Depression can make you less motivated to do things that are important to you, like spending time with friends, pursuing hobbies and interests, or even just keeping your home clean and in order. When depression makes it hard for you to do normal, everyday things, it’s easy for your home to go from being neat and well-kept to, well, a mess. As the mess grows, taking action might become increasingly difficult—an issue that all too often lowers your mood and lowers your quality of life. In this article, we will learn how to get motivated to clean a room in a house with ADHD when you are depressed and overwhelmed by the mess.
The good news is that coping with a filthy house isn’t as overwhelming as it may appear, as long as you adopt the right mindset and focus on taking little steps to improve your living environment and overall well-being.
How to Get Motivated to Clean When Depressed
We’ve detailed how to get motivated to clean a room in a house with ADHD when you’re depressed or overwhelmed by a mess, whether you’re experiencing a brief bad mood or clinical depression.
We’ve also given some easy but effective cleaning and organization methods to help you transform your house into a tidy environment that will help you feel better and make actual, measurable progress toward recovery.
#1. Take care of the mess before it becomes a problem.
Few things are more discouraging than glancing around your house and realizing you’ll need two, three, or even four hours (or worse, an entire day) to adequately deal with all the mess you’ve accumulated.
Some depressive symptoms, such as exhaustion and a feeling that accomplishing anything, no matter how modest, is futile, might exacerbate this feeling. To avoid the overwhelming sense of a large clean-up, deal with tiny jobs as they arise rather than allowing the mess to accumulate.
Other minor things you can do to be motivated to clean a room in a house with ADHD when depressed and overwhelmed by mess include:
- Instead of letting dirty clothes pile up on the floor, put them in the washing hamper as soon as you change them.
- Organizing mail, bills, and other documents as soon as they arrive to avoid mountains of confused, disorganized paperwork.
- Instead of waiting several days or weeks to clean your kitchen counter, shower, and other moist surfaces, wipe them down after use.
Simply put, try to deal with little issues while they are still small issues, rather than after they have evolved into huge annoyances. This simple tweak may keep messes at bay and your home looking clean and tidy without the need for multi-hour cleaning efforts.
#2. Use music to lift your spirits.
Cleaning is definitely boring, and the sadness, emptiness, and impatience that often come with depression can make it even worse.
One simple technique to be motivated to clean your house or room when depressed is to distract yourself with music. To add inspiration, play a peaceful soundtrack in the background while you organize your clothing, clean the bathroom, or organize your bedroom.
#3. Set aside a small amount of time every day
From going to the gym to learning a new language, many seemingly difficult chores become a lot easier when you make them part of your routine. When you’re depressed, it’s easy to procrastinate, and telling yourself that you’ll clean the house “tomorrow” often results in nothing getting done.
Make cleaning an everyday activity to which you commit 10, 15, or 20 minutes of your time, whether it’s to do a load of laundry, keep your personal space neat, or just take care of other daily duties, to make taking action easier.
#4. Make a cleaning checklist for each day.
Depression can make it hard to make decisions, which makes even simple things like figuring out where to start cleaning shockingly hard.
Create a daily cleaning checklist that includes everything from making your bed to folding your clothing, washing the dishes, and putting out the trash to help yourself get motivated to clean your room in a house with ADHD when you’re depressed and overwhelmed by the mess.
You can accomplish this by keeping a written to-do list in a conspicuous position at home or by establishing a repeating list on your phone using a to-do list app.
#5. Consider hiring someone to assist you with cleaning.
Cleaning is frequently a time-consuming activity, and juggling it with other elements of your life can be difficult when you’re depressed. Don’t be scared to employ someone to help you clean your house if you can afford it. Using a cleaning service can help you free up time to focus on your work, go to therapy, or simply spend quality time with your friends and family.
#6. Consider Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy.
CBT, or cognitive-behavioral therapy, is a type of psychotherapy that is frequently used to break the cycle of depression.
A key component of cognitive-behavioral therapy is learning how to identify thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that are detrimental to your well-being and then how to change these self-defeating behaviors.
CBT is widely used to help people with depression. According to some scientific evidence, CBT may help boost motivation and reduce procrastination in addition to alleviating the symptoms of depression.
#7. Accept that you will have bad days.
Finally, realize that you will have good and bad days while recovering from depression, especially if you have persistent or severe depression.
Motivation might be fleeting, especially when you are depressed. If you’re feeling overwhelmed by your everyday life and don’t believe you’ll be able to stick to your regular cleaning regimen, don’t feel bad about putting your feet up and taking some time off.
