I live in a messy apt

[XanaDUer2]

The leasing agency is doing a walk thru Monday. Rent increased $100/mo..i do my best. My mental health is not good. Our last apt was roomy and gorgeous. This one is cramped, dark, overlooks a strip mall back...not conducive to happiness. Its not a hoarding situation. No bugs. Just unopened boxes no storage, mr x is messy, dust spews from the vents. I'll dust and a layer of new dust starts forming immediately. Its overwhelming.

I try to keep up. Papers are everywhere. I swiffer. Have carpet atea rug cleaned. Gets dirty right away. I was just on the floor, scrubbing it. I'm dizzy and seeing lights. Theres so much shit everywhere I can't even bring in a cleaner wo major work. The walls are grungy bc mr x holds himself up against them when he walks. There are coffee? Stains on the wall. Its embarassing. I don't know how things got this way

I'm defeated. Hopefully we pass muster Monday

[3catwoman3]

1. Dusting is such an exercise in futility. 2 hours later...

...you can't tell.

I used to have a little sign hanging from my closet doorknob that said, "You may touch the dust, but please don't write in it."

[CANADIANBEAVER69]

2. I say I'm getting ready for Halloween, to excuse my dust

I find what helps me, is to pick a spot in the room and just start there. Don't put the entire space in your mind, just concentrate on that one area. If you are feeling good about that one area getting done, then move to the next spot. I find when I do this, I am able to accomplish more than I thought of when I looked at the whole entire job and got overwhelmed.

I understand about no storage too, we went from a 3bdrm to a 2bdrm and had to downsize and I still have boxes stacked from the move last April.
Little by little.

good luck on Monday

[LoisB]

3. I keep hearing that the "trick" is to clear one corner or one room at a time;

what I find is that there is always something to put into that cleared area.

[Merlot]

4. Dust spews from the vents? That doesn't seem right.

Can you close the vents? Maybe this is an issue you bring up to the leasing agent.

I had a problem with spiders and cobwebs all over the place, especially near the old sash windows. I closed the windows and sealed them with packing tape. I can still open the doors for fresh air but now i have no spiders.

[JudyM]

5. Maybe it'd be worth checking out vent filters for the dust

Could end up helping.

[XanaDUer2]

6. I stuck cheesecloth over the vent

Its black now

[nilram]

9. Call the health department--city, county, state...

Ask if they regulate apartment ventilation. Sounds seriously bad. Clearly the excess dust isn't your fault. Sorry you have to deal with it.

[XanaDUer2]

10. Thanks

They did a walk through and I pointed it out. She didn't promise anything

[Ziggysmom]

7. I hear ya! When my husband became disabled we downsized into an accessible 2BR 2BA

apartment with indoor parking and wide doorways for a wheelchair. It was so hard going from a large home to an apartment. I was so depressed leaving my gardens and flowers behind. I had to organize to survive and get rid of all the stuff we no longer needed. I would go through just one box a week to start. Bought those stacking Rubbermaid tubs and labeled what's inside. At least having the tubs stacked up and organized was easier to live with until we permanently downsized. Now after the big snowstorm last week I am so thankful to no longer need to shovel and clean the driveways etc. It's a trade off I guess.

Life is hard. Big hugs for you!

[SlimJimmy]

8. Sometimes it's best to go through what you have and start to make decisions.

What do I need as opposed to what do I just like to have around. What is really causing to look cluttered and get rid of or pick that up. We do this once a year in our house and end up giving a lot of things to Goodwill.