Hi Hannah 🙂

This is what we tell anybody to do to get started.
Don't look at the entire area.
Instead, focus only on one small task.
Declutter and clean a small end table top or do one square foot of counter, dresser or floor space.
Maybe fill one small plastic bag with any obvious trash and take that out.
Perhaps set a timer for 5 minutes and work at a small area until the timer "dings".
Once you complete a small task, step back and admire a "job well done!" 😀
Motivation follows action.
Get started doing a tiny task to completion and that should motivate you to do another small task.

Come back to this message board and tell us the task you have completed and we will all cheer you on!!! 😀

BXGUI am new to this site. I need help with motivation. I want to get my house cleared but when I wake up in the morning I just cannot force myself to start even though before going to bed I mentally decide what I will do first thing in the morning. I have been retired 8 months and I have not cleared up any of my rooms. I am so disappointed in myself and so overwhelmed by all that needs to be done.

I anyone has some suggestions to get me off my chair and starting somewhere, please let me know.

Thank you Karl your answers were so informative.

The weekly tasks is like a goal for the week, such as cleaning out the refrigerator or tackling any particular task. There is an area in here that was just for weekly tasks. I am still reading them before I put one up.

I don't know anything about the weekly tasks; could you give a simple example of one?

1. What type or level hoarder are you?
When the pros came over for a look-see, they said level 2, maybe only 1.5 -- but I wonder if they were overly influenced by the less messy rooms in front, and the bedroom and study might have actually been closer to level 3.

2. Give a general idea of what your home is like in terms of how much area is hoarded.
Half of it has been cleaned out now. But, in the study I've got a path to get from the door to the desk, with books and papers and other stuff making it awkward to even get over to the printer a few feet away. In the bedroom I've got a path from the door to the bed; there's stuff on the dresser and under the bed and filling the area between bed and closet.

3. Which rooms do you have good use of?
Currently full use of kitchen/dining, living room, bathroom. (These used to be lightly cluttered but still usable; now they're in maintenance mode.)

4. Do you know what triggered your hoarding behaviour?
I think I might have had this all my life.

5. What helps you the most in terms of having a support system?
Talking things through during online chat helps me acknowledge what needs to be done. Pausing the chat for a 15-minute simultaneous cleaning is almost like having someone here in person to make sure I get stuff done. Having people come over was scary but helpful.

TILLIE -I am not a hoarder. 😉

"HE" is a major hoarder.
His hoard and hoarding has caused us a lot of serious issues.
Like an over flowing septic system that made it level 5 here.
Finally got him to move enough of his hoard to get that fixed.
But there are still some serious issues caused by his hoarding.

Oh Tillie thank you, I forgot to include the non-hoarders and family/friends. Drats... I will have to re-think it or maybe you could do one in here for that?

She passed away a few years ago and I miss her very much.

I am not a hoarder. 😉

My areas of the home are clear and clean.

"HE" is a major hoarder.
His hoard and hoarding has caused us a lot of serious issues.
Like an over flowing septic system that made it level 5 here.
Finally got him to move enough of his hoard to get that fixed.
But there are still some serious issues caused by his hoarding.

1. What type or level hoarder are you? For example - level 5 (extreme), collections, trash or garbage, electronics, general mixed. I think I am about a level 3, collections and general mixed. Also things that belonged to my mother who passed away 11 years ago. I have not touched the boxes since they were packed.

2. Give a general idea of what your home is like in terms of how much area is hoarded. For example is it packed full to the brim or do you have some working/living space, what are your maintenance goals?My home is relatively usable but I have a huge storage facility FULL of boxes, furniture and who-knows-what, which has been coming into my home a little at a time, but now my office/den/extra room is over-flowing and the rest has to come in this month.
3. Which rooms do you have good use of? For example - can you use the kitchen, the bathroom, the bedroom? I have use of the kitchen, my bedroom for the most part, the living room for the most part - it is getting full fast.
4. Do you know what triggered your hoarding behavior? From what I have seen on television and read about hoarding, mine was triggered my trauma and grief with a dash of PTSD for good measure (hahaha).
5. What helps you the most in terms of having a support system? For example, do you like to take 15 minute spurts with a friend (such as on here)? These boards really help, chat helps a lot, having tasks to do, being accountable, and doing 15 minute tasks with a buddy helps and having a friend sit with me while I go through things helps a great deal but is rare,