This could mean allowing your kitchen, bathroom, or bedroom (or all three) to grow a little untidy during the day while you focus on personal self-care, or simply missing your normal cleaning routine for a day to spend time on other things.
How to Get Motivated to Clean When Overwhelmed by Mess
It’s remarkable how vacuuming the floor, cleaning the kitchen, and organizing clutter can lift your spirits. Although you may not feel like doing much when you’re depressed, it can be beneficial to force yourself to be active regardless. When you’re feeling down and overwhelmed, doing a few chores can help lift your spirits. So, when I’m depressed and overwhelmed by the mess, here’s how I get motivated to clean my house room with ADHD.
#1. Keep up the good work.
The larger the job, the more difficult the task. Small jobs that can be completed quickly, on the other hand, can quickly mount up and help you keep a clean home.
- Rather than let dishes pile up, rinse and put them in the dishwasher immediately away.
- Make it a habit to sort your mail and organize what you need to keep. It’s preferable to dump everything on the kitchen table.
- When you’re through, spray down your shower to minimize mold and mildew growth and make deep cleaning a lot easier.
These are just a few instances, but it’s the smallest things that make a difference. Your home will stay clean and clutter-free if you take care of things right away.
#2. Set attainable objectives.
Give yourself a manageable task to complete each day. It adds up to a cleaner home over a week. For example, you could clean the bathroom on Sunday and then do laundry on Monday.
Plus, if you’re not in the mood to clean, a quick task is easier to do than a big and seemingly unending list.
#3. Learn how to operate more efficiently.
Jobs that can be completed more quickly are more likely to be completed when you are fatigued. Create a few cleaning hacks to help you save time. This may be as simple as sprucing up the living room from the top down. Begin by clearing clutter, then dusting furniture before bringing out the vacuum.
It also helps to have all of your things ready from the start. This removes the need to dash to the closet every five minutes.
#4. Break free from procrastination.
When we are feeling down, it is all too easy to say, “Oh, I’ll just do that tomorrow.” Learn how to overcome the desire to procrastinate. This can keep all of the small jobs from piling up into huge ones.
Some people find it beneficial to make cleaning more enjoyable. Turn up the music and dance your way through your tasks. There will be no one observing, and time will pass much more quickly.
#5. Give yourself some slack.
Expecting perfection can only lead to disappointment and frustration. Allow yourself to be human and establish acceptable criteria that keep you comfortable and sanitary.
You don’t need to disinfect the bathroom to eat in it, do you? That’s fantastic if the laundry gets folded and put away. Don’t be concerned about cleaning out the drawer so that clothes can be given.
#6. Delegate when possible
It stands to reason that the more people you live with, the more labor is produced. However, because you are not alone, you have additional hands to complete the work.
Encourage everyone to pitch in and help you clean the house. Assign weekly or daily chores so that the responsibility does not rest solely on you. Some families even set aside time for cleaning and everyone pitches in for an hour or two.
#7. Hire someone to help
You may wish to pay someone to assist you if it is within your budget. Knowing that someone else will handle some of the cleanings will free up some of your time and energy. That doesn’t imply you should rely on them for everything. Even if you’re depressed, it’s critical to work on managing some of your day-to-day responsibilities on your own.
If you’re having trouble getting things done, it could mean that you need help for your depression or that the treatment you’re getting is working. If you’re having problems managing your home and keeping it clean, consult your doctor.
How to Get Motivated to Clean with ADHD
We aim to improve your confidence in your abilities to become motivated to clean a house with ADHD in this essay. House does not fail because it is impossible. Rather, you frequently struggle to accomplish house cleaning tasks due to ADHD symptoms and a lack of all the tools you require to succeed. When you are depressed or overwhelmed by a mess, utilize the tools and strategies below to get motivated to clean a house room with ADHD.
#1. Consistently practice decluttering.
When it comes to ADHD and house cleaning, it appears like you are constantly fighting against clutter. Many persons with ADHD struggle with organization. The ADHD mind’s ability to go from one concept to the next makes it tough to keep track of things and ensure that everything is always placed back where it belongs. As a result, whether they plan to or not, many persons with ADHD accumulate a lot of clutter.
#2. Use bins for organization
Consider using containers for an organization to aid in your decluttering efforts, as well as ADHD and house cleaning. Clutter happens when we don’t put things where they belong. We merely accumulate mounds of stuff without a place for it over time.
