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[quote=Anonymous]Posting here is the first step toward asking for help!

You can do this OP. Pick a small area, clean it up and reward yourself. Think SMALL -- one counter, or the kitchen table, or the shoes in the foyer. Heck, the 3 year old can match up the shoes in the foyer.

Flylady.com is great for tackling projects like this. She also talks about taking time for yourself to rest a bit between cleaning, work, etc. Praise yourself for what you CAN do, don't beat yourself up for what you haven't done yet.

I also like the concept behind 40 Bags in 40 Days on whitehouseblackshutters.com. It started as a way to form a good habit during lent, but you can really do it any time -- each day, you pick one area and clean it out. You're not really filling 40 bags. Sometimes you'll do 4 in a day, others you're dealing with the insurance reimbursement fight that you've put off, etc. I really like it, as do my closets, drawers, counters etc.

Baby steps, OP. Your house did not get messy in a day and you can't clean it in an evening. Make little bits of progress and you will see a tremendous difference in a week.

ALso, do you have any friends who are good at this sort of thing? I have one very cluttered friend who admired the way I organized things in my kitchen cabinets. I'd learned it from an old roommate and offered to come help her reorganize her cabinets, which also led to us doing the bookshelves. Ask for help and you'll be surprised who steps up![/quote]

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