174: The Filth Element

If you’re not on TikTok, congratulations! I envy you. Unfortunately, as a 3,000-year-old social media manager, I am. Which is how I know about #MyMessyRoom, a trend from HELL.

But first, let’s talk about Andrew’s fingernail for about one million seconds.

Listen here:

Or you can do what my mom does and watch on YouTube. Have you subscribed yet? You should!

Anyway, this week we talked about overwhelming mess and how depression and other mental health issues can get on top of you. But here’s the thing: Being a little messy isn’t quite the same as creating a space that’s literally unhealthy. Even if YOU’RE rotting, your food shouldn’t be. So here are our fast tips:

  • Create a dish staging area. by the door. If you’re already exiting your room to get more food or (please please please) use the restroom, just take the dishes by the door out with you. Have a one-in/one-out dish policy.

  • If you’re already in a huge mess and the idea of getting started is just too damn much, consider giving yourself one attainable goal. Just get rid of the trash. Or even some of the trash! This is your pass to throw out WHATEVER YOU WANT. SORRY, EARTH. Get a bag and just pick up one bag’s worth of trash. You may be too tired to keep going, or you may be inspired once you start.

  • If there’s an area that you just can’t seem to keep clean (like your vanity or your clothes in the closet), try another storage method. Some cheap drawers, a shelving unit found at Goodwill, hell, even A Chair. Whatever keeps your clothes off of the literal floor!

  • Remember the mantra: Don’t put it down, put it away. Mess and depression are a self-sustaining cycle. Expending the extra energy to put your mascara IN THE THINGY instead of on the counter keeps fuel off of your overwhelm fire.

And look. Life and depression are hard. But also, if you have the energy to open a PopTart and drop the wrapper on the floor, you have the energy to keep the box next to the bed and stuff the wrappers in that. And that’s a start!

Where would you start cleaning if you had a big mess on your hands? And what’s your yardstick for “messy” versus “disgusting”? Call the Spotline — we won’t judge.

Hanna Brooks Olsen