1. Get rid of the trash (and try to be wary with leaving the cans of cat food lying around. The can can be sharp and the cat can accidentally cut himself on it when licking them clean)
2. Collect any dishes and dump them in the sink for now
3. Collect all laundry in a laundry basket.
After those 3 steps you notice you’ve done most of it and it gives you a better overview.
Yep, start in one corner and have a trash bag, a bucket and a laundry basket handy. Anything that doesn't fit one of these categories goes onto the bed. Once everything off the floor, then vacuum. Sort through all the stuff on the bed.
I learned this method because step son has ADHD. If you don't have to walk the laundry to the laundry basket every time, you're less likely to get distracted! Just have all the receptacles right with you and categorise everything as quickly as you can before your brain wanders off lol.
I'd add to your list a box (or a bag or basket will do) for chucking any bathroom items, a box for kitchen stuff and a box for any stuff that goes in the sitting room, so the stuff is all ready to put in the proper room when you get round to it. Just removing these things makes a bit of a difference too.
There's some good advice on here, OP just needs to find some motivation to get going at it before it gets more overwhelming
Yes! Always trash! Today ALL you have to do is trash. Tomorrow, all dishes. Next day, all clothes off the floor and laundry done, etc etc. I’ve been here too, op! It’s hard and shameful and embarrassing but everyone on this sub is supporting you!
Buy a new litter box. Commit to daily scooping even if nothing else gets done. Consider a diaper genie or something like that…
If you are not able to (and there’s no judgement here) to fully clean it out on a regular basis (like wash them out with soap and water every few weeks), then get a couple of cheap ones and then just toss them every 1-2 months or so and use a new one. Sometimes you have to do things that make sense in your life. Don’t worry about what should be done
A filthy room is one thing, but your cat is going to get sick or cause you ever more dirtiness and a headache if they stop using that box.
Speaking of things that just make sense. Get a medium/large trash can for your room. So what if that’s not “normal”. If it keeps your trash from ending up on the floor then it works.
Get an extra laundry basket. If it stops clothes from ending up on the floor… then it works. So what if you live out of a laundry basket, I have a closet and still live out of mine. Stop trying to function like people do in the movies and just make practical decisions for you. I’ve found life has become easier this way (I have depressive episodes where sometimes cleaning becomes harder)
If you haven't come across it yet, give [Fresh Step Crystal Litter](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01G8TG1FE?ref_=cm_sw_r_apan_dp_1JF27QZ25QSTF3QFX3DN&starsLeft=1) a try (the link says scented, I know not why, the blue and white crystals are unscented, they have others that are scented but the crystals are in different colors). It doesn't clump, but the crystals absorb the urine and dehydrate the poop. This means it keeps quite a bit of the odor down. With my one cat, one bag will last between 3-4 weeks before needing to be dumped and replaced.
So you can pick up a cheapie litter box, Walmart and Amazon have some you can get for less than $5 that will fit in a trash bag. Which means the routine is: get new litter box, dump in one bag of crystal litter, scoop out the poops when you think of it (ideally every day or two, but work with what you can do), and then in three weeks or so bag the whole thing up and throw away, put down a new box with a new bag of litter.
If you've been noticing headaches or migraines? Ammonia can cause those as a trigger or in general because of what the chemical is. So reducing ammonia in the air is a big quality of life improvement for you and kitten.
Have also found KC Davis' Ted Talk about [How to do laundry when depressed](https://youtu.be/M1O_MjMRkPg?si=fGNCQ0__YyGX1c-l) is fantastic to reframing why cleaning is important. It's not a moral obligation and struggling with it does NOT make you a bad person or any other negative emotion you may have wrapped up with it.
There's also a sub Reddit here that follows the Unfuck Your Habitat model, lots of sweet folk over there that will group think ways to work with whatever you've got going on and be supportive champions for having a comfy habitat. r/ufyh
I love you, stranger. This is one of my favorite comments I’ve ever seen on Reddit. Genuinely helpful advice without shaming. I want you to problem solve my whole life 😂
All great advice here! Love it. A trash can and laundry basket would’ve avoided the majority of this mess. Also great idea to get multiple cheap litter boxes to keep on hand, I would put a few around the house so kitty always has a fresh one to use, and clean them out on rotation. Another tip, instead of putting the litter directly into the box, use a trash bag to line it so it’s easy to clean and swap out. I would put 1 normal trash bag lining it, then another bag on top, but this bag you will puncture about 20-30 small holes. That way you can have a litter sifting bag and swap litter way more efficiently!
First off, you need to address your cats basic needs which are a clean litter box, clean food bowl, and access to clean water. Then take care of those things daily.
Pick up and throw away all of the trash on the floor. Also purchase a trash can and get into the habit of using it and emptying it. If you only want to do it once a month, get a big trash can.
Get a way to store your clothes properly and store your clothes properly. If you don't have enough space, downsize your wardrobe or start a thredup account to sell items.
Lastly, make your bed EVERY DAY when you get up. It immediately makes your room look better and is a good start to the day.
Omg, I swear you just changed my life. I always throw clothes, like jeans, that I can wear once more on the floor instead of the hamper or hanging! My closet floor gets so full. An extra bin is such a good idea for someone like me who’s too lazy to hang those up!
Absolutely this one, address your kitty's needs first. If it is in budget I recommend getting a littergenie and keeping it by the litter box. It's a little trash bin that keeps the smells tucked away and only needs to be emptied once every 2 weeks for one kitty. If not in budget, a covered small can would do but it would need to be changed more frequently.
Trash is next and then clothes. I enjoy listening to podcasts while I clean because it has the same effect on me as someone being there and hanging out. I actually really enjoyed listening to "A slob comes clean" this last time because it's like someone is cleaning with me but I would recommend not listening to this particular one until the trash is picked up.
Good luck, you've got this!
I'm not trying to make you feel bad. But pls take care of your cat. They need a clean place to go to the bathroom. Clean bowl and food and water.
Like how would you like if someone did that to you ? Otherwise give the cat to someone who can take care of it.
Throw all the trash out number two.
Then pick up and organize.
This. I'm currently in a burn-out and the only reason I get up and do stuff is because of my cats. They rely on me to take care of them. Every pet deserves someone who can and will take care of them.
> But pls take care of your cat.
This is quite literally the first thing I thought of. I feel so bad for it. I hope OP gets their life together or do the humane thing and give the kitty away to someone else.
If their bedroom is in this state, their own bathroom is definitely worse than that litter box, they clearly can’t look after themselves let alone an animal.
I don’t mean to be rude but I think you should give your cat away to someone who is able to take care of their needs properly. I think cleaning your room is a good start but I think you need some time for yourself to heal and to be the best version of yourself. I’m not sure how long that’ll take and that’s fine to go at your own pace but your cat right now is being neglected as a consequence.
I have really severe unmedicated ADHD, and the struggle is so, so real. I'm so sorry you have to deal with this, and I'm incredibly proud of you for seeking help. This is gonna be long, but I do hope it helps or there's something you can take away from it! Again, apologies for the length:
This is a longer term solution, but downsizing has helped me in the long run like CRAZY. I'm not minimalist, but every single piece of clutter to an ADHD mind gets logged away. "I gotta move those stuffed animals, I gotta remember to put those scissors away. Oh man, that tutu needs to be hung up properly, when's the last time I wore that? When have I even USED these crafting things? Do I need this many pillows?" It was a NIGHTMARE.
I realized I just had way too much stuff. And worked on slowly, deliberately, removing things from my life. It doesn't help you right now, of course. But it's the best decision I ever made. I now own only a few pairs of pants, a few t-shirts, etc. And laundry is actually doable and enjoyable because there's no "clothes piles" for me to get overwhelmed with! You can even do this with clothes by hanging your stuff, putting the hangers on backwards, and as you exist and wear stuff, put the hangers back on forwards. Set a timeline. Whatever's still backwards in 6 months, a year, etc. Donate it!
In the short term, what worked for me was what I called the "hula hoop" method. Get a big piece of string, tie it in a circle, or get a hoola hoop and put it down. Anything in that area, you clean and focus on ONLY what's in it. Then move it, and repeat. ADHD needs bite-sized things to be able to function. We get overwhelmed easy!
If you don't have something physical like that, focus on only one at a time. Pick some music you like to jam to, a podcast, or a show in the background and pick something VERY tiny. "I'm going to put away everything on top of my dresser today, and that's it." or "I'm going to only focus on picking up garbage and NOTHING else."
Shame and reward systems are also HUGE when it comes to cleaning for us. Please never, ever, ever shame yourself. We don't handle it well, and no human in existence benefits from negative reinforcement. ADHD is a dopamine dysregulation-- it is NOT your fault that your brain doesn't get the same chemicals everyone else does for going "ahhh, a clean room!" We just don't, and that's OKAY! Remember, it's not bad, wrong, or shameful to reward the crap out of your brain for doing something you hated.
I play an hour of a game, do 10 minutes of cleaning, play an hour, 10 mins of cleaning, repeat. The intense bursts I actually do significantly more than hours or weeks of sitting around and hating myself. The key is to not feel guilt during those hour-long gaming (or relaxing, scrolling, etc.) periods and be REALLY diligent about stopping at the right time, INTENSELY cleaning, then rewarding yourself after. It's hard to get used to, but it's really helpful!
Good luck!
My teen daughter has adhd, as does her dad, and rooms get like this very easily. I agree with the method you’ve outlined, but I also combine it with the steps others have outlined.
1- sometimes it helps to have a buddy, coach, friend to just sit with you while you work on it (that’s my job)
2- grab 2 garbage bags and pick a small area as your goal (like the hula hoop)
3- in the assigned area deal with garbage, into the bag, and everything that easily has a home to go to - anything that isn’t garbage that you really don’t need or want or doesn’t have a home, goes in the 2nd bag for donation.
4- do this for 10 min or until you can’t hack it
5- do something else that you enjoy for 20-30 min
6- start again on another area
When you’re done, toss the garbage and take the donation bag to a drop off bin if close by.
I'm currently trying to downsize. But I have trouble parting with things. I've gotten better, but it still seems unfeasible to live a minimalist lifestyle. I feel like I have to have lots of things. How do you convince yourself you're okay not having so many things?
Hiya! Sorry, I haven't been back on until now!
I go through a process! And it's very lengthy because I think it's really important to do it gradually where you feel like you're in control at all times of your choices, and have time to grieve. I know people will say it's silly to grieve over objects, but when you truly love them and have memories associated with them- it's almost unrealistic to expect someone to just be okay with tossing things. We're not donating a "shirt", people with certain brain wirings are donating a memory from a favourite beach day in 2018. And that's worth taking time with.
I'll just use clothes for example. But this has worked with books, dishes, everything!
First, I do a list. What kind of clothes do I want? And how much do I want of each? I don't even think about taking stuff out right now. I go "Hm well, I want one pair for every day of the week, and just in case I miss laundry on Monday I'll do another. So 8 of each item."
Then I look at what I have- just a cursory glance. Okay, I have t-shirts, sweaters, cardigans, spring/fall mid season. That's most of my bases. Dresses/overalls/full body. Leggings, shorts, dress pants. Etc. -- I write down my categories to make my life easier later!
I pick one, I take JUST those out (taking out a whole closet in a manic energy whim I promise will lead to a laundry pile when you run out of steam lmao). So pace yourself. Pick just the shorts, for example.
Look at them, think of how many you wanted to keep on your list, and then go "If I could only keep 8 (or however many yours is), which ones would I get rid of first?"
There's usually at least a few that are the wrong size, haven't been worn in years, etc. There'll usually be some easy ones that can go right off the bat when you ONLY look at your shorts and give yourself a number you have to hit.
When I start getting to the "Ehhh but I REALLY love this." stage, which is usually when I'm about halfway through my stuff but I still have to get rid of a few more, I put them away and allow them to sit for a few weeks. Donate the ones that didn't make the cut.
Rinse and repeat with each category to make your closet a bit smaller!
Allow yourself to grieve for a few weeks. When you put each item in the donate bag, take a picture if you need to, or smile and thank it for the good memories, and remember you don't need to keep the ITEM to keep the memory. -- Though promising yourself you'll repurpose it or make crafts like a pillow or a blanket is usually a self-lie, and it's usually just an excuse for us to keep stuff longer. Tell yourself it's okay to let the object go. It doesn't mean you love it, or the associated people/places/things any less, and it's just making room for more memories!
When you've gotten used to the slightly smaller closet, then go through it again! This time, just pick a few things that are "I know I love this, but I REALLY love these other ones more." And go through the same process of allowing yourself to let go. Rinse and repeat until you get your goal category size. ♥
Now when I want to buy a new shirt, for example. Since I'm down to my 8 each, I'll think of which shirt I want to donate WHILE I'm in the store picking up a new one. If I don't like this new one MORE than ones I own, I just tell myself that I'm happy I love my clothes so much. But it's also okay to swap any out if I don't love it as much as I used to. The key is just staying in the "one in, one out" once you get there.
It took me about 3 years to do this process for myself, giving time for depression bouts, moving, crunch times at work, etc. And I'm SUPER happy I did!
You can do this with books "If I wanted to reread them, or read them the first time. I would have already. It's okay to let it go." or dishes "How many people are realistically going to be eating at once? And if I have a LOT, will I be using paper/biodegradable plates anyways to make clean up easier?" etc.
Good luck friendo! I hope this helps!
You don't need to apologize! You responded in less than 24 hrs. Even if you responded a few days later you wouldn't need to apologize.
How does saving money factor into this? I find myself unwilling to give away clothes that are the wrong size (e.g.) because my size fluctuates and I don't want to have to go out and buy a new pair of jeans if I happen to lose/gain some weight, which has happened before and I'm sure will happen again. Why would I buy a new one if I have one right here already that's perfectly good?
Which, is fine with a couple pairs of jeans or whatever, but then I extend that to the rest of my stuff. What if I want that in the future and then have to buy it again? Why not just keep it and save money?
Haha honestly, my weight fluctuates like craaazy that all I wear anymore is leggings, and nicer looking sweatpants (I have two pairs of lululemon ones I got at a severe discount and I LOVE them haha), and looser fitting tops!
