Do you ever get so overwhelmed with a task that you just shut down?

[Kelli in TN]

I have been telling my daughter to empty her stuff from the upstairs rec room for a couple of weeks. Tonight I went up there to start sanding the metallic silver stars off the walls so I can prime the walls tomorrow. Only I could not do it because she has not emptied the room. I mean there are dirty clothes, trash, her college books, and other stuff just strewn from end to end.

 

I tried to start cleaning it up, and I just could not do it. I started to get emotional at just the thought of sorting through her stuff and moving it to her room and I could not face it. So now I am on here instead.

 

I am just overwhelmed with this task. Do you ever get this way?

[Trivium Academy]

All. the. time.

 

I can be VERY good at procrastinating.

[Pam "SFSOM" in TN]

I have been telling my daughter to empty her stuff from the upstairs rec room for a couple of weeks. Tonight I went up there to start sanding the metallic silver stars off the walls so I can prime the walls tomorrow. Only I could not do it because she has not emptied the room. I mean there are dirty clothes, trash, her college books, and other stuff just strewn from end to end.

 

I tried to start cleaning it up, and I just could not do it. I started to get emotional at just the thought of sorting through her stuff and moving it to her room and I could not face it. So now I am on here instead.

 

I am just overwhelmed with this task. Do you ever get this way?

 

Yep.

 

I have to break it into little bits. First the dirty clothes. Wait awhile.

 

Then the college books. Put them in a bin. Go have a snack.

 

Send a small servant into the fray to pick up all trash. Go back in when little person is done to pick up the rest that the small servant did not see. Go for a Walmart run for, I dunno, Breyer's ice cream. Assuming it's on sale.

 

Back in to put the final sort. Have a good sniffle about your baby who is all grown up, then you've taken back your room.

[shalom22]

This may not be much help. But when my kids don't pick up their stuff, out comes the garbage bag. If they don't think enough of their things then why should I. I bet if you went at her stuff with a trash bag in your hands, she would be a little more motivated.

 

That's just my way of dealing with my kids. It didn't take too many bag fulls before they got the picture that mom wasn't joking.

[PinkInTheBlue]

Yes! I usually have to save those for when I'm in the "tackle it" mode. Also, sometimes I can just force myself in there and only have a goal of a certain corner at a time. When I do that I usually finish it much quicker than I thought and I get in the flow quick. Often though, if I'm not in the mood I'm quickly overwhelmed. Much like this office I'm typing in right now. I just don't turn around and look at it! LOL

[Soph the vet]

Yes, about once a month, usually while I am staring blankly into one of the kitchen cabinets at 5:00 in the afternoon thinking...another meal? They want another meal? :lol: If a quick scan of the cabinet's contents reveals that I have all the ingredients I am OK...but there have been times my dh has come in around 5:30 and found me in tears over the kitchen sink. The best thing for him to say at that point is..."hey honey, want me to go get take-out"?:auto:

 

And this break-down story is brought to you by a woman who truly loves to cook!

[*anj*]

Yes, Ms. Kelli. That is my life in a nutshell.

My schoolroom is a wreck. I'm waiting for Ms. Laney to come up here and organize it for me.

[Happy]

Yep.

 

Time helps.

 

Tackling it in sections as someone else suggested is good.

 

Setting a timer or inviting a friend to help keeps the emotions steadier for longer.

 

It took me three years to go through the things we 'inherited' from my mom's house after her death..books, photos, papers. Some important, some trash, but loaded time bombs lurked everywhere. (A journal she wrote about being a newlywed. Letters she wrote to my National Guard serving dad right after I was born type thing.) At first I could only handle about 30 minutes of work, then I'd have to quit. Gradually, it got better. Dh pitching in helped a lot.

 

Now about those stacks of boxes filled with wonderful family photos hiding in my office????? I can NOT handle going through those. Too many faces not here any more, too many changes, too many happy times that I thought would last forever, but didn't, too many disappointments. If I could hire someone (and afford it) to go through and organize those I certainly would.

 

You have my complete empathy.

[Colleen]

I have been in that "Paralyzed, overwhelmed, how to choose the next thing to do" phase for much of this summer, unfortunately. But, Kelli, in this case I am glad you're paralyzed because (you know what I'm going to say now, don't you?) you shouldn't be the one tackling this job. I mean, I know you want to get the stuff out of there, but there's no reason why you should move it to her room now. Please, please don't do your daughter's dirty work for her. You've told her what needs to be done. She's chosen not to do it. The consequence is that her junk goes out the window, in trash bags, whatever. Out it goes, and she can jolly well foot the bill for the gas used to drive to Goodwill and deposit the goods.

