Overwhelmed by mess ...what to do?

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Hey all,

My house is a mess, not only is my house a mess, the A/C doesnt seem to be working right and I am overheated and having seizures cause I am too hot. I need to get the landlord over to fix the A/C, but if he sees this mess, he will throw me out on my ear. So I need to clean up but I am too hot to clean up. What do I do??

I have this problem with cleaning up in that messy rooms overstimulate me horribly and my brain just cant comphrehend how to clean it because of all the disorderly visual stimuli...then I ignore it which then multiplies the mess=overstimulation=more mess problem. Add the heat and mimi-seizures to the mix and all I can do is sit in my chair and rock back and forth and stare at the ceiling for some relief from the situation.

How do I do this??

Jojo

I get like this as well if I let my house get too messy. The trick is to keep the cleaning up so it doesn't become a disaster area which will make it harder to clean up. If I were you I'd concentrate on one room at a time to deep clean it and after that make a schedule and do something on each day of the week to spread out the chores.

I have an idea, but I don't know if it would work or help...here it is: Take a few blankets or sheets and cover sections of the mess that you aren't working on at the moment. Clean, move blanket to cover another area that you aren't working on...repeat. Move room to room as you feel up to it. This would block off the huge mess into much smaller and manageable messes.

That is a really good suggestion.

I have that problem, too. I use a technique something like this--

How to Clean a Room

It's very systematic, step by step. Easier that way. Try the blankets too, if you want; that's how I take tests--I cover up everything but the question I'm working on.

another way to make the cleaning less overwhelming, is to commit yourself to working on it only for ten minutes at a time. we can put up with lots of stuff if we know it will last for just ten minutes.

great ideas folks....maybe there is hope! I will try the blanket thing as well as the 10 minute thing and systimatic cleaning.

I will let you know how it goes tomorrow. Right now it is bed time.

Jojo

OP, I understand how you feel. My place is an overwhelming mess, too, because I have two roommates who won't clean up after themselves, but they're moving out on Friday, so there's hope. I have a sort of system that I use when the house becomes overwhelming for me. I start with one room, and will choose a single type of thing to pick up -- only trash, or only dishes, etc. Once all of that type of thing is cleared away, I move on to another type of thing until the room is clean. I work on it in short stints, too, as someone else suggested. Once the room is clean, I move into another room and do the same thing.

Once everything is clean again, I plan to go back to my usual cleaning routine -- a task list that I divide up by days of the week, so that I don't have to do a lot on any one day. Each task takes no more than about 15 minutes to complete, too. This keeps things from getting out of hand, at least when I'm on my own. If another person moves in and won't keep up with the schedule with me, the place falls apart again. I'm not sure how to get past that, yet.

You might also want to actually mention to your landlord that you are aware of and concerned about the mess, but that the AC situation is making it hard for you do all of the cleaning you plan to do. If theres not garbage or animal messes lying around he really cant punish you for having organizational messes when you are hot, it is summer and the AC is not doing its job.

I used to be totally overwhelmed about cleaning too, but if I make a system for a particular thing it is much easier to clean, such as- where do all the plates and glasses go? Where do the dvds go, and in what order? All the scissors and tape go in a certain drawer, all my pants go in a drawer, all my tank tops go in a drawer, etc. Once i have a specific place each type of item belongs, it is far easier for me to handle "cleaning" because it is more manageable and I make it a habit, and dont have to think too much about "well books could go over here, or I could hang these pants up, etc etc etc"

I always start by bagging everything that is trash, and putting all dishes/flatware in the sink.

Back when I had a mother-in-law making surprise visits, with only a day's notice, I'd "clean" the living room by start at the opposite side of the room from the couch and snowplow everything under the couch.

make certain the kitchen and bathroom are clean -- I've found folk will overlook alot if those two rooms are clean

look at where the repairman will need to go, and focus on what he will see from that path.

Something that helps me keep the small random items in check is big ziplock bags and clear plastic shoe boxes. That way things are out of the way and you can move many small objects at once when shuffling things around, with the added benefit that you can see what's in the containers

You share my Executive Function Disorder. This is a common co-morbid with Autism spectrum disorders, although some of us have the opposite problem, and are ultra neat and organized.

I agree with the suggestions of the other posters, and would like to also suggest taking a quick cool or cold shower when you are overheating. In between bouts of doing chores, rest in a comfy chair with an ice pack. You can fill several water bottles most of the way and freeze them for this, and drink the chilled water as it melts. Don't fill the bottles all the way, as water expands as it freezes, so it will need room, and leave the caps a little loose while they are in the freezer, to help it expand. Don't forget to dress down in light weight night shirts, or light weight shorts and top. Also, invest in at least one industrial fan. Non industrial fans are a no-no, as they are a waste of money--they just don't do a good job. I've tried them and they are wimps. I now have three industrial fans. The oldest one, which sometimes acts up, I keep at the back end of my trailer, so I can use it in the bathroom when it gets hot, but only when I have to be in there. I have IBS, so I am usually in there for a while, and need the heat relief on hot days. One of the other fans is in the front spare bedroom, which I use as my home office. This room faces west, and gets very hot towards the end of the day on hot days. The third one is in the living room, aiming across towards my recliner, and the kitchen, including towards my old fridge. With windows open on all four sides of the trailer to provide four way circulation, and the end room doors open, the industrial fans do a great job of cooling me off.

My old trailer came with an A/C mounted in a hole in the south wall of the trailer, in the living room. Unfortunately, there is no awning over it, so it overheated and died after a few days the first summer I was here. When I finally had it fixed, it over heated after a couple of days again, and broke again. I decided not to waste any more money on it, as there is no way to stop it from overheating, and there is no other good place to put one in my trailer. Instead, I invested in buying a second, and then the third industrial fan. I also use the ice packs and cold showers, and dress in light weight night shirts around the house on hot days. And at the really worst times I take a cool shower, and then just sit in the recliner, in a night shirt with a water bottle ice pack, while the living room fan blasts me with a nice cooling breeze.

P.S. You can also go to an indoor mall on the worst days, and just sit there in the air conditioned place to keep cool. They have places to eat/drink, and bathroom facilities, too.

Maybe try one of those air conditioners that go indoors? They still need to be vented outside though. We are thinking of getting one in my house. If it's too hot going out isn't an option for me because I have pets.

I have problems with clutter too.

I'd advise you to try to shove a bunch of clutter somewhere out of site when the landlord comes (like in a closet or another room) and if he has any complaints say you were too hot to clean or do anything and you'll clean when it's cooler.

I grew up mostly without A/C in the desert. We opened everything up at night and closed it all before 6AM.

I also lived somewhere without A/C in an even hotter part of southern California. It would consistently get over 100 degrees F in the house. Industrial fans were a must, as well as keeping all lights off, doing any cooking outdoors (I want to try building a solar oven this summer), and investing in a few spray bottles which we filled with water. Spritz that on yourself and stand in front of a fan. Or drench your face and arms in water from the sink and do the same.