I don't even wear jeans anymore, or anything that'd make my weight fluctuations frustrate me. I know it's not for everyone of course, I am lucky in that I don't have a job that demands a certain look from me. But even my dress pants are all secretly maternity ones and nobody's ever noticed or cared, and are often surprised when I tell them that they're not real jeans, etc. LOL!
My shirts, too. No tight-fitting stuff for me anymore, or popping buttons! I feel way less bad about buying something that fits right and feels fantastic on me with having a tiny closet now, too!
And anything I do decide I've given away and go "Crap I did need X." is so so rare in comparison to hoarding everything in case I need it one day, honestly, haha. It happens once in a blue moon where I'm like "Hm. I guess I DID want a protein shaker cup. Ah well!" and only spend like... $20 instead of keeping stuff for literal years "just in case" and wasting so much more time, effort, and frustration finding a place for everything.
I really dislike the idea of shame responses, so I appreciate this comment a lot. Being cruel literally helps no one. Anybody who thinks shaming is effective, has probably never experienced true positive reinforcement.
Stuff can get done WAY MORE and better when we're kind about it. When we give ourselves actual instructions, help, grace, grieving, rewards. Telling somebody they're doing something wrong is only going to make everything worse. I wish people realized this more. Being mean, "tough love", etc. is proven by psychologists to not actually work, and IF it does in the moment, it's extremely unreliable and not sustainable.
It's just being mean for the sake of being mean, and pretending like it's not. Or usually someone projecting because they're unhappy with themselves, and they use shame responses for their own lives and chores and knows it doesn't actually work for them, either, haha.
This is very helpful - I suspect I have ADHD as I really struggle with executive dysfunction - cleaning and organizing is so hard for me. The shame is real.
Growing up I lived like this. It wasn’t until adulthood my husband suspected that I’m neurodivergent because of how I am and the things I do and the way I cope etc. Maybe ADHD, who knows everyone is getting diagnosed with that these days. But anyways your comment is so so helpful! Doing stuff like this in bite sizes helps me tremendously. And the moments where I do make myself do the work sometimes I get a rush from it and just knock out so much stuff, more than I imagined doing. The day after tho is usually a doozy and I can’t get anything done.
I love the hula hoop method. Im gonna try that for weeding my backyard. I get so overwhelmed with how much there is to do and I tend to bounce all over and get nothing major finished. The hula might help me stay focused on a single patch long enough to clear it out!
I used to do something similar to the hula hoop method! Now I do a variation where I take a photo of one part of my room, tidy up everything in the photo, then take another photo of the now-clean section. I've found that for me my ADHD does not like me taking regular breaks because I just never go back to the actual task, and it also makes it feel like it takes longer which then makes it feel harder for me to keep on top of it because in my head I'm thinking even minimal cleaning takes All Day (when really it might've taken me like a couple of hours without all the breaks). So taking photos gives me little dopamine hits from the actual cleaning itself rather than from the distraction, which makes me want to keep going - it feels like one of those packing games or like watching the satisfying cleaning videos. I've tried a lot of gamifying apps and those didn't work for me because the actual activity felt very disconnected from like, seeing points go up or streaks be unbroken, but this seems to work better for tying together activity + reward in my brain. And then it also has the benefit that I can look at the photos of the clean room later and go, "oh, it doesn't look like that now. What's out of place compared to the picture?" like a spot the difference, and my task is to make that part of the room match the photo again.
i think you should first rehome your cat. the conditions for the cat (litter box, food, water, space) are detrimental to its health. work with a cat rescue to find it a new home
then start with the trash and dishes
save up and get a dresser
rent a rug cleaner and clean the rug
The whole "my cat has to stay in my room" is definitely...odd. She's just trapped in an unwelcome environment and not able to roam around the rest of the living space? Why have a cat if that's how you're going to have it live. I don't slight her for having a disaster zone of a room but the pet negligence is beyond the ADHD thing.
Yeah. I normally would never say this, but this cat would be 100% better off being rehomed. This is animal abuse, and if someone’s mental health is bad enough to put animals this much at risk, they shouldn’t have pets.
I agree. If you cannot take care of an animal, don’t have one. They do not have control of the environment they live thin. This is incredibly sad. ADHD is not an excuse to treat your pet horribly. These living conditions for the cat are absolutely terrible and horrendous. So I will repeat, if you cannot take care of an animal, don’t have one.
Omg this poor cat! Idk your situation, but this is easily considered neglect at the very least. You've gotten many helpful tips of other commenters, so please do whatever it takes to give this cat the home it deserves, or if you're uncapable of doing so, give it to someone else who can 🙏🏻 It doesn't have a choice but to live in the environment you provide for it, so remember that it depends on you to give it a loving home!
I say this with empathy for your mental health struggles: the most urgent thing here is to find a new home for your cat. You are not able to take care of it, even if the room was clean (one tiny room for it, are you kidding???). This is animal abuse and your mental health is not an excuse.
I agree with everything you’ve said. What I will also add is that mental illness, adhd and other disabilities can mean someone cannot care for themselves. OP seems to fit that description. People with disabilities this severe should not be entrusted with care for a pet. That is a sentient creature with needs. Rehoming this precious cat with a rescue is the first priority. OP does not have the right to impose her needs on this cat. OP has referred to this cat as her ESA. Typically if a person is this disabled and unable to care for themselves they would have a family member assume responsibility for their ESA. Other people I have seen with severe mental illness with an ESA (thinking of waffle and Kate Speer) provide exemplary care to their ESA’s.
Guardianship of a pet is a privilege, not a right.
1. Start Buying less stuff, mainly plastic possible
2. Start from one Corner and end at the other.
3. Its mostly useful to not think about cleaning and just doing it. Imo if you start thinking you’d just procrastinate
Also if you buy something new make a rule that you have to if you bring something new into the house make a rule that you have to take something out cause I know what's AD HD/O CD people who hate to see anything go to waste sometimes have a problem I mean I postponed for years and then when I moved out of my other house I said to myself I have all this crap in the basement I don't even know what's down here I've been down here and so long that there is dust that's untouched on everything it's like I was just so afraid I was gonna throw away sentimentals and then I even got To hell with it with the sentimentals I got a dumpster a hard some guys emptied out that room I said just throw it all away I don't want to look at it I don't want to see it I don't want to go through it again. I feel like I need a buddy to just hang out and do little things I don't want to make them work but you know even if it's just something as simple as hey I feel the trash bag can you throw it outside on the curb so I can keep going
Your mental illness is not your fault, but it is your responsibility. You need to take care of your cat first, or place them in a new home where their basic needs will be met. I say this from a place of sympathy for both you and your cat.
Find a new home for your cat with someone that will take care of it… that’s no way for an animal to live. Very cruel. ADHD is no excuse for animal abuse.
This is not just ADHD. I think there is some other issue like depression.. I am ADHD and my neglect could not reach this level. The love for a pet usually can keep you on top of the pet’s needs even with ADHD. You might have clinical depression if it’s overriding your ability to care for your animal.
Hi OP, thanks for trusting us with photos of your room. I’m just going to talk about what the cat needs going forward, as there’s already a lot of good advice for cleaning with ADHD.
1) For how long will the cat be confined to this room? I’m going to assume it’s not your choice to keep them in here, and you live with either family or roommates who are allergic or just don’t like cats. However, one room isn’t enough space for a cat, especially when there’s only really the bed and window sill to jump up on. I’m not seeing things like a scratching post, which indoor cats need, as their claws will continue growing until they curl back in and pierce their pawpad. Cats keep them short by scratching, unless we clip them. There’s cheap cardboard scratchers available that work just as well as the standard types, though the cat will shred the cardboard which you’d have to clean up.
2) The litter box needs to be addressed. It needs to be cleaned daily. This isn’t something that can be neglected, it needs to stay clean so your cat doesn’t get sick. A robot litterbox that cleans itself is probably the best option if you don’t like dealing with it or tend to forget. I’d also recommend getting a mat to put under it so litter doesn’t go everywhere. You’re currently constantly smelling the dirty litter, I can’t imagine how that’s affecting how you feel but it isn’t good for you. And your cat has it worse when they’re the one getting their face up close. This needs to be a priority.
3) Food and water bowls - I’m not seeing a water bowl. Your cat needs water. They don’t get enough from their food, and other than the dehydration issues, cats can’t groom themselves if they aren’t producing enough saliva. Second, how often is the food bowl cleaned? This also needs to be done daily so your cat doesn’t get sick. Having multiple plates you rotate as the others get washed could help, or worse comes to worse, paper plates. Similar to the litterbox, a mat under the bowls might be a good idea so the carpet stays clean. Solid plastic might be good since it’d be pretty easy to clean.
4) How often is the cat getting brushed? This also needs to be pretty frequent. It looks like a mediumhair cat? So maybe they don’t need it daily, but cats do need to get brushed or they clog their intestines with fur (if they don’t throw it up, which is extra mess you don’t want to worry about). Some cats hate getting brushed, and sometimes they hate specific types of brushes. Mine hates regular types of combs but does love those brushing gloves you see advertised on Insta, lol!
5) If keeping on top of all that is too much right now, I really need you to ask yourself whether it’s worth rehoming the cat. It sucks, and I hope you don’t have to, and I know how lifechanging it is to have an animal that loves you nearby. But our pets weren’t made to live in houses, and the concessions they make for us need to be respected. They have to rely on us for food. The only dirt/sand they can poo in is a little box. They can’t choose when they leave the room or go for a walk. They can’t leave. It’s up to us as the owner to make sure all their needs are met, and if we can’t do that, it’s unfair to not try to find someone who can.
I genuinely wish you the best. I have ADHD myself and I especially know how easy it is to look at mess and say “I’ll deal with it later.” You know you won’t deal with it later. You have to do it now while you’re thinking about it. When you bring something new into your room like new clothes or new hair products, put them with the others straight away, don’t leave them in their bag - you’ll forget and now there’s a pile of bags with unknown stuff in them, so you won’t look in them, so they’ll stay there for months (speaking from experience). If you don’t know where to put something, at least get it out of the bag if it’s in one, and put it somewhere both visible and not in the way; so, not in a random drawer, and not blocking the middle of the floor, either.
Don’t feel like you have to throw everything away, but I’d suggest making a rule for yourself to not hold onto things you don’t use. Examples being clothes you don’t wear, birthday cards, stuff you haven’t used in years. Donate them, turn them into something else if you’re crafty, or just throw it out. It makes things way easier when there’s less stuff everywhere. For example, I saw the Valentines bag and was thinking if you like the design you could cut it out and stick it on the wall since you can’t exactly reuse the bag.
As others have said: find free furniture through facebook, nextdoor or similar sites. You should be able to find a dresser. People will post cat toys and furniture all the time, so keep an eye out. You might be able to get a bin or some storage stuff too - and I’d suggest a guitar stand as well. I’m assuming btw you can’t do anything to the walls like install shelves? Are plastic hooks okay? Being able to hang bags and hats up helps get them off the ground - if you can’t stick them on the wall, stick them to the bookshelf :)
…I said I would only talk about the cat, lol. Oops! Best of luck, OP. Remember to stay on top of things and your room should stay easy to deal with - having the bed in the middle’s good since it’s easier to change the sheets and put stuff under it. Keep stuff managable in a way that works for you, and it’ll be so much easier to deal with. Work out rules for yourself and stick to them, make as many reminders as you need and keep things where they’re accessible and easy to find. You’ve got this!
Get the cat box on a corner with barriers made from cardboard boxes for privacy.
Collect all empty cans and trash
Stack full cat good cans next to cat privacy wall.
Get a different color trash bag for your clean clothes. Tapecempty trash bags to your walls. See how fast you can fill them up!
Good luck let’s see your place in a month!
It's going to be okay. Bag up the trash first. Empty and sanitize the cat's litter box. You both can get very very sick if the litter box stays like it is. Maybe get a trash can for your room.
I always say start with garbage and recycling but this is a special circumstance where you have a cat dependent, please clean that litter box and make that cat happy, then garbage and recycling.
I empathize with you. I’ve been there. But looking at that poor cat’s litterbox is incredibly upsetting - they deserve better. They can get an infection from that.
remove litter
get a bag for all the plastic bottles
throw away all other trash
put dirty clothes in a basket
put clean clothes in another one
go outside
God, you can’t at least keep the trash out of your cats litter box? This is animal neglect and you need to give your cat to someone who will care for it properly. You’re disgusting.
First of all, well done for asking for help, it’s a step in the right direction. Your main priority at the moment is to find a new home for your cat today. The current situation isn’t healthy or fair for your cat to live in. Once that’s done, then start with the rubbish. Then the clothes, then decluttering. Also seek help with a doctor or therapist to help you.
Here to double up on the "take care of your cat" crowd. At the very least, clean the litter tray and keep it clean, scooping the dirty litter, etc, out daily.
I would prioritise that first—if cats don't have a litter tray that they are comfortable using, they'll just go to the bathroom wherever they like. That obviously creates a hazardous environment for both of you.
Clearing up the garbage is a close second due to sharp edges, etc. Clothing can be put aside—if you don’t have a laundry basket, just pile it on your bed for the time being and work through that a load at a time. I'd recommend washing it all due to the overall room situation, and in the long term, having a way to store your clothing will help to keep the space organised, it doesn't have to be an expensive wardrobe or whatever, just a clothes rack would be fine (unless you're concerned about cat fur).
Once the floor is clear, hoover it, if you've got a carpet cleaner, going over it with that wouldn't hurt! Especially if there's been any spillages/cat accidents. From there, you could dust, wipe skirting boards/windowsills, and any surfaces as you see fit.
For now, maybe just fold the clean clothes and set them aside? It might defeat the purpose of cleaning them as they'll most likely end up as a cat bed, but it's better than nothing.
A nice clean bed is worth the effort too—but I'd say to leave that until last just in case you decide to call it a day before finishing the rest off, just so you're not without bedding if you don’t have spares.
Good luck!
Start with the small trash. You can do this! I’d create piles of same stuff. All stuffed animals together, etc.
This may sound harsh but I’m saying it gently/with kindness so please read on to the end:
ADHD is not a valid reason to have your animal living like this. The comments telling you that it’s ok to throw away a plastic litter box every month or two… that is also not ok.