[Elaine]

Yes, Ms. Kelli. That is my life in a nutshell.

My schoolroom is a wreck. I'm waiting for Ms. Laney to come up here and organize it for me.

 

I would but I can't. I am too overwhelmed with my own life.:lol:

 

 

Seriously, I would do it in a heartbeat!:D

[Kelli in TN]

Yep.

 

I have to break it into little bits. First the dirty clothes. Wait awhile.

 

Then the college books. Put them in a bin. Go have a snack.

 

Send a small servant into the fray to pick up all trash. Go back in when little person is done to pick up the rest that the small servant did not see. Go for a Walmart run for, I dunno, Breyer's ice cream. Assuming it's on sale.

 

Back in to put the final sort. Have a good sniffle about your baby who is all grown up, then you've taken back your room.

 

This is probably the way I have to do it.

 

But here is the biggest issue...are you ready?

 

Room #1 is my classroom, but will soon be Shalom's bedroom. Unfortunately it is stuffed to the point of bulging with, well, school junk. So I cannot move Shalom's stuff in there.

 

Room#2 would be Sarah's rec room. It was formally Sarah and Shalom's rec room. It will be the classroom, but now it is stuffed to the point of bulging with the aforementioned strewn junk of Sarah, plus all of Shalom's toys.

 

Room #3 would be Sarah's bedroom, formally Sarah's and Shalom's bedroom. All of Sarah's junk from the rec room needs to go in there but a lot of Shalom's stuff is still in there, and so there is no room.

 

Room #4 would be Justice's room. Shalom is bunking in Justice's top bunk while waiting for her room to be ready for her to move into. She no longer wants to share with Sarah because Sarah often works late and Shalom does not want to be in that room (the only upstairs bedroom) all alone. She wants to move downstairs for this reason. But she is just bunking there, her stuff cannot come to that room because it is already stuffed with Justice's stuff.

 

How do I coordinate the dance between rooms without losing my mind? I need a big rental thing outside to put all the stuff in so I can empty the rooms that need painting and set everything back up. But I can't really afford that.

[dirty ethel rackham]

Every day!!! Any my "overwhelmedness" prevents me from doing the daily stuff, let alone painting and redecorating. I have to say that tonight, I actually cleaned out my laundry room, a job that I have ignored for 2 years. In addition to all sorts of junk we had in there, it is also our pantry (we don't have much counter space) and storage for out of season coats and camping stuff. The last straw was that ds left it in even more shambles before he left for boy scout camp. I had a conniption fit today and made him help me clean in there. I am so thrilled that we can walk around without tripping, we can find food, and we can even set up the ironing board. I think I need to take a picture as a reminder of where things go. Dh is just as big an offender as the kids.

 

I have 5 company's coming boxes in my bedroom and I still don't have window treatments up in my living room or my basement. I have bought 3 different treatments for the living room, but none of them worked. I have some for the basement, but dh won't put them up until we paint. Hanging my head in shame, we put in new windows 3 years ago.

[Sue G in PA]

This is me...totally. I get so overwhelmed just thinking about certain tasks(mainly organizational tasks) that I just shut down. I can't even start b/c I don't know where or even how. :confused: I did tackle ds8/10's room today. They were a big help. We decluttered, trashed a lot of stuff, put stuff in give-away boxes, etc. Tomorrow we tackle their bookshelf which has lots of junk on it...but no books. :glare: I'm thinkin I might have to confiscate the bookshelf for our schoolroom and give them a smaller one. It's obvious they don't need all those shelves for books. :glare:

[Amy in Orlando]

This is probably the way I have to do it.

 

But here is the biggest issue...are you ready?

 

Room #1 is my classroom, but will soon be Shalom's bedroom. Unfortunately it is stuffed to the point of bulging with, well, school junk. So I cannot move Shalom's stuff in there.

 

Room#2 would be Sarah's rec room. It was formally Sarah and Shalom's rec room. It will be the classroom, but now it is stuffed to the point of bulging with the aforementioned strewn junk of Sarah, plus all of Shalom's toys.

 

Room #3 would be Sarah's bedroom, formally Sarah's and Shalom's bedroom. All of Sarah's junk from the rec room needs to go in there but a lot of Shalom's stuff is still in there, and so there is no room.

