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I cleaned my house this weekend. That might seem like a pretty mundane statement, but if you're like me and you've been dealing with mental or physical illness for a while, you know that cleaning the house can feel like an insurmountable task akin to climbing Mount Everest in rollerskates. You're a hot mess, your living room is a hot mess, and even if you could invite anyone over in 2020, you would be too embarrassed for them to see the apparent chaos in which you live your life.
Not to mention, clutter in the home can very quickly become clutter in the brain, and then pretty soon you're one misplaced item away from being a total clusterfork. But because mental illness can be a real beach sometimes, the last thing in the world you feel capable of doing is cleaning your space. This is when I like to implement a few little life hacks that help me bypass the guilt and focus on getting my head in the right place. Next time you feel like you literally just can't, take a deep breath, and try some of these ideas.
Work smarter, not harder. Invest in a robot vacuum cleaner (this is the one I use). Clear only flat surfaces; it will instantly make your immediate surroundings more tolerable. Throw away all trash, and unless it smells or will likely start to smell soon, just focus on making things "tidy" rather than perfect.
Get inspired. This might sound weird, but sometimes, watching cleaning videos on Youtube will actually motivate me to clean as well! Along the same lines, one of my FAVORITE blogs is Unf*ck Your Habitat, which originally started on Tumblr (and dedicates an incredibly inspiring section to before & after pics). There's even a book, which I am absolutely going to buy and review at some point!
Do one thing. If the to do list seems overwhelming, just pick one thing and ignore the rest! It will allow you to feel accomplished, but also take a lot off your shoulders. Perhaps tomorrow you'll feel well enough to tackle the rest of the list.
Multitask. Listening to music or a podcast can often make a chore less painful because your brain's attention is divided and dual focusing on something you enjoy. Not to mention, an upbeat jam might be just the ticket to pull you out of your funk!
Ping-pong. If it's an attention deficit that's got you down, try the ping-pong method! Pick up one thing, then navigate to the place where that thing belongs. Once you get there and put the thing away, pick up the next nearest thing that needs a home. Essentially, ping-pong your way around like a mindless zombie robot Roomba until you feel a little more accomplished than you did 20 minutes ago.
I am pleased to report that the living room is now significantly less messy that it was when the weekend began! I hope this list helps you, and if you have any more ideas, hacks, or techniques, please drop a comment or leave them in The Princess Posse!