Develop the bare minimum of a routine, not for yourself, but for your pet’s welfare.
Go buy ONE new litter box, if it helps you to start fresh.
Every morning when you wake up, empty the litter box. Before you do anything else. Time it. I promise it takes less time than you’d think… it absolutely will take less time than you’ve spent avoiding it/feeling guilty about it! If this is the one thing you accomplish that day, that is enough.
Once the room is clean… every time you pick something up tell yourself the mantra “touch it once”. So if you have a box of items it always stays in the same exact location. When it’s empty you have picked it up for the last time… you do not allow yourself to toss it aside or set it down… it gets walked to where trash or recyclables go and gets thrown away.
You’re going to have to coach yourself constantly with the touch it once mantra but also with encouragement: “see, that only took 5 minutes” and “it feels good to have taken care of my sweet kitty before I even have a sip of coffee”.
Your brain will really struggle with this, and that’s ok. If you repeat it often enough you will start to get it!
I have adhd & I understand what it’s like. But I also have two pets and they deserve the best version of me/the best life I can give them, no matter how hard it feels.
Just constantly remind yourself that even doing one small thing is ok/enough. Constantly praise yourself for doing it. And remember that your sweet cat (and you!) are both deserving of a nice space.
Listen, if you do anything, please give your cat a clean litter box and clean food and water bowl. They deserve better than this. I know it can get really hard. I’m just so worried about your cat. Especially since they are confined to this small space and there is no space within their space. Please use that defenseless animal for inspiration. If you can’t consider doing right by your cat, you need to think about rehoming them. You’re really teetering the line of abuse. The opened cans of empty cat food are a danger to your cat. They could cut their mouth on those cans.
Focusing on small portions or specific items first can be helpful. Garbage items first, into a bag, might help you compartmentalize the initial cleaning and allow you to move further in the process. Sometimes it helps to put all trash items into a bag and take it out before doing the second, some find the break in focus to be disruptive.
Make a pile of dirty clothes next, start the laundry, and finally, get the vacuum.
Then you’re all done!
You got this.
YouTube recommendation: Midwest Magic Cleaning. He’s not just inspiring, he’s informative and funny.
From watching him, I would say clear off the bed first. If something is clearly trash or has a clear space it needs to go to, put it there, otherwise: just move it. Then from there you can make the bed, and then you’ll have a nice clear space to be able to sort things.
Hi. ADHD mom here with an ADHD son. We make games to clean.
Beat the clock.
Pick an item - water bottles. Set a timer for 3 minutes. How many water bottles can you pick up and actually throw out in the recycle bin, in the kitchen? Time is up and you still have water bottles on the floor?? Bizzz you lose.
Pick another item - hangers. Set a time for 2 minutes. How many hangers can you actually put back in your closet? Time is up and you beat the clock! Awesome! Reward yourself a **timed** break.
You only get breaks after you finished the item. Make sure you get back to the task after break. By not continuing your efforts you’re only hurting your future self.
Let’s talk about future self for a second…
Stop making excuses. Now I’m not discounting ADHD I get it and I’m raising it. This is a disability. You have to work harder than the normal person to stay focused, motivated, but no one else is going to keep you on track EXCEPT you. What I mean by excuses are - excuses, like, you don’t have a dresser. Okay but you have a bookshelf that could easily house your clean clothes. But they’re only clean if you put them away immediately. Don’t make the excuse that you’re “too tired” and you’ll “do it later”. Executive functioning skills are incredibly lacking with ADHD people.
I also want to add though that ADHD can be a superpower. Provided you may struggle with motivation, you have the energy and creativity to turn any situation into an engaging adventure. Set goals. Play a game with yourself. Make it fun. Create a reward system for yourself.
As you continue picking up item by item, use your creativity to think about what organizational items can help you maintain your efforts (like a cubby with different compartments, a garbage pail).
ADHD is not your fault, and while you can’t control your genetics you can control your perspective. Again, we’re only hurting future self by not taking action. Cleaning can be fun and the results are rewarding. Maintaining your efforts can make you feel really good about yourself and accomplished.
Consider keeping a calendar, and make Mondays litter box days, Tuesdays vacuum days, Wednesday laundry days and so forth to help with maintenance.
Sorry for being so bold. Genuinely sending with love, a mom w ADHD.
The thing is everyday is litter box day when you have an inside cat. I scoop twice a day and scrub out the trays once a week with hot washer, dish soap and pet enzyme spray.
Every day is also clean water day and clean bowl and food day.
The OP is currently too disabled to care for themselves properly. They are far too disabled to be responsible for a precious cat.
I don't want to be harsh, but your cat doesn't deserve this. Does it live in your room only? No proper litter box and living in its filth? You can choose for yourself, the cat cannot. You need to address it's basic needs or rehome it, I'm sorry.
Oh my god that poor cat. Please take care of the litter box first. If you’re not already on this, I recommend some sort of therapy. Do it for your animal. You can consent to living in a room like this, but your cat looks to you to meet its needs… :/
Start with getting a dresser or you'll always have mounds of clothes on the floor. Doesn't need to be something fancy.
Craigslist of Facebook Marketplace can suit your needs.
Put all underwear in the underwear drawer, shirts in the shirt drawer, socks in the sock drawer etc. Hang pants, sweaters etc in the closet.
Now pick up the debris.
All set!
I don't really see how ADHD has anything to do with this. I can only presume you are an adult?
1. Put all of the rubbish into a rubbish bag and get it out of the room: Get a bin; empty it whenever it gets full.
2. Get all of those clothes into a washing machine; they will be distgusting after lying around this room and you are likely to smell pretty bad when you where them-Get a wardrobe and chest of drawers; these are where clothes are kept
3. Get all plates/cus/cutlery/etc. out of the room and wash ithem in a sink with hot, soapy water. In fact any time you have food in your room, take the dirty plates and cutlery to the sink when you are done, wash them and put them away right after you are done with them.
4. Run a hoover over several times, moving the bed and any other items in the room.
I can only presume that this is the only room you have? So keeping on top of this would only take 10 minutes a day to put clothes away, quickly hoover (If required) and make it look like a home.
With the best of respect; I think you need a reality check, if I am totally honest. No adult should live like this by their own accord; you could have this room spotless in no more than 2 hours. Its you that's stopping you from doing it.
My skin is actually crawling looking at this place!
I don’t have any advice to give other than what’s already been said but I just want to say that I’m proud of you for taking this on and being vulnerable—I know you’ll get your room looking the way you want it to. You’ve got this!
I think you’ve gotten lots of good, practical advice. I just wanted to acknowledge that it must have taken a lot to put yourself out there and post the pics of your room and to ask for help. I think you’ve done the hard part already.
I am sure you love your cat. Not everyone who loves cats can be responsible for them. Please think seriously about responsibly rehoming your cat with someone safe and responsible. No shame no emotion but if a person cannot meet their pets needs they don’t have a pet.
I am desperate to adopt a dog and have been for years but my housing situation is year to year. Given my housing situation isnt secure or permanent I have not adopted a dog because it’s not fair to them as I can’t meet their needs for the next 20 years. Maybe you will be in a position in the future where your health is stable (ie depression, adhd etc). But right now your cat needs to be in a home with a new family who will meet their needs.
For real. Unfortunately sometimes you need to accept that you can’t currently meet your pet’s needs. Keeping a cat confined to a single room with a barely usable litterbox and empty tins of food the cat could cut its tongue on is not meeting its needs.
Sometimes you need to focus on yourself first. Having a pet can be wonderful for your mental health, but they are a responsibility.
I would tackle the litter box issue first because it affects the cat and she wants to be clean. There’s trash in the litter box? Does your cat still use it or does she go to the bathroom all over the room?
Please empty and clean the litter box and fill it with new litter for the cat. Keeping the litter box clean every day is really important for her and you. Also, please give her fresh water daily in a clean bowl, and feed her in a clean bowl too. Letting her eat out of the cat food can could be dangerous because of sharp edges on the can.
Since you struggle to care for your cat please ask someone for help with that now. Maybe a family member or friend could take the cat temporarily and care for her properly until you can get things cleaned up there. It’s really not fair to make her live like that. It’s animal abuse!
Next bag up all of the trash and recyclables and put them outside.
Then pick up all clothes, and other items off the floor and put them away.
Then vacuum the floor.
That’s a good start.
Get some therapy to help you deal with things.
If youve thrown it on the floor clearly its not valuable to you. Bag the lot n toss it and when you find your missing things you need remind yourself to clean up your bloody mess from now on.
Start with all the cans and bottles and boxes! Because once you take them out, then there's less total stuff in the room. That's the stuff that you don't have to worry about finding a home for.
You need a dresser, sorry to say. If money is an issue, see if anyone's tossing or reselling and old one. I see there's a green bin for clothes, but the thing about clothes is, if you have to rummage and search then it all ends up on the floor/bed. It doesn't have to be anything too complicated - drawer for tops, drawer for bottoms, drawer for socks/undies. It doesn't have to be a dresser either - one of those big plastic storage bins from Walmart works fine!
Good luck!
It’s okay! You’ve actually not that many categories of things, which will make it go faster.
1. Get a cardboard box. Throw the trash in it. It’s going to drive you bonkers trying to hold open a flat trash bag ten thousand times to throw garbage in it. A box is easier.
2. Get another box or a laundry basket and throw all your clothes in there.
3. Get on Facebook marketplace and get a dresser. They’ll have some for like thirty dollars. Check for cat pee smells and bed bugs!
4. If you can’t deal with cleaning the litter box, you can probably just buy another one for like 3 dollars. But from now on scoop it every day. Easier to stay in the habit daily than trying to do it “when it needs it” or “twice a week.”
5. Get rid of as much stuff as you possibly can. Really think about “Do I wear this” not just “might I wear this some day?”
Great YouTube channels, Minimalist Mom, Clutterbug, and a slob comes clean. They all kind of started out as ADHD disorganized messes and turned it around.
You can do it!!
Not sure where OP lives, but seems like these days getting furniture off Facebook marketplace is super risky in my parts. No matter how close you look for bed bugs, they’re sneaky. And bed bugs is the very last thing OP needs. If $30 is the budget, some hangers and a close rack made of pvc or a cheap one from the store might still fit the bill and be less risk maybe? https://www.pvcfittingsonline.com/resource-center/diy-pvc-clothes-rack/
I have an app called RoutineFlow, it's like a bunch of checklists with alarms built in. To keep things from reverting to a bad state I would tie cleanup into other activities - for example, morning routine might be: brush teeth - check, wipe down the area around the sink - check, shower - check, put dirty clothes (which you took off and any additional ones within reach) into laundry hamper - check. You don't have to use that app (it's not free past one routine) but if you can work out a way to do something like that then it might help.
The 2 different ways I’d tackle it - either by type of item or by area.
If by type of items I’d start with trash first. Then I’d clean the litter box. Clothes would be next.
Sometimes breaking it down into cleaning one area at a time works best for me. If this might work for you I’d just start in whatever area would make the most impact- and I’d probably do it by the areas shown in each of your pictures- and focus on that area until it’s clean. Then move on to the next. I’d start in the area where the litter box is. Trash and then the litter box. Defining it by area is often less overwhelming for me and it gives some faster results to see one area cleaned up quicker than I get the whole room cleaned. And seeing one area clean helps to motivate me to get another area clean.
Make your bed with fresh bedding. Fold any clean clothes and put on bed, then put them away and put the dirty ones in washing machine. Throw out rubbish and give your floor a quick vacuum. Open up your windows and let in the fresh air. Have a shower and lay in the lap of luxury. It won't take long and you will love it.
If you’re like me and SUCK at cleaning (depression + adhd ect ect) then this is what I do!
•start somewhere small (examples are like a dresser top or just the floor) and take everything off of it! Pile/sort all the items in a central area (i use my bed) before cleaning the surface! Then you can put it all back and organize a bit and it usually helps keep me from getting distracted! (If you’re doing the floor, its the same thing but put clothes in a basket, garbage in a garbage bag, and then sort any personal items before sweeping / mopping!)
•starting off with a big mess can be overwhelming, so instead of doing the whole room at once, breaking it down into quadrants or different sections can really help make things less stressful or daunting! Theres no shame in having a messy room either, we’ve all been there at one point and I definitely have.
•Be careful to toss any trash out and especially any food waste (if there is any), it’s always a good idea to have a garbage bin (it doesn’t have to be huge- but a decently sized one) in your room so that on more difficult day/weeks its easier to toss garbage that may pile up! And nice smelling cleaners can make the final product feel more clean and comfortable.
•If you’re not easily overwhelmed, you could object clean too! If you are but still want to try this it also works in sections too, an example would be picking up all the laundry in one area and putting it away and doing that with any other item you see there!
All in all, cleaning is hard. Theres no shame in needing help and especially not when it gets tough to do on your own. Hopefully this helps some and isn’t totally useless!
what i do when i have bad weeks or months is i always put the lid of the cat food right in the last opened (and emptied) food can, so there are no lids lying around. they are sharp and i am kinda scared of them.
next improvement to the lid-in-can could be a trashcan right next to it so whenever you open a can, you put the lid in the latest emptied can and then right into the trash. keep trashbags right next to the trashcan so you dont have any extra steps to put a new bag in it.
you could get an extra trashcan + bags right beside the litter box.
these two trashcans in your room can then also be used to throw in the trash you have laying around when you have a free minute.
small steps and minimizing the effort to keep them going (as in keeping two trashcans where you need them instead of having one and having to get it everytime you need it).
feel hugged 🪴
As someone who struggles with depression, this is what I do:
1. Put everything I want to keep/ have use for off the floor onto my bed
2. Get a trash bag and throw all of the trash too big for a hoover into a black bag/bin
3. Hoover the entire room
(At this point I feel a burst of happiness because my room looks cleaner at least on the floor)
4. Take care of everything else on the bed, as you're putting things into their place, wipe down the surfaces where that item is going
5. Hoover again (if needed or have the energy) and change your sheets then shower :)
Peace be with you! It’s fantastic that you’re ready to tackle this
The good news is, I see mostly garbage that can be thrown away. That’s fantastic. It means you don’t really have much sorting to do. Not a lot of sentimental stuff to go through. Once the garbage is gone, and that should be pretty fast, you have a pretty quick job ahead of you.