 

ETA: If one or more of the girls does not show up or do her share, YOU ruthlessly sort their stuff. The keep stuff goes into a trash bag (clean, dirty, whatever) and into the garage until they decide it's important to them.

 

Room #4 would be Justice's room. Shalom is bunking in Justice's top bunk while waiting for her room to be ready for her to move into. She no longer wants to share with Sarah because Sarah often works late and Shalom does not want to be in that room (the only upstairs bedroom) all alone. She wants to move downstairs for this reason. But she is just bunking there, her stuff cannot come to that room because it is already stuffed with Justice's stuff.

 

How do I coordinate the dance between rooms without losing my mind? I need a big rental thing outside to put all the stuff in so I can empty the rooms that need painting and set everything back up. But I can't really afford that.

 

OK - I'm pretty sure my head just exploded and I"m going to join you in shutting down just out of sympathy. GAH - what a project!!!! (Love your girls' names, btw)

 

I think what I would do is let all the girls know that "X" day is the day you are all getting together to sort through these rooms. If they're there, fine, if not, no promises about their stuff (set the day far enough in advance so that they can use other time to get it sorted and moved prior if they have other committments).

 

I would go through one room at a time - make a keep, give away, and a toss pile. Give away and Toss go to the back of the car for Goodwill or to the trash immediately. The keep pile would get moved to a hallway or the living room until all the rooms were cleared and sorted. When you're done with the first room, move to the next one. Take breaks as you need to but just plow through it.

 

:grouphug:

[muffinmom]

Every day!!! Any my "overwhelmedness" prevents me from doing the daily stuff, let alone painting and redecorating.

 

This is so me. I don't know how anyone considers painting a room or rearranging furniture--I'm just trying to get lunch on the table.:tongue_smilie:

 

I have surprised myself in the last few weeks, though--I've tackled my school room a few drawers/shelves at a time. So little by little, it's almost done. (Thank you, Flylady, for "15 minutes at a time"!) Really, not feeling like I have to do it all at once has really helped me.

 

But...you have quite a task on your hands--I'd help you if I could. I always do better with someone else's stuff!

[Kelli in TN]

I would go through one room at a time - make a keep, give away, and a toss pile. Give away and Toss go to the back of the car for Goodwill or to the trash immediately. The keep pile would get moved to a hallway or the living room until all the rooms were cleared and sorted. When you're done with the first room, move to the next one. Take breaks as you need to but just plow through it.

 

:grouphug:

 

The stuff to get rid of would be miniscule, really. We have all the American Girl collection (3 girls worth of AG stuff, it stays with the house for my someday grandkids to play with), we have Shalom's Only Hearts collection and it is not going anywhere. Really the only thing we found to give away is Shalom's ballet bar.

 

It all has to stay in the house and be moved from room to room to allow for painting and such, and all of this has to happen while I am in a good place homornally speaking so that I don't shave off anyone's eyebrows while they sleep.

 

One thing my husband and I talked about is that we could empty the classroom closet, not the room just the closet and stash Shalom's stuff in there. That would be a big help.

 

I am just going to take Sarah's stuff and toss it in her room. She can deal with it in her own time. I don't care. But first I have got to get Shalom's stuff out of there!

 

Ack!!!

 

I am glad there is some of my birthday cake left.

[Amy in Orlando]

The stuff to get rid of would be miniscule, really. We have all the American Girl collection (3 girls worth of AG stuff, it stays with the house for my someday grandkids to play with), we have Shalom's Only Hearts collection and it is not going anywhere. Really the only thing we found to give away is Shalom's ballet bar.

 

It all has to stay in the house and be moved from room to room to allow for painting and such, and all of this has to happen while I am in a good place homornally speaking so that I don't shave off anyone's eyebrows while they sleep.

 

One thing my husband and I talked about is that we could empty the classroom closet, not the room just the closet and stash Shalom's stuff in there. That would be a big help.

 

I am just going to take Sarah's stuff and toss it in her room. She can deal with it in her own time. I don't care. But first I have got to get Shalom's stuff out of there!

 

Ack!!!

 

I am glad there is some of my birthday cake left.

 

Ack!!! is right. Finding a time when you're not hormonally challenged (I think we're in the same place right now - I actual have "shave eyebrow" scribbled on the notebook I keep in front of the computer - cracks me up everytime I see it!) is even tougher.

