or remember that they gave me the thing, or I didn't like it or use it ever even when the person first gave it to me, i.e. well meaning but age inappropriate art from grandparents)
2. someone, somewhere could use this, I just need to find the exact right target for this item (this nail polish color didn't work on me, but I still think it's nice, I'm going to hold onto it until I figure out exactly which friend to give it to; this type of item is not accepted by any charity or recycling program in my region so I'm going to hold onto it until I identify a program that will take it. I don't know anyone who needs this size children's clothes now but in several years friend X might have a child and I could give it to them)
3. It has one very nice quality even if I can't use it. (I love the color of this sweatshirt but it's too big or the material is uncomfortable, I will keep it around forever just so I can look at this color; I don't have other books by this author so I should keep this one even though I didn't like it and won't read it again)
4. Anything at all to do with my two sons who are now 13 and 10. Any scribble they made on any paper ever. Every school paper and project (I have friends who take photos and get rid of most originals, I cannot bear to do this). Every book I can recall reading together even if we only read it a few times.

As a result of the above I have WAAAY too much shit and I am REALLY constantly stressed out about it. I set aside huge amounts of time to declutter and tidy and pack and donate but I end up giving away like a small bag of stuff every few weeks.

I've tried all of the systems and steps suggested here including everything with timers. I have made playlists and tried rewarding myself and just so many other things. I cannot seem to shift from "must keep" to "fine to toss/recycle/donate" and I'm just desperate for that switch to flip.

Is there any help for me?? Thanks so much for your patience this got hella long!

edit: coming back to thank everyone SO much for the insightful and thought-provoking (and very kind!) comments. I've had a work emergency come up that is going to occupy some time but I will be back to comment/reply more thoughtfully and to try some of your ideas. Thank you.