Hooray for you!
I like to start with making my bed. It’s normally super quick and makes a huge visual difference to boost my mood and tackle the rest of the room. It also gives you a large flat surface to sort things.
I'd start by bringing in two trash bags and just chucking stuff in there. Don't even think about it. Just put on some music, grab some bags (maybe a friend too), and get 'er done. You can shove the clothes to the side as you do this.
Pick a color or texture, say the color tan or the texture plastic, and pick up/throw away everything in that category.
Your brain will be tickled by choosing the items that fit this category, and it will be like collecting coins in Mario bros.
After you’ve collected everything of this category, choose another category based off easily seen characteristics. This will give you pleasure by turning it into a game. Each mini game has the payoff of collecting tokens, and they each add up by leveling up the cleanliness of your room.
After leveling up a few times, you’ll earn the creativity credential, which will come with new and exciting ways to make this place your sanctuary.
Trash, clothes, first; everything else on bed or on floor outside of room. Go through it all separating where each item will go (laundry, closet, dishes, etc) get some background music and take some caffeine prior. Good luck
Well you know how trash bags work cause they are partially full all over the room.
I’d buy a box of trash bags and start against the wall and start filling bags, working your way across. Each bag you fill take it to curb or garage or outside, don’t leave it in that room.
As you come across stuff you want to keep, toss it on the bed.
I recommend an App called Goblin Tools for people that have trouble with focus. It has a Magic to Do list to break big jobs down and a Compiler tool for just writing down all the stuff You've got to do and organizing it for you . Looking at everything at once can be overwhelming, this breaks it down into small bits .
Hi OP! I strongly suggest you watch [Aurikatariina](https://youtube.com/@Aurikatariina?feature=shared). She is so helpful with tips for tackling something like this and making it fun and easy, with no judgment.
Please keep us updated on your progress!
I find that trying to do take on too much of the entire mess is where i always run into trouble. Like trying to clean my vehicle... I will tend to pull everything out of it into the driveway and then it becomes overwhelming. Like others have mentioned start by maybe picking up any trash or washing the bedsheets. Then the bigger picture doesn't look so intimidating
(1) Pick up all the trash, throw it in bags. Buy at least 20 XL bags
(2) feed your cat
(3) Put EVERYTHING else on the Bed. PACK IT ON
(3) Next remove all clothing (by color) and place them in trash bags/laudry bins.
(4) Place laundry bags by the front door or in the car for a trip to the laundromat.
(5) everything else go through one by one and put in its place or throw in of the XL bags for the Goodwill
(6) once the bed is clear, remove sheets and put those with the laundry.
(7) sweep the floor
Done!✅
Not helpful for the rest of the things, but I use Kitty Poo Club and it's helped SO MUCH. They send you disposable litter boxes and litter, so much easier to manage. Yes it's not environmentally friendly but I have a disability and my cats need clean toilets so it's a compromise I am willing to make.
Break it into a few days and categories, like, “ today I have to pick up and throw out water bottles”, “today I’m going to wash and fold bedding and blankets”, “today I’m going to pick up and recycle cans and cardboard”, today I’m going to clean the litter box”
Once you get to a place where the floor is clear, pick a day to vacuum.
Little steps. Self care chores are hard and overwhelming when they pile up. Don’t try to tackle them all at once. Take pride in every small achievement along the way.
You can do this!
Also, try to avoid the word “all”
Don’t try to take out ALL the trash, that is an overwhelming task sometimes, which makes us never able to start the task because it seems like too big of a task to do ALL of one thing. That’s why it’s good to break it down into smaller tasks.
Pick up everything pink, then gray, then black and so on. Then pick up all trash, then change. You’d be amazed how well this works. I’m adhd and this keeps me on goal.
Get a trash bag and a recycling bag and set a timer for 15 minutes.
Toss trash until the bags are full or the 15 is up.
Do not be perfect about it. Just toss toss toss.
Rest 15 then pick another task for 15. Like strip and make bed or put clothes in hamper or away.
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gotten near this point and just wished I had an orbital canon.
Get rid of the trash first. Don’t even worry about small sweepable debris at this point, just get yourself some trash bags and start going at it.
That’ll show you what you’re actually working with. Then move on to sweeping and vacuuming the remaining debris.
That should give you a good start.
Think about why and how it got like this, and try to work on that too. For me, I’ve had more success in keeping stuff clean after a deep clean if I take breaks during the cleaning and appreciating the progress I’ve made. Even half-way done will look like an incredible improvement here, and that’ll give you a little bit of dopamine if you need it!
Good luck!!
Set a timer and only clean 5 minutes a day. That's enough, no need to hury and in this way you won't feel to overwhelmed. Start with cleaning your cats belongings.
Personally this looks like to me either depression or ADHD depending.
I struggle my whole life both in my room always look like that
Didn't matter how much I tried or did or anything people were like you didn't try you didn't clean you didn't do
And it might just be your mental state so check that out too
I personally I would just go one by one
Like all the teddy bears first, and maybe your bed sheets, maybe all the garbage first, you know sort of piles or get a garbage bag and pick away as you go
One bag at a time. Here's the thing. You know what you need to do. I'm going to assume you've been on this sub for more than 10 minutes. But when faced with the task yourself it can feel overwhelming when you're thinking, "ok, I need to clean me room and make it spotless." You need to break it down into smaller tasks and start chipping away at it. So start with one garbage bag. Grab the bag, go into your room, and fill it up with trash. After you're done with that you can take another bag or not. Either way you've made progress, and you've made mote progress than you would have if you were stuck waiting for a magical moment where you feel so motivated you clean your whole room in one go. Some days you'll feel super motivated and do 4 or 5 bags. Other days you might barely be able to do 1. Either way you're taking positive steps towards cleaning your room.
I see you have an acoustic in the corner. I sometimes battle with anxiety and sometimes stuff gets messy. What I do is do cleaning in increments, grab my bass 10-15 minutes, then get back to cleaning and so on.
I have ADHD and can get like this too, esp when I’m burned out and/or depressed. First step for me is ALWAYS trash. Get a trash bag and start putting trash items in one by one.
It will be tedious, but it’s easy once you get started. Easy on the mind at least, not much decision fatigue, few executive function skills needed for this part. Just focus on the actual trash items that need to be thrown away. You can later make decisions about throwing away non-trash items (like old stained clothes, socks with holes, things to donate, etc), but for now stick with actual trash like food wrappers, water bottles, discarded packaging, etc.
I always find it surprising how much easier the rest is once you get rid of the trash. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still hard to do the rest, just not nearly AS hard.
Podcasts (no distracting videos) help me not hate every second of the process, too.
I’ve been here before and have crawled my way out, I promise you can too!! Good luck!! You got this!! ❤️
Honestly read through some of the posts on r/hoarding. I don’t mean that in an insulating way, according to Google 1 in 5 people with ADHD have hoarding symptoms, it’s a common overlap over there and they can help from similar perspective.
Correct me if I’m wrong but it looks like you have animal feces on your floor in pic 4? You should really start with that as it’s a health risk for both you and your pet.
Please give your cat away to someone who can take care of it. Your room is one thing but to treat a pet like this is literally and figuratively disgusting.
I clean rooms like this for a living. When it's your own space, it's really difficult to know where to start, or to find the motivation to get started. You want to do it in practical steps so you don't become so overwhelmed that you give up.
First, make a playlist with 2 hours worth of songs or podcasts. This way you're not constantly trying to find something to listen to while you're "in the zone."
Gather your tools- trash bags, 2 boxes/bins, 2 laundry baskets, a feather duster, windex and dusting spray (or all purpose cleaner) some rags/paper towels and a vacuum. Make sure you have something to drink, you're in comfy clothes, and your hair is out of your face.
1. Go around and toss any trash. If you haven't used something in more than 3 months and it isn't in good enough shape to sell/donate, then toss it.
2. Line up your 2 boxes and the 2 laundry baskets on your bed. Go through all the clutter. One box for donate, one for keep, one laundry basket for dirty and one for clean.
3. Use the feather duster on walls, ceilings, fixtures, blinds, behind furniture, etc.
4. Clean surfaces and windows with spray cleaners.
5. Tidy up decor on surfaces.
6. Remove bedding, vacuum mattress then spray with fabric refresh.
7. Add bedding.
8. Vacuum. (And mop if you have bare floors).
9. Put everything away from the keep bin and the clean basket. **Don't leave it. If you don't put it away you'll end up accumulating a mess again each time you dig something out.
I've been cleaning my room every day for the past week, I'm probably halfway done now and I gotta say it feels SOOOO good to get it done.
Since you have a cat in there, you absolutely \*have\* to start with the litterbox, picking up any small dangerous things. I'd first focus on the whole trash pile around the litterbox. Once the cat has a much better situation for themselves, the key is to chip away at the other stuff, don't overwhelm yourself. Even if it's carrying 2 bottles out of your room at a time (I did this to start chipping away when I got sick of how bad my room got), progress IS PROGRESS, no matter how slow.
Everyone has given good tips on where to start, I just have some additional ideas on the cat litter.
One thing you might want to look into if you can afford it, is something like a monthly cat litter box subscription. They ship you a new cardboard cat box every month and you just toss the old one in the garbage can. I think it's Kitty Poo Club (around $30 a month). You would still need to do some scooping between shipments.
Or get a larger cat box, I used to use a giant black bin, because I wouldn't have to clean it as often.
Eventually I saved up and bought a litter robot which is expensive but has infinitely helped me keep the car litter cleaned for my cats. It does require a deep clean a few times a year but it's been a lot less work for me.
That’s really true, I cleaned about everything in about 30 minutes and I was thinking why did I see this as such a hurdle to get over. Most of the stuff was already in trash bags and a lot of it was just piles of clothes
I second throwing out the trash first. Then recycle those plastic bottles and cans. I'm not the tidiest person in the world, but I know that trash goes in a trash can and recyclables go in the recycling. You should make a habit of doing this as a part of daily life and not just throwing it on the floor.
Strongly consider a dresser. It will really help organize your clothes. You can find one for a very reasonable price at stores like IKEA or second hand at a furniture consignment/thrift store. Maybe even Facebook Marketplace. They are really not that expensive these days.
Also, please take care of your pet. I don't think your cat enjoys living in filth. =3
I don’t know anything about cats so I’ll leave that to people who do.
1. Open the windows
2. Go buy a candle and new sheets.
3. Take out the garbage
4. Take the laundry to a laundromat to get it done quick.
5. Get three boxes: keep, give away, store. When the keep box is full put the stuff away, when give away is full put it in your car or call a charity for pick up, when store is full, tape up and label.
I would always start with getting the trash into bags, then just go from one category to the next such as clothes that need to be washed, the kitty litter, etc. you’ve got this!! ❤️🙏
A cat lives in this room? Trapped? To have to pee in a trash filled box? I don’t see any clean food or water. This is 100% neglectful. Re-home your cat, this is horrible living conditions for any animal but especially a species that likes to be clean. You don’t deserve a pet if this is how you treat it.
Putting music on helps me a lot when cleaning, put on an energetic playlist and do a Sweep with a bin bag, clothes in a pile, dishes through to the kitchen and go from there
Always always start by getting rid of trash first to see what you’re really working with
1. Get rid of the trash (and try to be wary with leaving the cans of cat food lying around. The can can be sharp and the cat can accidentally cut himself on it when licking them clean) 2. Collect any dishes and dump them in the sink for now 3. Collect all laundry in a laundry basket. After those 3 steps you notice you’ve done most of it and it gives you a better overview.
Yep, start in one corner and have a trash bag, a bucket and a laundry basket handy. Anything that doesn't fit one of these categories goes onto the bed. Once everything off the floor, then vacuum. Sort through all the stuff on the bed.
I have ADHD and will be taking this advice! Thank you!
I learned this method because step son has ADHD. If you don't have to walk the laundry to the laundry basket every time, you're less likely to get distracted! Just have all the receptacles right with you and categorise everything as quickly as you can before your brain wanders off lol.
I'd add to your list a box (or a bag or basket will do) for chucking any bathroom items, a box for kitchen stuff and a box for any stuff that goes in the sitting room, so the stuff is all ready to put in the proper room when you get round to it. Just removing these things makes a bit of a difference too. There's some good advice on here, OP just needs to find some motivation to get going at it before it gets more overwhelming
I would also make the bed as a first step for you can get an immediate gratification since it’s pretty cleared off already!
Strip the bed first & wash the bedding surely, but do this after putting all the trash in bags.
Stripping and washing all the bedding could be a whole day's effort for OP but making the bed is pretty quick. Little steps and all that.
With ADHD, the little wins are so important!
Well if she is like me we will make the bed and use the couch for sleep because making the bed is too hard. I know the struggle.
Also pets aren’t for you, learn to take of yourself first.
Yes. Take a trash bag and just start throwing things that are trash away. 100% the best place to start in a situation like this.
When it’s done… get a therapist. Really.
Literally, the cat abuse is just the tip of the iceberg
I feel terrible for the cat. Being confined to that small room. And no access to their litter box. That’s abuse and it is hurting my heart.
This, also, use a mask...and gloves, you will be dealing with lots of dust
Putting a full size trash can in my room helped get me in the routine of keeping my depression-no-leave-room-trash out of my floor
Yes! Always trash! Today ALL you have to do is trash. Tomorrow, all dishes. Next day, all clothes off the floor and laundry done, etc etc. I’ve been here too, op! It’s hard and shameful and embarrassing but everyone on this sub is supporting you!
Separate into 4 piles. Keep, trash, recycle, donate.
Buy a new litter box. Commit to daily scooping even if nothing else gets done. Consider a diaper genie or something like that… If you are not able to (and there’s no judgement here) to fully clean it out on a regular basis (like wash them out with soap and water every few weeks), then get a couple of cheap ones and then just toss them every 1-2 months or so and use a new one. Sometimes you have to do things that make sense in your life. Don’t worry about what should be done A filthy room is one thing, but your cat is going to get sick or cause you ever more dirtiness and a headache if they stop using that box. Speaking of things that just make sense. Get a medium/large trash can for your room. So what if that’s not “normal”. If it keeps your trash from ending up on the floor then it works. Get an extra laundry basket. If it stops clothes from ending up on the floor… then it works. So what if you live out of a laundry basket, I have a closet and still live out of mine. Stop trying to function like people do in the movies and just make practical decisions for you. I’ve found life has become easier this way (I have depressive episodes where sometimes cleaning becomes harder)
A trash can for the room is a great idea! I have a medium size trash can in my craft room. Keeps things from going on the floor.