 

I think the closet idea is a good one. Clear the floor space and if you can't see it, it doesn't exist, right?

[*anj*]

I would but I can't. I am too overwhelmed with my own life.:lol:

 

 

Seriously, I would do it in a heartbeat!:D

 

Oh, don't worry. By the time your life is all figured out and back to normal my room will still be a wreck. I'll consider it my duty to keep it that way for you. It's like a gift. :smilielol5::smilielol5::smilielol5:

[Melinda in VT]

Kelli, I'm in the middle of a similar project here. The tip that has saved my sanity this summer? You don't have to paint the entire room at once.

 

Seriously. Pick a quarter of the rec room, empty it of stuff (just push it into the other part of the room. Paint the ceiling, walls, and trim in that section. Move up the school stuff you want to go in that part of the room, then work on the next section of the rec room. By the time you get halfway through the rec room, you should have freed up some space in the former school room for your daughter's things.

 

Also, if any of the "school junk" can be tossed, I'd devote a day or two to doing that first. Then you'll only move what you really need to keep.

 

Good luck! And :grouphug:

[Guest Virginia Dawn]

"They want another meal?"

 

I soooo connect with this. Why do kids and husbands have to eat all the time? And I like to cook too.

 

Anyway, here I sit at the computer looking for money we may have lost because I don't really want to tackle the bathrooms and my bedroom right now.

[sdWTMer]

Yes...

[H.S. Burrow]

The stuff to get rid of would be miniscule, really. We have all the American Girl collection (3 girls worth of AG stuff, it stays with the house for my someday grandkids to play with), we have Shalom's Only Hearts collection and it is not going anywhere. Really the only thing we found to give away is Shalom's ballet bar.

 

It all has to stay in the house and be moved from room to room to allow for painting and such, and all of this has to happen while I am in a good place homornally speaking so that I don't shave off anyone's eyebrows while they sleep.

 

One thing my husband and I talked about is that we could empty the classroom closet, not the room just the closet and stash Shalom's stuff in there. That would be a big help.

 

I am just going to take Sarah's stuff and toss it in her room. She can deal with it in her own time. I don't care. But first I have got to get Shalom's stuff out of there!

 

Ack!!!

 

I am glad there is some of my birthday cake left.

 

I have been through something very similar to your situation. I had to get all rooms painted & cleared of the "extras" for new carpet to be laid - and I had a specific deadline - the date of installation - that I had to meet. This is how I handled it:

 

1.) Have EACH child pack a suitcase with their necessaties for 1 week. This way they have what they need in a small space.

 

2.) Borrow or purchase moving boxes in 2 sizes: Small & Medium. Garbage bags labeled for each room would work for "soft" things, but they don't stack as well;).

 

3.) Take ALL contents of EACH room and place in boxes. You don't have to "pack" them as they will only be in the box for a couple of days - hopefully:). I would also work with the kids as a team. All of you do room 1, then move to room 2, etc... Set a timer and take a short break (5 minute cookie break!) when the timer goes off. My kids like to look at and discuss every single little thing they touch. Tell them you'll "oh" & "ah" when they are unpacking in the new rooms!

 

4.) Stack boxes in an out of the way place - I stacked them in my garage because the closets had to have new carpet. If you have closets that you can stack them into that would work or - for just the amount of time need to do the painting - maybe you could stack them in the corner of a den or living room.

 

5.) Move furniture to the NEW locations, set in center of room & cover with plastic. By moving the furniture before you paint, you lower your risk of scratching the paint.

 

6.) Paint all rooms.

 

7.) Move furniture in place and have each child move their boxes to their new rooms.

 

8.) After all your hard work - take 2 days off!! Rest and then go into your new school room with fresh eyes to set it up.

 

 

I set this up in a list because I work better when I am overwhelmed by a project if I can scratch off what has been completed. It also helps me to see that - even though I might want it done in 2 days - that it is more likely to take 4 or 5 days to complete.

 

 

Hope this gives you some ideas!!

[PariSarah]

*shrug*

 

I do like the "throw it in her room and let her deal with it" plan. With its close cousin being the "if you want your new room to look nice, you'll work with me; otherwise, I just throw everything in your room and let you sort it out" plan.

[threetreasurs]

I get overwhelmed and then cranky. I finally bit the bullet and cleaned out bedrooms and painted etc - the day I did my son's room/hubbies office I was not a nice person . . .