How to clean a messy apartment when depressed and overwhelmed
Depression leaves people feeling entirely overwhelmed with no idea where or how to start cleaning their living space. This paralysis leads to filthy apartments, social isolation from never inviting people over, and a constant longing for a normal, comfortable home.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
Found another way around this?
Share your steps and trade-offs so fellow engineers don't have to reinvent the wheel. No account required.
- 1Cleaning in small bursts over a few daysDid this help you?
- 2Pushing through the fatigue with external motivationDid this help you?
- 3telling myself 'this weekend i'll clean'Did this help you?
- 4taking five-minute breaks after every 15 minutes of workDid this help you?
- 5Focusing only on high-impact areas like sweeping floors and wiping kitchen surfacesDid this help you?
- 6Throwing out obvious trash while shifting and cleaning underneath clutterDid this help you?
- 7Grouping similar objects into boxes for the homeowner to sort through laterDid this help you?
- 8Cleaning for a set 5 or 15 minutesDid this help you?
- 9Cleaning for the length of a single songDid this help you?
- 10Breaking tasks down into tiny steps like throwing away one piece of trash or washing five dishesDid this help you?
- 11Lowering standards and not expecting perfectionDid this help you?
- 12discarded old food, drinks and anything they could feed offDid this help you?
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“My room is a complete mess now. Earlier I finally got a tiny bit of motivation, threw a load of laundry in, came back to my room, looked at everything, immediately felt overwhelmed and just got back into bed.”source ↗
“Tbh I dont know where to start or how to make myself start. The mess makes me feel worse, but i also feel too drained to do anything abt it.”source ↗
“My mom has been incredibly busy and burnt out lately caring for her elderly parents. Her house is in shambles because she has only had time for surface cleans in like 2 years.”source ↗
“I dont know where her things go, so tidying up isn't really an option.”source ↗
“my apartment is filthy. i never invite people over because it's so filthy.”source ↗
“i'm overwhelmed and don't know how or where i should start.”source ↗
“i'm tired of this, ready to have a normal clean apartment and actually feel like it's home.”source ↗
“Unfortunately, a very difficult 6 months of grief and other things— I really neglected deep cleaning the house.”source ↗
“I really need tips for: Pet odors Vinyl wood floor cleaning Bathrooms Keeping things smelling fresh”source ↗
“I just managed a 15-ish hour clean over a few days. It's the cleanest it's been in years. It's helping push the depression aside.”source ↗
“After my first husband passed away and I was trying to manage myself and our 3 kids plus family and friends and all the rest of it, the floors were not anywhere near my priority.”source ↗
“i’ve been depressed for a while now and ive found flies everywhere, not too bad until i saw maggots. does anyone know wht gets rid of maggots please?”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
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- 4How to clean an empty house quickly before moving in
- 31Why are toilets and kitchen sinks impossible to clean behind?
- 10How to clean your house when you get tired really fast
- 2How to clean your house in a rush before guests arrive
- 2How to sanitize a house for Giardia without bleach