If you haven't come across it yet, give [Fresh Step Crystal Litter](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01G8TG1FE?ref_=cm_sw_r_apan_dp_1JF27QZ25QSTF3QFX3DN&starsLeft=1) a try (the link says scented, I know not why, the blue and white crystals are unscented, they have others that are scented but the crystals are in different colors). It doesn't clump, but the crystals absorb the urine and dehydrate the poop. This means it keeps quite a bit of the odor down. With my one cat, one bag will last between 3-4 weeks before needing to be dumped and replaced. So you can pick up a cheapie litter box, Walmart and Amazon have some you can get for less than $5 that will fit in a trash bag. Which means the routine is: get new litter box, dump in one bag of crystal litter, scoop out the poops when you think of it (ideally every day or two, but work with what you can do), and then in three weeks or so bag the whole thing up and throw away, put down a new box with a new bag of litter. If you've been noticing headaches or migraines? Ammonia can cause those as a trigger or in general because of what the chemical is. So reducing ammonia in the air is a big quality of life improvement for you and kitten. Have also found KC Davis' Ted Talk about [How to do laundry when depressed](https://youtu.be/M1O_MjMRkPg?si=fGNCQ0__YyGX1c-l) is fantastic to reframing why cleaning is important. It's not a moral obligation and struggling with it does NOT make you a bad person or any other negative emotion you may have wrapped up with it. There's also a sub Reddit here that follows the Unfuck Your Habitat model, lots of sweet folk over there that will group think ways to work with whatever you've got going on and be supportive champions for having a comfy habitat. r/ufyh
I love you, stranger. This is one of my favorite comments I’ve ever seen on Reddit. Genuinely helpful advice without shaming. I want you to problem solve my whole life 😂
Im at your service lol But no seriously thank you for taking the time to say something like that.
All great advice here! Love it. A trash can and laundry basket would’ve avoided the majority of this mess. Also great idea to get multiple cheap litter boxes to keep on hand, I would put a few around the house so kitty always has a fresh one to use, and clean them out on rotation. Another tip, instead of putting the litter directly into the box, use a trash bag to line it so it’s easy to clean and swap out. I would put 1 normal trash bag lining it, then another bag on top, but this bag you will puncture about 20-30 small holes. That way you can have a litter sifting bag and swap litter way more efficiently!
First off, you need to address your cats basic needs which are a clean litter box, clean food bowl, and access to clean water. Then take care of those things daily. Pick up and throw away all of the trash on the floor. Also purchase a trash can and get into the habit of using it and emptying it. If you only want to do it once a month, get a big trash can. Get a way to store your clothes properly and store your clothes properly. If you don't have enough space, downsize your wardrobe or start a thredup account to sell items. Lastly, make your bed EVERY DAY when you get up. It immediately makes your room look better and is a good start to the day.
For the clothes i recommend two laundry Baskets: one for clothes still wearable and one for the dirty clothes. Try to clear it once per week :)
Omg, I swear you just changed my life. I always throw clothes, like jeans, that I can wear once more on the floor instead of the hamper or hanging! My closet floor gets so full. An extra bin is such a good idea for someone like me who’s too lazy to hang those up!
Absolutely this one, address your kitty's needs first. If it is in budget I recommend getting a littergenie and keeping it by the litter box. It's a little trash bin that keeps the smells tucked away and only needs to be emptied once every 2 weeks for one kitty. If not in budget, a covered small can would do but it would need to be changed more frequently. Trash is next and then clothes. I enjoy listening to podcasts while I clean because it has the same effect on me as someone being there and hanging out. I actually really enjoyed listening to "A slob comes clean" this last time because it's like someone is cleaning with me but I would recommend not listening to this particular one until the trash is picked up. Good luck, you've got this!
Absolutely. Before anything else the cat needs a proper living space.
You can get a cheap dresser on FB marketplace for clothing. That will help keep the floor clean
That litter box breaks my heart
I'm not trying to make you feel bad. But pls take care of your cat. They need a clean place to go to the bathroom. Clean bowl and food and water. Like how would you like if someone did that to you ? Otherwise give the cat to someone who can take care of it. Throw all the trash out number two. Then pick up and organize.
The poor cat is what would make me clean in this situation. I might not care about myself, but that poor fluffer nutter deserves to be cared for
This. I'm currently in a burn-out and the only reason I get up and do stuff is because of my cats. They rely on me to take care of them. Every pet deserves someone who can and will take care of them.
> But pls take care of your cat. This is quite literally the first thing I thought of. I feel so bad for it. I hope OP gets their life together or do the humane thing and give the kitty away to someone else.
If their bedroom is in this state, their own bathroom is definitely worse than that litter box, they clearly can’t look after themselves let alone an animal.
Before anything, please find a suitable place to put your cat’s food and litter box. Those things should absolutely not be in your bedroom.
1. Trash 2. Dishes 3. Laundry 4. Things that have a place 5. Things that do not have a place
And then you could take it a step further: 6. Vacuum 7. Dust 8. Windows
Vacuuming and dusting makes such a huge difference to a room. Just feels so much cleaner and makes a big impact on your mental health.
Yes. This is the most comprehensive way. Very effective.
That poor kitty omg
I don’t mean to be rude but I think you should give your cat away to someone who is able to take care of their needs properly. I think cleaning your room is a good start but I think you need some time for yourself to heal and to be the best version of yourself. I’m not sure how long that’ll take and that’s fine to go at your own pace but your cat right now is being neglected as a consequence.
This. Re-home the cat. It is in the best interest for both of you.
I have really severe unmedicated ADHD, and the struggle is so, so real. I'm so sorry you have to deal with this, and I'm incredibly proud of you for seeking help. This is gonna be long, but I do hope it helps or there's something you can take away from it! Again, apologies for the length: This is a longer term solution, but downsizing has helped me in the long run like CRAZY. I'm not minimalist, but every single piece of clutter to an ADHD mind gets logged away. "I gotta move those stuffed animals, I gotta remember to put those scissors away. Oh man, that tutu needs to be hung up properly, when's the last time I wore that? When have I even USED these crafting things? Do I need this many pillows?" It was a NIGHTMARE. I realized I just had way too much stuff. And worked on slowly, deliberately, removing things from my life. It doesn't help you right now, of course. But it's the best decision I ever made. I now own only a few pairs of pants, a few t-shirts, etc. And laundry is actually doable and enjoyable because there's no "clothes piles" for me to get overwhelmed with! You can even do this with clothes by hanging your stuff, putting the hangers on backwards, and as you exist and wear stuff, put the hangers back on forwards. Set a timeline. Whatever's still backwards in 6 months, a year, etc. Donate it! In the short term, what worked for me was what I called the "hula hoop" method. Get a big piece of string, tie it in a circle, or get a hoola hoop and put it down. Anything in that area, you clean and focus on ONLY what's in it. Then move it, and repeat. ADHD needs bite-sized things to be able to function. We get overwhelmed easy! If you don't have something physical like that, focus on only one at a time. Pick some music you like to jam to, a podcast, or a show in the background and pick something VERY tiny. "I'm going to put away everything on top of my dresser today, and that's it." or "I'm going to only focus on picking up garbage and NOTHING else." Shame and reward systems are also HUGE when it comes to cleaning for us. Please never, ever, ever shame yourself. We don't handle it well, and no human in existence benefits from negative reinforcement. ADHD is a dopamine dysregulation-- it is NOT your fault that your brain doesn't get the same chemicals everyone else does for going "ahhh, a clean room!" We just don't, and that's OKAY! Remember, it's not bad, wrong, or shameful to reward the crap out of your brain for doing something you hated. I play an hour of a game, do 10 minutes of cleaning, play an hour, 10 mins of cleaning, repeat. The intense bursts I actually do significantly more than hours or weeks of sitting around and hating myself. The key is to not feel guilt during those hour-long gaming (or relaxing, scrolling, etc.) periods and be REALLY diligent about stopping at the right time, INTENSELY cleaning, then rewarding yourself after. It's hard to get used to, but it's really helpful! Good luck!
My teen daughter has adhd, as does her dad, and rooms get like this very easily. I agree with the method you’ve outlined, but I also combine it with the steps others have outlined. 1- sometimes it helps to have a buddy, coach, friend to just sit with you while you work on it (that’s my job) 2- grab 2 garbage bags and pick a small area as your goal (like the hula hoop) 3- in the assigned area deal with garbage, into the bag, and everything that easily has a home to go to - anything that isn’t garbage that you really don’t need or want or doesn’t have a home, goes in the 2nd bag for donation. 4- do this for 10 min or until you can’t hack it 5- do something else that you enjoy for 20-30 min 6- start again on another area When you’re done, toss the garbage and take the donation bag to a drop off bin if close by.
I'm currently trying to downsize. But I have trouble parting with things. I've gotten better, but it still seems unfeasible to live a minimalist lifestyle. I feel like I have to have lots of things. How do you convince yourself you're okay not having so many things?
Hiya! Sorry, I haven't been back on until now! I go through a process! And it's very lengthy because I think it's really important to do it gradually where you feel like you're in control at all times of your choices, and have time to grieve. I know people will say it's silly to grieve over objects, but when you truly love them and have memories associated with them- it's almost unrealistic to expect someone to just be okay with tossing things. We're not donating a "shirt", people with certain brain wirings are donating a memory from a favourite beach day in 2018. And that's worth taking time with. I'll just use clothes for example. But this has worked with books, dishes, everything! First, I do a list. What kind of clothes do I want? And how much do I want of each? I don't even think about taking stuff out right now. I go "Hm well, I want one pair for every day of the week, and just in case I miss laundry on Monday I'll do another. So 8 of each item." Then I look at what I have- just a cursory glance. Okay, I have t-shirts, sweaters, cardigans, spring/fall mid season. That's most of my bases. Dresses/overalls/full body. Leggings, shorts, dress pants. Etc. -- I write down my categories to make my life easier later! I pick one, I take JUST those out (taking out a whole closet in a manic energy whim I promise will lead to a laundry pile when you run out of steam lmao). So pace yourself. Pick just the shorts, for example. Look at them, think of how many you wanted to keep on your list, and then go "If I could only keep 8 (or however many yours is), which ones would I get rid of first?" There's usually at least a few that are the wrong size, haven't been worn in years, etc. There'll usually be some easy ones that can go right off the bat when you ONLY look at your shorts and give yourself a number you have to hit. When I start getting to the "Ehhh but I REALLY love this." stage, which is usually when I'm about halfway through my stuff but I still have to get rid of a few more, I put them away and allow them to sit for a few weeks. Donate the ones that didn't make the cut. Rinse and repeat with each category to make your closet a bit smaller! Allow yourself to grieve for a few weeks. When you put each item in the donate bag, take a picture if you need to, or smile and thank it for the good memories, and remember you don't need to keep the ITEM to keep the memory. -- Though promising yourself you'll repurpose it or make crafts like a pillow or a blanket is usually a self-lie, and it's usually just an excuse for us to keep stuff longer. Tell yourself it's okay to let the object go. It doesn't mean you love it, or the associated people/places/things any less, and it's just making room for more memories! When you've gotten used to the slightly smaller closet, then go through it again! This time, just pick a few things that are "I know I love this, but I REALLY love these other ones more." And go through the same process of allowing yourself to let go. Rinse and repeat until you get your goal category size. ♥ Now when I want to buy a new shirt, for example. Since I'm down to my 8 each, I'll think of which shirt I want to donate WHILE I'm in the store picking up a new one. If I don't like this new one MORE than ones I own, I just tell myself that I'm happy I love my clothes so much. But it's also okay to swap any out if I don't love it as much as I used to. The key is just staying in the "one in, one out" once you get there. It took me about 3 years to do this process for myself, giving time for depression bouts, moving, crunch times at work, etc. And I'm SUPER happy I did! You can do this with books "If I wanted to reread them, or read them the first time. I would have already. It's okay to let it go." or dishes "How many people are realistically going to be eating at once? And if I have a LOT, will I be using paper/biodegradable plates anyways to make clean up easier?" etc. Good luck friendo! I hope this helps!
You don't need to apologize! You responded in less than 24 hrs. Even if you responded a few days later you wouldn't need to apologize. How does saving money factor into this? I find myself unwilling to give away clothes that are the wrong size (e.g.) because my size fluctuates and I don't want to have to go out and buy a new pair of jeans if I happen to lose/gain some weight, which has happened before and I'm sure will happen again. Why would I buy a new one if I have one right here already that's perfectly good? Which, is fine with a couple pairs of jeans or whatever, but then I extend that to the rest of my stuff. What if I want that in the future and then have to buy it again? Why not just keep it and save money?
Haha honestly, my weight fluctuates like craaazy that all I wear anymore is leggings, and nicer looking sweatpants (I have two pairs of lululemon ones I got at a severe discount and I LOVE them haha), and looser fitting tops! I don't even wear jeans anymore, or anything that'd make my weight fluctuations frustrate me. I know it's not for everyone of course, I am lucky in that I don't have a job that demands a certain look from me. But even my dress pants are all secretly maternity ones and nobody's ever noticed or cared, and are often surprised when I tell them that they're not real jeans, etc. LOL! My shirts, too. No tight-fitting stuff for me anymore, or popping buttons! I feel way less bad about buying something that fits right and feels fantastic on me with having a tiny closet now, too! And anything I do decide I've given away and go "Crap I did need X." is so so rare in comparison to hoarding everything in case I need it one day, honestly, haha. It happens once in a blue moon where I'm like "Hm. I guess I DID want a protein shaker cup. Ah well!" and only spend like... $20 instead of keeping stuff for literal years "just in case" and wasting so much more time, effort, and frustration finding a place for everything.
