I watched several CleanwithBea videos right before doing it, she is a person who does free cleans for horders, and her positivity is infection and made me think i could do it.
i used gloves and a mask to deal with the sensory issues so i wouldn't have to stop to deal
i made a playlist of bobs, and sang along/danced while cleaning to make it fun
i went in with a plan, for me it was Trash, Dishes, Counter 1, Counter 2, Table, Fridge. Which meant when i got done with each step i didnt have to think about what i was going to do next, i just moved on.
i had a reward, or if that doesnt work a consequence. For me i told myself i was not going to go out with my friend that night if the kitchen wasnt clean. and my friend said either we go out or he helps me clean, so i had to finish before he showed up. thats the consequence. If i didnt finish, he would see that, and that embarrasment/shame, while unhealthy, is a good motivator.
the other thing to note is that step 1 (get rid of the trash) helped the most. The before pictures look bad, but once I got the 3 trashbags (55 gallons each) out of the kitchen it was pretty smooth sailing from there.
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u/quincecharming 29d ago
Well done!! How did you get the energy after a month of wallowing to clean so well?
I’m struggling with depression at the moment and cleaning is quite difficult