Very Messy

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This is one of my most embarrassing issues. I am horrid at keeping a clean house. I easily get overwhelmed with it. Not knowing where to start and easily distracted. I know I need to do it but it just doesnt come easy for me at all.
I tend to get distracted with intense urges to research the life out of topics and thus things not getting done. I hate having sudden company over anyhow but this makes it worse!
Does anyone else have this issue?

I don't share your house-keeping issue as such, but how about making a list of all the things that need to be done to keep your house in a presentable state? Then break this list down into six blocks of roughly the same amount of work required or of roughly the same amount of frustration provided, whichever works best for you. Assign one of these block to each day of the week and do the work in that block on the corresponding day. This way everything neccessary gets done on a regular basis and it is easier for you not to get overwhelmed. The seventh day of the week is either your "free" day or you can use it to catch up on whatever housework you postponed on the other six days. The latter will allow you a bit more flexibility as you can free some additional time when you need it.

My favorite solution: having fewer possessions. Having fewer possessions means having less stuff to sort through. I only keep my favorite items and give my other items to charity.

My second favorite solution: not leaving messes. The dishes can't pile up if I wash them every time I use them.

The house I currently live in gets pretty messy, but that's because I still live with my family. They refuse to get rid of things that I think are junk, and my sister likes to leave messes everywhere. Fortunately, teamwork helps us to get the house clean when we need to. Unexpected visitors either have to talk to us at the front door or just deal with the clutter when the house isn't ready.

My biggest problems are maintaining the house (upgrading and painting) and mopping the floors. I also hate moving stuff to dust so surfaces can accumulate a lot before I get to them. I just got through going over a microwave stand, a spice rack and my television stand with a damp cloth and they were all so dusty. I need to stay on top of it because of allergies. My house also need to be painted and requires various repairs. Even though it's not a really bad mess, it's still too embarrassing to bring people over to see the vinyl floor in the kitchen that's been there for I don't know how long, or the baseboards which are deteriorating in some places.

Try checking out the website flylady this website takes an older concept from the Sidetracked Home Executives and makes it a nice planned system for keeping your house clean and neat. The nice part is they have the whole thing available step by step in a downloadable free format. The website guides you through the process. Just click on the link on the side for the steps. You don't have to buy anything to get benefit from the site. Lots of free information that will help to create a nice workable system to suit you.

I do a lot of straightening up, that is, putting things back where they belong, or, if they happen to be new, finding a place for them to belong. I do this 3-4 times a day if I'm home and always before leaving the house. This way things always look neat enough and I am seldom forced into a deeper cleaning than the vacuum and feather duster can accomplish.

I have this and the same embarrissment if people come around.
If its too much, I just dont know where to start, so dont.
Every now and then I will have an obsessive clean where I will move everything out, wash down all the surfaces, and then clean everything one bit at a time as I move them back in.

Howabout if you get into a routine where you just assign maybe 1/2 a day, every day when you do a bit of cleaning?
You will have to have a plan of how to do it first, like you will need somewhere clean to put the clean bits, so maybe just empty one cuboard one day, clean it the next, then start cleaning and replaceing the contents.
With that one clean zone, you can move onto the next.

I do relate to what you said. It has gotten better as I have gotten older however I have a slightly different take on things.
If I am involved in a "project" or special interest where I am doing a lot of research and investigation, etc I find that I have a very hard time focusing on anything else until I have gotten the project to a certain level of completion. It's like I have to hyper-focus and I have a hard time multi-tasking or directing my energies elsewhere for that period of time.
When I have the project to that level of completion, I then look around and notice the "lived in" look of my home and go on a cleaning frenzy which I thoroughly enjoy at the time I am doing it.
I have always wondered also if I allowed my home at times to get into a messy state in order to avoid socializing and having people over, it has been my excuse to myself many times in the past for not having company over or entertaining. Just a thought.

Keeping the house clean is an activity that fits into a nice ordered pattern for me. I have a rigid, compulsive pattern to it. First, vacuuming, then bathroom cleaning, then kitchen, etc. So that obsessive aspect of it is ok for me. I just really hate the work involved. It can be quite tiring.

I used to have this problem, but it got better as I got older, now I absolutely hate clutter. Then I chose to become a minimalist and have not looked back.

You know, this has also occurred to me, wiether it happens sub-contiously?
What I do know is that in my suicidal days, I think," I cannot leave my home in this condition for others to find when Iam gone, I will wait until its presentable" and have to put my suicide off.

ShePariah, this sounds exactly like I was. Overcoming this problem has been the biggest achievement of my life -- bigger than my academic or career achievements which seem more illustrious, but which were easier for me.

6 our of every 7 aspies has ADHD. I recommend spending time at this Web site:
http://www.additudemag.com/topic/adult- ... -home.html
The articles are written in short easy-to-read chunks. I subscribe to their newsletter too.

I had help from a professional organiser in January, and it changed my life.

I'm not sure it's that high... although the docs are refusing to diagnose ADD in me for some reason (probably saves them money on therapy...). A lot of people with AS have dyspraxia symptoms, or full blown dyspraxia. This can cause problems with organization as well and can make what might be a simple task to most, a horrendous challenge to us. I read a book called, 'Caged in chaos' by a girl called Victoria Briggs. the tips in her book really helped me out, especially the part about breaking your room(s) into small parts.

One of the main things I have taken from the book is a poster entitled, 'how to get out of this mess'. Before I would walk into my room, take one look and cry. Now, when I enter my room I think, 'right, it looks like hell in here, time to consult the list'. The list starts by telling me to pick up dirty laundry, remove cutlery, put rubbish in the bin (yes, I do need reminding to do this) etc. It makes things so much easier. Maybe you should find this book somewhere (probably from a library or online) and read the tips inside. Although it is about dyspraxia it helped me hugely.

One of my biggest problems is keeping on task. When I start tidying, I often get distracted and start playing the Sims2 or go on the internet... in fact I am procrastinating from tidying my room at this very moment by writing to you... I'd better go...

I got the 6 out of 7 figure from my psychiatrist; various online resources say between 60 and 80% of aspies have ADHD.

Diagnosis or no diagnosis, if those are your symptoms, then ADHD advice han help. ADDitude Magazine is a great resource.

That staying-on-task problem describes the way I was before I got help (I still tend towards it, but I have learned how to be more focused now). I have plans to write a book about this. I am gonna have to do it in chunks, like a series of articles rather than chapters, because I have ADHD, so it is difficult for me to finish a big long-term project!

Join the club. I need to clean the bathroom most of all. I think I might do that soon.