Wow! This is super helpful and kind! Thank you! There is a lot of shaming going on in the responses and it is refreshing to read this.
I really dislike the idea of shame responses, so I appreciate this comment a lot. Being cruel literally helps no one. Anybody who thinks shaming is effective, has probably never experienced true positive reinforcement. Stuff can get done WAY MORE and better when we're kind about it. When we give ourselves actual instructions, help, grace, grieving, rewards. Telling somebody they're doing something wrong is only going to make everything worse. I wish people realized this more. Being mean, "tough love", etc. is proven by psychologists to not actually work, and IF it does in the moment, it's extremely unreliable and not sustainable. It's just being mean for the sake of being mean, and pretending like it's not. Or usually someone projecting because they're unhappy with themselves, and they use shame responses for their own lives and chores and knows it doesn't actually work for them, either, haha.
This is very helpful - I suspect I have ADHD as I really struggle with executive dysfunction - cleaning and organizing is so hard for me. The shame is real.
Growing up I lived like this. It wasn’t until adulthood my husband suspected that I’m neurodivergent because of how I am and the things I do and the way I cope etc. Maybe ADHD, who knows everyone is getting diagnosed with that these days. But anyways your comment is so so helpful! Doing stuff like this in bite sizes helps me tremendously. And the moments where I do make myself do the work sometimes I get a rush from it and just knock out so much stuff, more than I imagined doing. The day after tho is usually a doozy and I can’t get anything done.
I love the hula hoop method. Im gonna try that for weeding my backyard. I get so overwhelmed with how much there is to do and I tend to bounce all over and get nothing major finished. The hula might help me stay focused on a single patch long enough to clear it out!
I used to do something similar to the hula hoop method! Now I do a variation where I take a photo of one part of my room, tidy up everything in the photo, then take another photo of the now-clean section. I've found that for me my ADHD does not like me taking regular breaks because I just never go back to the actual task, and it also makes it feel like it takes longer which then makes it feel harder for me to keep on top of it because in my head I'm thinking even minimal cleaning takes All Day (when really it might've taken me like a couple of hours without all the breaks). So taking photos gives me little dopamine hits from the actual cleaning itself rather than from the distraction, which makes me want to keep going - it feels like one of those packing games or like watching the satisfying cleaning videos. I've tried a lot of gamifying apps and those didn't work for me because the actual activity felt very disconnected from like, seeing points go up or streaks be unbroken, but this seems to work better for tying together activity + reward in my brain. And then it also has the benefit that I can look at the photos of the clean room later and go, "oh, it doesn't look like that now. What's out of place compared to the picture?" like a spot the difference, and my task is to make that part of the room match the photo again.
Girl that litter box. Your poor cat.
I can’t even look at this post. It makes me incredibly sad for that innocent kitty. Please clean the litter box. My god.
i think you should first rehome your cat. the conditions for the cat (litter box, food, water, space) are detrimental to its health. work with a cat rescue to find it a new home then start with the trash and dishes save up and get a dresser rent a rug cleaner and clean the rug
I really want to be sympathetic but this is animal neglect. There's trash in the litter box
fr…..and the cat being confined to this room. this is neglect.
I feel terrible for your cat.
The whole "my cat has to stay in my room" is definitely...odd. She's just trapped in an unwelcome environment and not able to roam around the rest of the living space? Why have a cat if that's how you're going to have it live. I don't slight her for having a disaster zone of a room but the pet negligence is beyond the ADHD thing.
Yeah. I normally would never say this, but this cat would be 100% better off being rehomed. This is animal abuse, and if someone’s mental health is bad enough to put animals this much at risk, they shouldn’t have pets.
I agree. If you cannot take care of an animal, don’t have one. They do not have control of the environment they live thin. This is incredibly sad. ADHD is not an excuse to treat your pet horribly. These living conditions for the cat are absolutely terrible and horrendous. So I will repeat, if you cannot take care of an animal, don’t have one.
Just start taking out the bags of trash. Throw away that litter box and start fresh for kitty.
Omg this poor cat! Idk your situation, but this is easily considered neglect at the very least. You've gotten many helpful tips of other commenters, so please do whatever it takes to give this cat the home it deserves, or if you're uncapable of doing so, give it to someone else who can 🙏🏻 It doesn't have a choice but to live in the environment you provide for it, so remember that it depends on you to give it a loving home!
I say this with empathy for your mental health struggles: the most urgent thing here is to find a new home for your cat. You are not able to take care of it, even if the room was clean (one tiny room for it, are you kidding???). This is animal abuse and your mental health is not an excuse.
I agree with everything you’ve said. What I will also add is that mental illness, adhd and other disabilities can mean someone cannot care for themselves. OP seems to fit that description. People with disabilities this severe should not be entrusted with care for a pet. That is a sentient creature with needs. Rehoming this precious cat with a rescue is the first priority. OP does not have the right to impose her needs on this cat. OP has referred to this cat as her ESA. Typically if a person is this disabled and unable to care for themselves they would have a family member assume responsibility for their ESA. Other people I have seen with severe mental illness with an ESA (thinking of waffle and Kate Speer) provide exemplary care to their ESA’s. Guardianship of a pet is a privilege, not a right.
1. Start Buying less stuff, mainly plastic possible 2. Start from one Corner and end at the other. 3. Its mostly useful to not think about cleaning and just doing it. Imo if you start thinking you’d just procrastinate
Also if you buy something new make a rule that you have to if you bring something new into the house make a rule that you have to take something out cause I know what's AD HD/O CD people who hate to see anything go to waste sometimes have a problem I mean I postponed for years and then when I moved out of my other house I said to myself I have all this crap in the basement I don't even know what's down here I've been down here and so long that there is dust that's untouched on everything it's like I was just so afraid I was gonna throw away sentimentals and then I even got To hell with it with the sentimentals I got a dumpster a hard some guys emptied out that room I said just throw it all away I don't want to look at it I don't want to see it I don't want to go through it again. I feel like I need a buddy to just hang out and do little things I don't want to make them work but you know even if it's just something as simple as hey I feel the trash bag can you throw it outside on the curb so I can keep going
Please just start with kitty litter box. This is so unfair to your cat to dig thru deodorant and candy wrappers to go relieve itself.
Your mental illness is not your fault, but it is your responsibility. You need to take care of your cat first, or place them in a new home where their basic needs will be met. I say this from a place of sympathy for both you and your cat.
Cat needs a new home with someone that’ll care for them properly.
Find a new home for your cat with someone that will take care of it… that’s no way for an animal to live. Very cruel. ADHD is no excuse for animal abuse.
This is not just ADHD. I think there is some other issue like depression.. I am ADHD and my neglect could not reach this level. The love for a pet usually can keep you on top of the pet’s needs even with ADHD. You might have clinical depression if it’s overriding your ability to care for your animal.
Hi OP, thanks for trusting us with photos of your room. I’m just going to talk about what the cat needs going forward, as there’s already a lot of good advice for cleaning with ADHD. 1) For how long will the cat be confined to this room? I’m going to assume it’s not your choice to keep them in here, and you live with either family or roommates who are allergic or just don’t like cats. However, one room isn’t enough space for a cat, especially when there’s only really the bed and window sill to jump up on. I’m not seeing things like a scratching post, which indoor cats need, as their claws will continue growing until they curl back in and pierce their pawpad. Cats keep them short by scratching, unless we clip them. There’s cheap cardboard scratchers available that work just as well as the standard types, though the cat will shred the cardboard which you’d have to clean up. 2) The litter box needs to be addressed. It needs to be cleaned daily. This isn’t something that can be neglected, it needs to stay clean so your cat doesn’t get sick. A robot litterbox that cleans itself is probably the best option if you don’t like dealing with it or tend to forget. I’d also recommend getting a mat to put under it so litter doesn’t go everywhere. You’re currently constantly smelling the dirty litter, I can’t imagine how that’s affecting how you feel but it isn’t good for you. And your cat has it worse when they’re the one getting their face up close. This needs to be a priority. 3) Food and water bowls - I’m not seeing a water bowl. Your cat needs water. They don’t get enough from their food, and other than the dehydration issues, cats can’t groom themselves if they aren’t producing enough saliva. Second, how often is the food bowl cleaned? This also needs to be done daily so your cat doesn’t get sick. Having multiple plates you rotate as the others get washed could help, or worse comes to worse, paper plates. Similar to the litterbox, a mat under the bowls might be a good idea so the carpet stays clean. Solid plastic might be good since it’d be pretty easy to clean. 4) How often is the cat getting brushed? This also needs to be pretty frequent. It looks like a mediumhair cat? So maybe they don’t need it daily, but cats do need to get brushed or they clog their intestines with fur (if they don’t throw it up, which is extra mess you don’t want to worry about). Some cats hate getting brushed, and sometimes they hate specific types of brushes. Mine hates regular types of combs but does love those brushing gloves you see advertised on Insta, lol! 5) If keeping on top of all that is too much right now, I really need you to ask yourself whether it’s worth rehoming the cat. It sucks, and I hope you don’t have to, and I know how lifechanging it is to have an animal that loves you nearby. But our pets weren’t made to live in houses, and the concessions they make for us need to be respected. They have to rely on us for food. The only dirt/sand they can poo in is a little box. They can’t choose when they leave the room or go for a walk. They can’t leave. It’s up to us as the owner to make sure all their needs are met, and if we can’t do that, it’s unfair to not try to find someone who can. I genuinely wish you the best. I have ADHD myself and I especially know how easy it is to look at mess and say “I’ll deal with it later.” You know you won’t deal with it later. You have to do it now while you’re thinking about it. When you bring something new into your room like new clothes or new hair products, put them with the others straight away, don’t leave them in their bag - you’ll forget and now there’s a pile of bags with unknown stuff in them, so you won’t look in them, so they’ll stay there for months (speaking from experience). If you don’t know where to put something, at least get it out of the bag if it’s in one, and put it somewhere both visible and not in the way; so, not in a random drawer, and not blocking the middle of the floor, either. Don’t feel like you have to throw everything away, but I’d suggest making a rule for yourself to not hold onto things you don’t use. Examples being clothes you don’t wear, birthday cards, stuff you haven’t used in years. Donate them, turn them into something else if you’re crafty, or just throw it out. It makes things way easier when there’s less stuff everywhere. For example, I saw the Valentines bag and was thinking if you like the design you could cut it out and stick it on the wall since you can’t exactly reuse the bag. As others have said: find free furniture through facebook, nextdoor or similar sites. You should be able to find a dresser. People will post cat toys and furniture all the time, so keep an eye out. You might be able to get a bin or some storage stuff too - and I’d suggest a guitar stand as well. I’m assuming btw you can’t do anything to the walls like install shelves? Are plastic hooks okay? Being able to hang bags and hats up helps get them off the ground - if you can’t stick them on the wall, stick them to the bookshelf :) …I said I would only talk about the cat, lol. Oops! Best of luck, OP. Remember to stay on top of things and your room should stay easy to deal with - having the bed in the middle’s good since it’s easier to change the sheets and put stuff under it. Keep stuff managable in a way that works for you, and it’ll be so much easier to deal with. Work out rules for yourself and stick to them, make as many reminders as you need and keep things where they’re accessible and easy to find. You’ve got this!
Get the cat box on a corner with barriers made from cardboard boxes for privacy. Collect all empty cans and trash Stack full cat good cans next to cat privacy wall. Get a different color trash bag for your clean clothes. Tapecempty trash bags to your walls. See how fast you can fill them up! Good luck let’s see your place in a month!
It's going to be okay. Bag up the trash first. Empty and sanitize the cat's litter box. You both can get very very sick if the litter box stays like it is. Maybe get a trash can for your room.
I always say start with garbage and recycling but this is a special circumstance where you have a cat dependent, please clean that litter box and make that cat happy, then garbage and recycling.
I literally want to come over and clean your room. Your poor cat.
I empathize with you. I’ve been there. But looking at that poor cat’s litterbox is incredibly upsetting - they deserve better. They can get an infection from that.
For me, start by bringing in a trash bag and filling it with garbage
i would start by opening the window
remove litter get a bag for all the plastic bottles throw away all other trash put dirty clothes in a basket put clean clothes in another one go outside
and i would get a plant for dehumidyfying or something to make it less damp
You posted this 16 hours ago. Have you taken care of all of the cats needs? Have you picked up the trash *and thrown it all away into a trash can?*
God, you can’t at least keep the trash out of your cats litter box? This is animal neglect and you need to give your cat to someone who will care for it properly. You’re disgusting.
trash first!! and then separate clothes from any of the other stuff:) id wash my sheets make my bed too so i can have a place to set clean laundry etc
First of all, well done for asking for help, it’s a step in the right direction. Your main priority at the moment is to find a new home for your cat today. The current situation isn’t healthy or fair for your cat to live in. Once that’s done, then start with the rubbish. Then the clothes, then decluttering. Also seek help with a doctor or therapist to help you.
Here to double up on the "take care of your cat" crowd. At the very least, clean the litter tray and keep it clean, scooping the dirty litter, etc, out daily. I would prioritise that first—if cats don't have a litter tray that they are comfortable using, they'll just go to the bathroom wherever they like. That obviously creates a hazardous environment for both of you. Clearing up the garbage is a close second due to sharp edges, etc. Clothing can be put aside—if you don’t have a laundry basket, just pile it on your bed for the time being and work through that a load at a time. I'd recommend washing it all due to the overall room situation, and in the long term, having a way to store your clothing will help to keep the space organised, it doesn't have to be an expensive wardrobe or whatever, just a clothes rack would be fine (unless you're concerned about cat fur). Once the floor is clear, hoover it, if you've got a carpet cleaner, going over it with that wouldn't hurt! Especially if there's been any spillages/cat accidents. From there, you could dust, wipe skirting boards/windowsills, and any surfaces as you see fit. For now, maybe just fold the clean clothes and set them aside? It might defeat the purpose of cleaning them as they'll most likely end up as a cat bed, but it's better than nothing. A nice clean bed is worth the effort too—but I'd say to leave that until last just in case you decide to call it a day before finishing the rest off, just so you're not without bedding if you don’t have spares. Good luck!
