Help please. Need serious motivational help.

Iysha - posted on 04/02/2010

I concentrate on one room a day. If there is something I don't need, I throw it away. I just moved from a house to an apartment and we don't have access to our storage space. It irks me because there are things I need but don't use ( baby gear that is grown out of and won't be used til next baby) and I can't get it out of here.

It helps to have a schedule written out. Like: Monday- sort old clothes and toys and put in boxes for yard sale/ charity. Tuesday- clean my room and organize the closet. Wednesday-make the kitchen spotless...everything in it's place. And so on. Forget vacuuming, dusting, laundry for a few days...it's not going to kill anybody to wear the same jeans 4 times in a row. Lol

My MIL is having her mom come to help her out with her home...help is always a great thing because it gets done faster then all you have to do is maintain it.

Michaela - posted on 04/09/2010

Let the feeling of getting down be your alert signal to get up right then and there to go complete one task...like a trigger

Darlene - posted on 04/09/2010

p.s. My sister says that one of the keys to success is keeping a list of goals everyday - like a checklist. And de-clutter. The less "stuff" we have in our houses to clean up everyday, the more time we have to focus on other things! I can definately see how this would help me. I also suggest that you do those leftover jobs during your best part of the day - the part of the day when you have the most energy & feel the happiest. otherwise you might be reminded of your old depression (by feeling tired and sad again). I'm so proud of you! Keep up the awesome work!! You CAN do this! WE can do this!

Darlene - posted on 04/09/2010

I have also been struggling with the same thing for a long time. I agree that writing things down helps me too. When I get depressed, I get overwhelmed & tired, which means I won't get anything done at all. So it helps me to write every thought, shopping list idea, goal, cleaning project idea, etc. on a list so that I can focus. I don't know if this next trick is truely a good idea, but I do put things in tubs to deal with later. You know those plastic tubs with snap-on lids from the store? If my house gets to cluttered, it makes me feel even more depressed, so I just walk through & put all the clutter into the tubs. Most of the time the clutter is actually toys, so I just put all the toys in a tub, put the lid on it and put the tub in a closet until I feel like going through it. I'd rather not do that, but sometimes I just have to "clean up" the living room. HOWEVER, we can't leave the stuff in the tubs forever. :)

[deleted account]

Hey! I have Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) so the clutter builds up in my home every winter. For some reason, during those spells I just can't deal with it. Since your's last year round, not sure if this will help or not, but here's what I do.
First, I take a totally objective approach. I forget how much I paid for it, if I will ever use it again, and all that stuff. Then I go one surface at a time--starting with say my dresser top. I take everything off, put it on the bed or floor or what ever. Then I start putting it back, once I have the surface looking the way I want it, the rest goes in a box and is off to goodwill. Then I just go through the house, surface by surface, once the surfaces are done, I will tackle closets. Setting small goals keeps me motivated, because if feels good to look at a cleaned off table and to know that I just did that and it only took 20 minutes. Some days I will do several surfaces, others only one, but I usually have the house decluttered in just a week or two.
Hope this helps, and I hope you do well managing your depression.

Nicole - posted on 04/09/2010

Thank you all. These are all really good ideas and I am going to apply them to my house. I WILL get this clutter cleared out. lol.

Katie - posted on 04/03/2010

I also have serious depression. I get a notebook and write down everything that is bothering me and everything I want to get done. Eventually I get to the point where I'm focusing on goals instead of things that are bothering me and I feel motivated. Just take everything one day at a time and make a point to at least one thing everyday NO MATTER WHAT. Then by the end of the day you won't feel like NOTHING got accomplished, even if it was only something small.

Emma - posted on 04/02/2010

I had a clutter problem of note, i found that if you can get a friend or family member to help you will get it done fast. My sister who is a neat freak helped me do my house.
She got some big boxes and labelled them " Keep, Donate, Sell and Rubbish" then she collected a box of stuff and we sat there she only gave me 30 sec to decide on each item and if it was something she thought was junk or thought i had picked the wrong box i had to justify my choice.
I found we got all the junk out of the house in just 2 days and then it was just cleaning and finding homes for the things i kept.
I don't think i could of done it by myself as the task seemed huge and it was but much more manageable with a little out side perspective.

Danielle - posted on 04/02/2010

Some days are rougher than others. I wait until I hit a great day when the kids are listening and picking up after themselves to try to multitask, *try* being the key word :) Usually when they nap or after they go to bed. But if you're at the unfortunate age where they aren't on a steady schedule yet it's hard. Just do as much as you can when you can and eventually you'll get there. Remember, nothing happens over night!! :) And when all else fails take it to goodwill in bags. That's primarily what we do, because my husband isn't around enough to help and I don't have the time or mind to organize a garage sale or listings for the Internet. At least if you do donate it, it'll be helping somebody, somewhere along the line!