My place is untidy and messy a lot of the time except when my stepdaughter has had a blitz, but no one from the council has ever read me the riot act.
For me it’s to do with executive functioning difficulties(organising and planning) which often occur with ASD and dyspraxia . I am not dxed with either but probably fit for dyspraxia and possibly for ASD(certainly have traits at a minimum) .
It’s hard to get anyone within psychiatry to accept there’s an issue as all symptoms are seen rather myopically and unintelligently as leading back to the psych diagnosis.
Efforts to open up a discussion on it, when I can get past my historical fear of being rebranded awkward,demanding and troublesome for seeking more help, have fallen on deaf/daft ears.
As for strategies ,sorry to say I’m clueless . I’ve heard it said to break things down into smaller parts , but that is easier said than done when you are not sure how to sequence multi step tasks .
I’m told that people are either messy or tidy and also it is rare that the two types can get along with each other. Both my provider and her husband are messy. I am the neat and tidy type. It’s been an effort but I have learned from my side of the coin that a lot of my neat and tidiness comes from a fear of a mess. And of course, messy people don’t fear a mess unless they just don’t notice it enough until they are forced to tackle it. I would suggest you start living with a neat type but as I understand it, your living company is already arranged.
One thing that helps is to put everything away as soon as you get it instead of just tossing it on your desk or whatever. Make use of organizer portfolios. I have sections for car, meds, bank, etc. and everything is in order.
I get overwhelmed by big tasks, but I can do small ones, so long as I know what to do. So, if things have a place, I can put them in it. Which is why I can put dishes away but not clean my counters of accumulated junk that really has no place to go, at least not that I can see.
Keeping things minimalist as possible helps.
What is a thing you would like to do but can’t? Cleaning the toilet? Putting away laundry? Give us an example.
My Mom and Dad have a saying-- you toss it or we will. I have a tendency to keep things that I should just throw away in the garbage. I have OCD in addition to paranoid schizophrenia and I collect things and organize them according to a system that makes sense to me, but over time, it begins to overwhelm my bedroom, and anymore my parents don’t let it get that far. They warn me just once to get rid of the clutter, and if I ignore them, I return to find my room pretty much empty, they throw out a lot of things I would have rather kept, but organized better. So now I try to do it myself so I can keep only the things I really want to keep and toss the rest.
Ok too much stuff at once. Pick one. I suggest bathroom because it’s simplest.
It’s perfectly OK to use a checklist.
This would be how I would do it.
Check for supplies: cleansing wipes, toilet cleaner, toilet brush, powder or paste cleaner for sink, shower cleaner, sponges. Mop, and floor cleaner. Bucket, paper towels or a rag. Glass cleaner. (I use a lot of cleaners but now they make a variety of wipes so this could be simplified if your bathroom doesn’t get too gross.)
Pick my stuff up off the counters, and put it in the cupboards or where it goes. Put any towels in hamper. Throw away any bottles that are empty, or set them aside so I can put them on a shopping list.
Put toilet cleanser in toilet bowl, let it sit while using cleaning wipes to clean seat, rim, exterior of toilet. After that, use toilet brush to scrub inside toilet. Flush, rinse brush, put away.
Put powder or paste cleanser on sink. 2 shakes, or a quarter size amount of paste. Wet sponge, rub into sink. Rinse the sponge out, rinse sink using sponge to get cleanser off. Use slight remaining cleanser left on the sponge to rub on fixtures and counter. Rinse sponge in clean water, wring slightly, and wipe off cleanser. (You don’t want much soap for the counter and fixtures because they are hard to rinse. If this is a problem in practice, use cleansimg wipes instead on the fixtures and counter.) Dry with rag or paper towel.
Spray glass cleaner on mirror, wipe off with paper towels.
Undress. Get in shower. Spray shower with cleaner. Wipe with sponges. Rinse with water. Maybe shower while I’m in there.
Look over bathroom for any trash, throw it out. Take trashcan out. Pick up anything on the floor and set it outside bathroom. Fill bucket 1/4 with warm water, and cleaner according to label. Apply with mop. Put dirty water in toilet and flush.Let dry.
And you have a clean bathroom! You can break this down into micro steps for each action and check them off, if needed.