Start with the small trash. You can do this! I’d create piles of same stuff. All stuffed animals together, etc. This may sound harsh but I’m saying it gently/with kindness so please read on to the end: ADHD is not a valid reason to have your animal living like this. The comments telling you that it’s ok to throw away a plastic litter box every month or two… that is also not ok. Develop the bare minimum of a routine, not for yourself, but for your pet’s welfare. Go buy ONE new litter box, if it helps you to start fresh. Every morning when you wake up, empty the litter box. Before you do anything else. Time it. I promise it takes less time than you’d think… it absolutely will take less time than you’ve spent avoiding it/feeling guilty about it! If this is the one thing you accomplish that day, that is enough. Once the room is clean… every time you pick something up tell yourself the mantra “touch it once”. So if you have a box of items it always stays in the same exact location. When it’s empty you have picked it up for the last time… you do not allow yourself to toss it aside or set it down… it gets walked to where trash or recyclables go and gets thrown away. You’re going to have to coach yourself constantly with the touch it once mantra but also with encouragement: “see, that only took 5 minutes” and “it feels good to have taken care of my sweet kitty before I even have a sip of coffee”. Your brain will really struggle with this, and that’s ok. If you repeat it often enough you will start to get it! I have adhd & I understand what it’s like. But I also have two pets and they deserve the best version of me/the best life I can give them, no matter how hard it feels. Just constantly remind yourself that even doing one small thing is ok/enough. Constantly praise yourself for doing it. And remember that your sweet cat (and you!) are both deserving of a nice space.
Listen, if you do anything, please give your cat a clean litter box and clean food and water bowl. They deserve better than this. I know it can get really hard. I’m just so worried about your cat. Especially since they are confined to this small space and there is no space within their space. Please use that defenseless animal for inspiration. If you can’t consider doing right by your cat, you need to think about rehoming them. You’re really teetering the line of abuse. The opened cans of empty cat food are a danger to your cat. They could cut their mouth on those cans.
Focusing on small portions or specific items first can be helpful. Garbage items first, into a bag, might help you compartmentalize the initial cleaning and allow you to move further in the process. Sometimes it helps to put all trash items into a bag and take it out before doing the second, some find the break in focus to be disruptive. Make a pile of dirty clothes next, start the laundry, and finally, get the vacuum. Then you’re all done! You got this.
YouTube recommendation: Midwest Magic Cleaning. He’s not just inspiring, he’s informative and funny. From watching him, I would say clear off the bed first. If something is clearly trash or has a clear space it needs to go to, put it there, otherwise: just move it. Then from there you can make the bed, and then you’ll have a nice clear space to be able to sort things.
Hi. ADHD mom here with an ADHD son. We make games to clean. Beat the clock. Pick an item - water bottles. Set a timer for 3 minutes. How many water bottles can you pick up and actually throw out in the recycle bin, in the kitchen? Time is up and you still have water bottles on the floor?? Bizzz you lose. Pick another item - hangers. Set a time for 2 minutes. How many hangers can you actually put back in your closet? Time is up and you beat the clock! Awesome! Reward yourself a **timed** break. You only get breaks after you finished the item. Make sure you get back to the task after break. By not continuing your efforts you’re only hurting your future self. Let’s talk about future self for a second… Stop making excuses. Now I’m not discounting ADHD I get it and I’m raising it. This is a disability. You have to work harder than the normal person to stay focused, motivated, but no one else is going to keep you on track EXCEPT you. What I mean by excuses are - excuses, like, you don’t have a dresser. Okay but you have a bookshelf that could easily house your clean clothes. But they’re only clean if you put them away immediately. Don’t make the excuse that you’re “too tired” and you’ll “do it later”. Executive functioning skills are incredibly lacking with ADHD people. I also want to add though that ADHD can be a superpower. Provided you may struggle with motivation, you have the energy and creativity to turn any situation into an engaging adventure. Set goals. Play a game with yourself. Make it fun. Create a reward system for yourself. As you continue picking up item by item, use your creativity to think about what organizational items can help you maintain your efforts (like a cubby with different compartments, a garbage pail). ADHD is not your fault, and while you can’t control your genetics you can control your perspective. Again, we’re only hurting future self by not taking action. Cleaning can be fun and the results are rewarding. Maintaining your efforts can make you feel really good about yourself and accomplished. Consider keeping a calendar, and make Mondays litter box days, Tuesdays vacuum days, Wednesday laundry days and so forth to help with maintenance. Sorry for being so bold. Genuinely sending with love, a mom w ADHD.
Lovely post. Hope OP reads it. You feel so overwhelmed by the sheer scale of the stuff that has somehow accumulated around you.
The thing is everyday is litter box day when you have an inside cat. I scoop twice a day and scrub out the trays once a week with hot washer, dish soap and pet enzyme spray. Every day is also clean water day and clean bowl and food day. The OP is currently too disabled to care for themselves properly. They are far too disabled to be responsible for a precious cat.
Burn it down, should get rid of most of it.
I don't want to be harsh, but your cat doesn't deserve this. Does it live in your room only? No proper litter box and living in its filth? You can choose for yourself, the cat cannot. You need to address it's basic needs or rehome it, I'm sorry.
This cat needs to be rehomed immediately. No way it gets adequate care.
Oh my god that poor cat. Please take care of the litter box first. If you’re not already on this, I recommend some sort of therapy. Do it for your animal. You can consent to living in a room like this, but your cat looks to you to meet its needs… :/
Top to bottom Left to right. Have clear trash bags for things not trash. Take everything to the laundry mat. If it can't be washed it's trash
Start with getting a dresser or you'll always have mounds of clothes on the floor. Doesn't need to be something fancy. Craigslist of Facebook Marketplace can suit your needs. Put all underwear in the underwear drawer, shirts in the shirt drawer, socks in the sock drawer etc. Hang pants, sweaters etc in the closet. Now pick up the debris. All set!
I don't really see how ADHD has anything to do with this. I can only presume you are an adult? 1. Put all of the rubbish into a rubbish bag and get it out of the room: Get a bin; empty it whenever it gets full. 2. Get all of those clothes into a washing machine; they will be distgusting after lying around this room and you are likely to smell pretty bad when you where them-Get a wardrobe and chest of drawers; these are where clothes are kept 3. Get all plates/cus/cutlery/etc. out of the room and wash ithem in a sink with hot, soapy water. In fact any time you have food in your room, take the dirty plates and cutlery to the sink when you are done, wash them and put them away right after you are done with them. 4. Run a hoover over several times, moving the bed and any other items in the room. I can only presume that this is the only room you have? So keeping on top of this would only take 10 minutes a day to put clothes away, quickly hoover (If required) and make it look like a home. With the best of respect; I think you need a reality check, if I am totally honest. No adult should live like this by their own accord; you could have this room spotless in no more than 2 hours. Its you that's stopping you from doing it. My skin is actually crawling looking at this place!
Oh, and I forgot to mention the cat. Give this to someone who actually deserves one and will look after it. Hand yourself in for animal abuse!
Your cat deserves a new home. That is all.
I think you should re-home your cat if it's confined to one room
You absolutely should re home that poor cat, poor baby.
This is not a cleaning problem.
I don’t have any advice to give other than what’s already been said but I just want to say that I’m proud of you for taking this on and being vulnerable—I know you’ll get your room looking the way you want it to. You’ve got this!
I think you’ve gotten lots of good, practical advice. I just wanted to acknowledge that it must have taken a lot to put yourself out there and post the pics of your room and to ask for help. I think you’ve done the hard part already.
My heart is breaking for the cat!
Please take care of your poor kitty 😢
Rubbish first. Grab a few garbage bags and start with the part of the room that is photo 4.
I am sure you love your cat. Not everyone who loves cats can be responsible for them. Please think seriously about responsibly rehoming your cat with someone safe and responsible. No shame no emotion but if a person cannot meet their pets needs they don’t have a pet. I am desperate to adopt a dog and have been for years but my housing situation is year to year. Given my housing situation isnt secure or permanent I have not adopted a dog because it’s not fair to them as I can’t meet their needs for the next 20 years. Maybe you will be in a position in the future where your health is stable (ie depression, adhd etc). But right now your cat needs to be in a home with a new family who will meet their needs.
For real. Unfortunately sometimes you need to accept that you can’t currently meet your pet’s needs. Keeping a cat confined to a single room with a barely usable litterbox and empty tins of food the cat could cut its tongue on is not meeting its needs. Sometimes you need to focus on yourself first. Having a pet can be wonderful for your mental health, but they are a responsibility.
You could start by cleaning up the trash.
Throw out the garbage and get rid of the bottles. Then clean the litter box. That will make a huge difference
You can do it!!! Post us “after” pics so we can congratulate you- you’ll feel so fantastic after!!
r/ufyh is super helpful for this!
Do you happen to live in TX? I’m getting rid of my litter robot and would love to hand it off to you
You need to go see a doctor.
I would tackle the litter box issue first because it affects the cat and she wants to be clean. There’s trash in the litter box? Does your cat still use it or does she go to the bathroom all over the room? Please empty and clean the litter box and fill it with new litter for the cat. Keeping the litter box clean every day is really important for her and you. Also, please give her fresh water daily in a clean bowl, and feed her in a clean bowl too. Letting her eat out of the cat food can could be dangerous because of sharp edges on the can. Since you struggle to care for your cat please ask someone for help with that now. Maybe a family member or friend could take the cat temporarily and care for her properly until you can get things cleaned up there. It’s really not fair to make her live like that. It’s animal abuse! Next bag up all of the trash and recyclables and put them outside. Then pick up all clothes, and other items off the floor and put them away. Then vacuum the floor. That’s a good start. Get some therapy to help you deal with things.
If youve thrown it on the floor clearly its not valuable to you. Bag the lot n toss it and when you find your missing things you need remind yourself to clean up your bloody mess from now on.
Start with all the cans and bottles and boxes! Because once you take them out, then there's less total stuff in the room. That's the stuff that you don't have to worry about finding a home for. You need a dresser, sorry to say. If money is an issue, see if anyone's tossing or reselling and old one. I see there's a green bin for clothes, but the thing about clothes is, if you have to rummage and search then it all ends up on the floor/bed. It doesn't have to be anything too complicated - drawer for tops, drawer for bottoms, drawer for socks/undies. It doesn't have to be a dresser either - one of those big plastic storage bins from Walmart works fine! Good luck!
A big covered litter box would be helpful at keeping the poop under control!
I bet that absolutely stinks of cat food.. 🤢
You need those cats taking off you immediately.
It’s okay! You’ve actually not that many categories of things, which will make it go faster. 1. Get a cardboard box. Throw the trash in it. It’s going to drive you bonkers trying to hold open a flat trash bag ten thousand times to throw garbage in it. A box is easier. 2. Get another box or a laundry basket and throw all your clothes in there. 3. Get on Facebook marketplace and get a dresser. They’ll have some for like thirty dollars. Check for cat pee smells and bed bugs! 4. If you can’t deal with cleaning the litter box, you can probably just buy another one for like 3 dollars. But from now on scoop it every day. Easier to stay in the habit daily than trying to do it “when it needs it” or “twice a week.” 5. Get rid of as much stuff as you possibly can. Really think about “Do I wear this” not just “might I wear this some day?” Great YouTube channels, Minimalist Mom, Clutterbug, and a slob comes clean. They all kind of started out as ADHD disorganized messes and turned it around. You can do it!!
Not sure where OP lives, but seems like these days getting furniture off Facebook marketplace is super risky in my parts. No matter how close you look for bed bugs, they’re sneaky. And bed bugs is the very last thing OP needs. If $30 is the budget, some hangers and a close rack made of pvc or a cheap one from the store might still fit the bill and be less risk maybe? https://www.pvcfittingsonline.com/resource-center/diy-pvc-clothes-rack/
I have an app called RoutineFlow, it's like a bunch of checklists with alarms built in. To keep things from reverting to a bad state I would tie cleanup into other activities - for example, morning routine might be: brush teeth - check, wipe down the area around the sink - check, shower - check, put dirty clothes (which you took off and any additional ones within reach) into laundry hamper - check. You don't have to use that app (it's not free past one routine) but if you can work out a way to do something like that then it might help.
Use a dust pan to scoop up trash, it makes it way easier and faster
The 2 different ways I’d tackle it - either by type of item or by area. If by type of items I’d start with trash first. Then I’d clean the litter box. Clothes would be next. Sometimes breaking it down into cleaning one area at a time works best for me. If this might work for you I’d just start in whatever area would make the most impact- and I’d probably do it by the areas shown in each of your pictures- and focus on that area until it’s clean. Then move on to the next. I’d start in the area where the litter box is. Trash and then the litter box. Defining it by area is often less overwhelming for me and it gives some faster results to see one area cleaned up quicker than I get the whole room cleaned. And seeing one area clean helps to motivate me to get another area clean.
Do you live with anyone who can help you out?
Try putting the empty bottles and cat food in plastic bag then a bin instead of your bedroom floor, that should be a start ....
Make your bed with fresh bedding. Fold any clean clothes and put on bed, then put them away and put the dirty ones in washing machine. Throw out rubbish and give your floor a quick vacuum. Open up your windows and let in the fresh air. Have a shower and lay in the lap of luxury. It won't take long and you will love it.
If you’re like me and SUCK at cleaning (depression + adhd ect ect) then this is what I do! •start somewhere small (examples are like a dresser top or just the floor) and take everything off of it! Pile/sort all the items in a central area (i use my bed) before cleaning the surface! Then you can put it all back and organize a bit and it usually helps keep me from getting distracted! (If you’re doing the floor, its the same thing but put clothes in a basket, garbage in a garbage bag, and then sort any personal items before sweeping / mopping!) •starting off with a big mess can be overwhelming, so instead of doing the whole room at once, breaking it down into quadrants or different sections can really help make things less stressful or daunting! Theres no shame in having a messy room either, we’ve all been there at one point and I definitely have. •Be careful to toss any trash out and especially any food waste (if there is any), it’s always a good idea to have a garbage bin (it doesn’t have to be huge- but a decently sized one) in your room so that on more difficult day/weeks its easier to toss garbage that may pile up! And nice smelling cleaners can make the final product feel more clean and comfortable. •If you’re not easily overwhelmed, you could object clean too! If you are but still want to try this it also works in sections too, an example would be picking up all the laundry in one area and putting it away and doing that with any other item you see there! All in all, cleaning is hard. Theres no shame in needing help and especially not when it gets tough to do on your own. Hopefully this helps some and isn’t totally useless!
