Living with a mental illness is exhausting enough on its own, but when you add having to clean while living with a mental illness, it becomes overwhelming and overstimulating. As I have learned from experience, the best way to clean while living with a mental illness is to create a list and follow that list step-by-step.
I am here to give you those steps.
Step One.
Pick Up All The Trash.
Start by picking up all the trash in whichever room you are cleaning. Clearing out the trash will usually put a nice dent in the cleaning process of the room and make you feel a little less overwhelmed.
Step Two.
Take A Break.
I know you just started the cleaning process, but in order to keep from getting to tired or overstimulated, it is important to take a break. I recommend taking a ten minute break in between cleaning.
Step 3.
Gather What Doesn’t Belong.
Depending on which room you are cleaning, gather what doesn’t belong in the room and put it away.
Step 4.
Take A Break.
You guessed it. It is time to take another break. I know this makes cleaning take longer, but it is worth it in the end.
Step 5.
Gather your clothes.
This is more for bathroom and bedroom cleaning. Gather all your clothes that are not put away and sore them. Put away clean clothes and put the dirty clothes in a hamper. You can go ahead and start washing them or you can wait until the room is cleaned. I tend to wait until my room is clean so that I am focused on one thing at a time.
Step 6.
Take A Break
Step 7.
Dust and Vacuum.
Now that everything is in its place, you have gotten all the trash up, and you have put away your clothes, it is time to dust and vacuum. You will want to dust first so that all those little dust bunnies get sucked up by the vacuum cleaner.
Step 8.
Enjoy your clean room.