#3. Make a cleaning schedule.
Another important thing to know about getting motivated to clean with ADHD and housekeeping is that if you don’t intend to clean, you won’t do it. We all have hectic lives and plenty of reasons why we can’t get things done. When it comes to house cleaning, most of us have other things we’d rather do. We will almost always do something else if we do not schedule time for house cleaning.
#4. Have a cleaning chart
Another reason we have problems with ADHD and house cleaning is that we lose track of what we have done and what we still have to do. With little time to focus or ponder, the ADHD brain jumps from one activity to the next. Because of the rapid processing, we may lose track of where we are in our work.
You should keep a cleaning chart to keep yourself organized. This chart should be used in conjunction with your existing cleaning schedule. Your purpose with the schedule was to list all of the cleaning tasks that needed to be completed. With the chart, you may take the identical chores and mark off whether or not they were performed as scheduled.
#5. Maintain a daily cleaning routine
You must have a daily cleaning program in addition to a cleaning chart. You can make a timetable and a chart, but even with those, you might not be able to go anywhere with ADHD and house cleaning. Also, you could still be where you are because you never budgeted enough time to complete the tasks on your list. Instead of cleaning, you simply begin a cycle of assigning jobs but never completing them.
#6. Begin small
Finally, if you have ADHD and want to get motivated to clean, start small. ADHD and stress are linked for a variety of reasons. One of the reasons that stress is so difficult for persons with ADHD is that they have too many things going on at once. They are overwhelmed by the tasks, and their stress levels rise as a result.
How can I motivate myself to clean?
How to Get Motivated to Clean:
- Remove the clutter.
- Create a cleaning schedule.
- Start with the simplest task first.
- Focus on one room at a time.
- Put everything in its rightful place.
- Set the timer.
- Create a playlist for chores.
- Listen to audiobooks or podcasts.
Why do I have zero motivation to clean?
This is related to Avolition, which is a complete absence of motivation that makes it difficult to accomplish anything. Even ordinary, everyday tasks are impossible to begin or complete. Getting out of bed to do the dishes or driving to the store can feel like conquering Mount Everest.
How do you motivate a lazy person to clean?
The following are some suggestions for motivating a lazy individual to clean:
- Take care of your drawers.
- Keep cleaning supplies in the room where you use them.
- Set a timer.
- Don’t worry about the minor details.
- Make it enjoyable.
- Have fewer possessions.
Where to start cleaning when you are overwhelmed?
Choose a Starting Point:
- The floor: tidy or organize piles of mail or books, sweep up crumbs with a broom or vacuum the living room rug.
- The kitchen sink: Wash any dishes in the sink or load the dishwasher, then give the sink itself a good scrub.
- Laundry hampers: Begin by tossing in a load of laundry.
How do I stop being so messy and lazy?
Here’s how to stop being disorganized and lazy:
- Accept, love, and forgive yourself just as you are.
- Determine how you want your house and life to feel.
- Seek assistance as necessary.
- We, messy people, do not have the luxury of owning as much stuff as we desire – by reducing and organizing our homes, we can substantially lessen the mess.
Get Professional Help for Depression
Depression is a serious mental disorder that can interfere with your daily activities, and it is normal for depression to coexist with an untidy house. If you’re having trouble finding the drive to clean when depressed, consider employing the suggestions and tactics listed above to help.
If your depression symptoms are severe, persistent, or affecting your well-being, you must seek help. You can get skilled support by using our online mental health services, which include online psychiatry.
Conclusion
When faced with an enormous mess, cleaning your home can be a difficult undertaking. But it doesn’t necessarily have to be. My recommendations on how to get motivated to clean a room with ADHD when you’re depressed or overwhelmed by a mess should help you discover more peace in your house.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can depression prevent you from cleaning?
When depressed, many people find it difficult to do simple hygienic tasks. Showering, washing their hands, brushing their teeth, doing laundry, or brushing their hair are all examples.
What causes someone to not clean their house?
It could indicate that you are overworked and have little time to clean and organize. It could be an indication that you have too much things. Also, it could also be the result of having young children around the house, who are usually unmotivated to clean up after themselves.
What does a dirty house say about you?
You may wonder if a messy house is a sign of mental illness. According to psychology, messiness might be a symptom that a person is under distress. Being a messy person, like someone suffering from OCD and having to regulate everything, may indicate that they are coping with depression or another mental illness.
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