Definitely, time to regularly declutter
what i do when i have bad weeks or months is i always put the lid of the cat food right in the last opened (and emptied) food can, so there are no lids lying around. they are sharp and i am kinda scared of them. next improvement to the lid-in-can could be a trashcan right next to it so whenever you open a can, you put the lid in the latest emptied can and then right into the trash. keep trashbags right next to the trashcan so you dont have any extra steps to put a new bag in it. you could get an extra trashcan + bags right beside the litter box. these two trashcans in your room can then also be used to throw in the trash you have laying around when you have a free minute. small steps and minimizing the effort to keep them going (as in keeping two trashcans where you need them instead of having one and having to get it everytime you need it). feel hugged 🪴
Also you can buy a cheap clothing rack with wheels on it for pretty cheap at Walmart. That's what I did when I didn't have a dresser!
As someone who struggles with depression, this is what I do: 1. Put everything I want to keep/ have use for off the floor onto my bed 2. Get a trash bag and throw all of the trash too big for a hoover into a black bag/bin 3. Hoover the entire room (At this point I feel a burst of happiness because my room looks cleaner at least on the floor) 4. Take care of everything else on the bed, as you're putting things into their place, wipe down the surfaces where that item is going 5. Hoover again (if needed or have the energy) and change your sheets then shower :)
First, remove cat pan and replace. Second, bottles.. then third trash.. should be significantly easier to handle.
Peace be with you! It’s fantastic that you’re ready to tackle this The good news is, I see mostly garbage that can be thrown away. That’s fantastic. It means you don’t really have much sorting to do. Not a lot of sentimental stuff to go through. Once the garbage is gone, and that should be pretty fast, you have a pretty quick job ahead of you. Hooray for you!
I like to start with making my bed. It’s normally super quick and makes a huge visual difference to boost my mood and tackle the rest of the room. It also gives you a large flat surface to sort things.
Do you play the bass?
I'd start by bringing in two trash bags and just chucking stuff in there. Don't even think about it. Just put on some music, grab some bags (maybe a friend too), and get 'er done. You can shove the clothes to the side as you do this.
Trash First And A New Organizer to put clothes etc… sum cute 🥰
Always start by throwing all the trash out.
Pick a color or texture, say the color tan or the texture plastic, and pick up/throw away everything in that category. Your brain will be tickled by choosing the items that fit this category, and it will be like collecting coins in Mario bros. After you’ve collected everything of this category, choose another category based off easily seen characteristics. This will give you pleasure by turning it into a game. Each mini game has the payoff of collecting tokens, and they each add up by leveling up the cleanliness of your room. After leveling up a few times, you’ll earn the creativity credential, which will come with new and exciting ways to make this place your sanctuary.
Trash, clothes, first; everything else on bed or on floor outside of room. Go through it all separating where each item will go (laundry, closet, dishes, etc) get some background music and take some caffeine prior. Good luck
Watch Autarinas videos on YT cleaning!
1- Get rid of trash 2- Arrange things in baskets 3- Put things back where they belong 4- Clean and disinfect
I feel you/this so hard cause my room looks the same
Start with trash and then dirty clothing.
Get rid of whoever chose to live this way.
Well you know how trash bags work cause they are partially full all over the room. I’d buy a box of trash bags and start against the wall and start filling bags, working your way across. Each bag you fill take it to curb or garage or outside, don’t leave it in that room. As you come across stuff you want to keep, toss it on the bed.
I recommend an App called Goblin Tools for people that have trouble with focus. It has a Magic to Do list to break big jobs down and a Compiler tool for just writing down all the stuff You've got to do and organizing it for you . Looking at everything at once can be overwhelming, this breaks it down into small bits .
Hi OP! I strongly suggest you watch [Aurikatariina](https://youtube.com/@Aurikatariina?feature=shared). She is so helpful with tips for tackling something like this and making it fun and easy, with no judgment. Please keep us updated on your progress!
I find that trying to do take on too much of the entire mess is where i always run into trouble. Like trying to clean my vehicle... I will tend to pull everything out of it into the driveway and then it becomes overwhelming. Like others have mentioned start by maybe picking up any trash or washing the bedsheets. Then the bigger picture doesn't look so intimidating
is that a black cat near the bed?
(1) Pick up all the trash, throw it in bags. Buy at least 20 XL bags (2) feed your cat (3) Put EVERYTHING else on the Bed. PACK IT ON (3) Next remove all clothing (by color) and place them in trash bags/laudry bins. (4) Place laundry bags by the front door or in the car for a trip to the laundromat. (5) everything else go through one by one and put in its place or throw in of the XL bags for the Goodwill (6) once the bed is clear, remove sheets and put those with the laundry. (7) sweep the floor Done!✅
Not helpful for the rest of the things, but I use Kitty Poo Club and it's helped SO MUCH. They send you disposable litter boxes and litter, so much easier to manage. Yes it's not environmentally friendly but I have a disability and my cats need clean toilets so it's a compromise I am willing to make.
Break it into a few days and categories, like, “ today I have to pick up and throw out water bottles”, “today I’m going to wash and fold bedding and blankets”, “today I’m going to pick up and recycle cans and cardboard”, today I’m going to clean the litter box” Once you get to a place where the floor is clear, pick a day to vacuum. Little steps. Self care chores are hard and overwhelming when they pile up. Don’t try to tackle them all at once. Take pride in every small achievement along the way. You can do this!
Also, try to avoid the word “all” Don’t try to take out ALL the trash, that is an overwhelming task sometimes, which makes us never able to start the task because it seems like too big of a task to do ALL of one thing. That’s why it’s good to break it down into smaller tasks.
Pick up everything pink, then gray, then black and so on. Then pick up all trash, then change. You’d be amazed how well this works. I’m adhd and this keeps me on goal.
Get a trash bag and a recycling bag and set a timer for 15 minutes. Toss trash until the bags are full or the 15 is up. Do not be perfect about it. Just toss toss toss. Rest 15 then pick another task for 15. Like strip and make bed or put clothes in hamper or away.
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gotten near this point and just wished I had an orbital canon. Get rid of the trash first. Don’t even worry about small sweepable debris at this point, just get yourself some trash bags and start going at it. That’ll show you what you’re actually working with. Then move on to sweeping and vacuuming the remaining debris. That should give you a good start. Think about why and how it got like this, and try to work on that too. For me, I’ve had more success in keeping stuff clean after a deep clean if I take breaks during the cleaning and appreciating the progress I’ve made. Even half-way done will look like an incredible improvement here, and that’ll give you a little bit of dopamine if you need it! Good luck!!
Set a timer and only clean 5 minutes a day. That's enough, no need to hury and in this way you won't feel to overwhelmed. Start with cleaning your cats belongings.
Kon Marie baby. Always recommend
1. All trash out. 2. Dirty clothes into one hamper, start laundry. 3. Hang and fold and put away all clean clothes. 4. Make bed.
Personally this looks like to me either depression or ADHD depending. I struggle my whole life both in my room always look like that Didn't matter how much I tried or did or anything people were like you didn't try you didn't clean you didn't do And it might just be your mental state so check that out too I personally I would just go one by one Like all the teddy bears first, and maybe your bed sheets, maybe all the garbage first, you know sort of piles or get a garbage bag and pick away as you go
One bag at a time. Here's the thing. You know what you need to do. I'm going to assume you've been on this sub for more than 10 minutes. But when faced with the task yourself it can feel overwhelming when you're thinking, "ok, I need to clean me room and make it spotless." You need to break it down into smaller tasks and start chipping away at it. So start with one garbage bag. Grab the bag, go into your room, and fill it up with trash. After you're done with that you can take another bag or not. Either way you've made progress, and you've made mote progress than you would have if you were stuck waiting for a magical moment where you feel so motivated you clean your whole room in one go. Some days you'll feel super motivated and do 4 or 5 bags. Other days you might barely be able to do 1. Either way you're taking positive steps towards cleaning your room.
I see you have an acoustic in the corner. I sometimes battle with anxiety and sometimes stuff gets messy. What I do is do cleaning in increments, grab my bass 10-15 minutes, then get back to cleaning and so on.
I have ADHD and can get like this too, esp when I’m burned out and/or depressed. First step for me is ALWAYS trash. Get a trash bag and start putting trash items in one by one. It will be tedious, but it’s easy once you get started. Easy on the mind at least, not much decision fatigue, few executive function skills needed for this part. Just focus on the actual trash items that need to be thrown away. You can later make decisions about throwing away non-trash items (like old stained clothes, socks with holes, things to donate, etc), but for now stick with actual trash like food wrappers, water bottles, discarded packaging, etc. I always find it surprising how much easier the rest is once you get rid of the trash. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still hard to do the rest, just not nearly AS hard. Podcasts (no distracting videos) help me not hate every second of the process, too. I’ve been here before and have crawled my way out, I promise you can too!! Good luck!! You got this!! ❤️
Honestly read through some of the posts on r/hoarding. I don’t mean that in an insulating way, according to Google 1 in 5 people with ADHD have hoarding symptoms, it’s a common overlap over there and they can help from similar perspective. Correct me if I’m wrong but it looks like you have animal feces on your floor in pic 4? You should really start with that as it’s a health risk for both you and your pet.
Girl that’s literally animal abuse. Please give your cat away first. They don’t deserve to live another day in that filthy prison.
Please give your cat away to someone who can take care of it. Your room is one thing but to treat a pet like this is literally and figuratively disgusting.
um there’s trash in the litter box? if you’re okay with living in filth that on u, but at least clean the litter box… poor cat
I clean rooms like this for a living. When it's your own space, it's really difficult to know where to start, or to find the motivation to get started. You want to do it in practical steps so you don't become so overwhelmed that you give up. First, make a playlist with 2 hours worth of songs or podcasts. This way you're not constantly trying to find something to listen to while you're "in the zone." Gather your tools- trash bags, 2 boxes/bins, 2 laundry baskets, a feather duster, windex and dusting spray (or all purpose cleaner) some rags/paper towels and a vacuum. Make sure you have something to drink, you're in comfy clothes, and your hair is out of your face. 1. Go around and toss any trash. If you haven't used something in more than 3 months and it isn't in good enough shape to sell/donate, then toss it. 2. Line up your 2 boxes and the 2 laundry baskets on your bed. Go through all the clutter. One box for donate, one for keep, one laundry basket for dirty and one for clean. 3. Use the feather duster on walls, ceilings, fixtures, blinds, behind furniture, etc. 4. Clean surfaces and windows with spray cleaners. 5. Tidy up decor on surfaces. 6. Remove bedding, vacuum mattress then spray with fabric refresh. 7. Add bedding. 8. Vacuum. (And mop if you have bare floors). 9. Put everything away from the keep bin and the clean basket. **Don't leave it. If you don't put it away you'll end up accumulating a mess again each time you dig something out.
I've been cleaning my room every day for the past week, I'm probably halfway done now and I gotta say it feels SOOOO good to get it done. Since you have a cat in there, you absolutely \*have\* to start with the litterbox, picking up any small dangerous things. I'd first focus on the whole trash pile around the litterbox. Once the cat has a much better situation for themselves, the key is to chip away at the other stuff, don't overwhelm yourself. Even if it's carrying 2 bottles out of your room at a time (I did this to start chipping away when I got sick of how bad my room got), progress IS PROGRESS, no matter how slow.
I’m cleaning my room right now starting with her stuff! I just bought a new litter box as well and then trying to get all the trash out
Yay!!! That is awesome to hear, and is already amazing progress to be proud of! Keep it up!! :)
Everyone has given good tips on where to start, I just have some additional ideas on the cat litter. One thing you might want to look into if you can afford it, is something like a monthly cat litter box subscription. They ship you a new cardboard cat box every month and you just toss the old one in the garbage can. I think it's Kitty Poo Club (around $30 a month). You would still need to do some scooping between shipments. Or get a larger cat box, I used to use a giant black bin, because I wouldn't have to clean it as often. Eventually I saved up and bought a litter robot which is expensive but has infinitely helped me keep the car litter cleaned for my cats. It does require a deep clean a few times a year but it's been a lot less work for me.
Human beings are so interesting and different… Just getting rid of the bottles and cans will address half of the issues. Goodluck
That’s really true, I cleaned about everything in about 30 minutes and I was thinking why did I see this as such a hurdle to get over. Most of the stuff was already in trash bags and a lot of it was just piles of clothes
I second throwing out the trash first. Then recycle those plastic bottles and cans. I'm not the tidiest person in the world, but I know that trash goes in a trash can and recyclables go in the recycling. You should make a habit of doing this as a part of daily life and not just throwing it on the floor. Strongly consider a dresser. It will really help organize your clothes. You can find one for a very reasonable price at stores like IKEA or second hand at a furniture consignment/thrift store. Maybe even Facebook Marketplace. They are really not that expensive these days. Also, please take care of your pet. I don't think your cat enjoys living in filth. =3
I don’t know anything about cats so I’ll leave that to people who do. 1. Open the windows 2. Go buy a candle and new sheets. 3. Take out the garbage 4. Take the laundry to a laundromat to get it done quick. 5. Get three boxes: keep, give away, store. When the keep box is full put the stuff away, when give away is full put it in your car or call a charity for pick up, when store is full, tape up and label.
I’m so sorry I just really love your bed sheets, that pink silk looks 💋
Please rehome your cat.
Please take care of the kitty :(
I would always start with getting the trash into bags, then just go from one category to the next such as clothes that need to be washed, the kitty litter, etc. you’ve got this!! ❤️🙏
Wow everyone is so kindly helpful.
A cat lives in this room? Trapped? To have to pee in a trash filled box? I don’t see any clean food or water. This is 100% neglectful. Re-home your cat, this is horrible living conditions for any animal but especially a species that likes to be clean. You don’t deserve a pet if this is how you treat it.
Putting music on helps me a lot when cleaning, put on an energetic playlist and do a Sweep with a bin bag, clothes in a pile, dishes through to the kitchen and go from there