You're obsessed with a clean house because it provides a sense of control, order, and calm in a chaotic world, reducing mental load and anxiety, often stemming from stress or a need to cope, but for some, it can be a symptom of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) if it's driven by intrusive thoughts about contamination or imbalance and interferes with life. It's a way to bring external order to internal feelings, offering temporary relief and accomplishment, though it might mask deeper anxieties.
Children with ADHD tend to have messy rooms because they struggle with executive functioning skills, which enable us to plan, prioritize, manage time, and get things done. Cleaning up may seem simple but kids with ADHD have trouble deciding what to do first, estimating how long things take, and staying focused.
Those with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) will have a great need or compulsion to clean or perform cleaning rituals to feel in control. When they cannot keep up with these things, they feel like their lives are falling apart.
Comments Section it's called OCPD when the sufferer believes they are in the right to behave this way, and it is other people's responsibility to shape up and conform to their order/hygiene/moral standards.
Yes. For some, cleaning can be a trauma response—especially when used to self-soothe or regain control in the aftermath of emotional dysregulation. In childhood, if messes led to punishment or if cleanliness was equated with safety, those associations may resurface in adulthood.
Obsessions center on germs, dirt, bodily fluids, or the feeling of uncleanliness. They could also include doubt about whether something is really clean. Compulsions can include excessive washing, cleaning, sterilizing or disinfecting—often using specific rituals.
If the 5x5 method is as new to you as it was to me, allow me to explain. Coined by Steph of The Secret Slob, this technique requires nothing but a timer and twenty-five free minutes. Pick five rooms or zones and dedicate five minutes per area. In twenty-five minutes, Steph promises a cleaner, less cluttered home.
It helps us feel better about ourselves, reduces stress, improves our productivity, boosts our mood, and is a great way to stay physically fit. It's true that cleaning your house helps you feel good and is more than simply a chore.
home, the 1% rule involves doing just one small thing to make your home better. The habit definitely leads to a more tidy home, but, more importantly, it also creates a more peaceful emotional state.
The 15-Minute Rule for OCD is a Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) technique where you delay performing a compulsion for 15 minutes when an obsessive thought triggers anxiety, allowing the urge to lessen naturally as you practice exposure and response prevention (ERP). It teaches your brain that discomfort decreases without the ritual, building resilience and breaking the obsessive-compulsive cycle by gradually increasing tolerance for uncertainty and distressing feelings.
What is the psychology behind obsessive cleaning? Obsessive cleaning is a symptom of OCD, wherein one obsessively has thoughts and anxiety relating to cleaning. In response to these unwanted thoughts, people with OCD may feel an intense urge to repeat certain actions.
Common types of compulsive behaviour in people with OCD include:
The ADHD "30% Rule" is a guideline suggesting that executive functions (like self-regulation, planning, and emotional control) in people with ADHD develop about 30% slower than in neurotypical individuals, meaning a 10-year-old might function more like a 7-year-old in these areas, requiring adjusted expectations for maturity, task management, and behavior. It's a tool for caregivers and adults with ADHD to set realistic goals, not a strict scientific law, helping to reduce frustration by matching demands to the person's actual developmental level (executive age) rather than just their chronological age.
The top 3 core symptoms of ADHD are inattention (difficulty focusing, staying organized), hyperactivity (excess restlessness, excessive movement), and impulsivity (acting without thinking, poor self-control). People with ADHD often experience a combination of these, though some might primarily struggle with inattention (inattentive type) or hyperactivity/impulsivity (hyperactive-impulsive type).
The ADHD "2-Minute Rule" suggests doing any task taking under two minutes immediately to build momentum, but it often backfires by derailing focus due to weak working memory, time blindness, and transition difficulties in people with ADHD. A better approach is to write down these quick tasks on a separate "catch-all" list instead of interrupting your main work, then schedule specific times to review and tackle them, or use a slightly longer timeframe like a 5-minute rule to prevent getting lost down "rabbit holes".
In some cases, traumatic events such as abuse or neglect can lead to compulsive cleaning behaviors. Individuals who have experienced trauma may feel the need to constantly clean and sanitize their surroundings as a way to regain a sense of safety and control.
The 20-minute cleaning rule (also known as the 20/10 rule) is a simple, time-boxed method to tackle household chores by cleaning with focused intensity for 20 minutes and then taking a 10-minute break, repeating as needed to prevent burnout and keep messes from piling up. It breaks large tasks into manageable sprints, making cleaning less overwhelming by focusing on progress over perfection through short, frequent sessions rather than marathon cleaning days, often tied to the FlyLady system or similar organizing principles.
Identifying the Signs of Depression Through a Messy Room
Frequency and severity – If the mess is constant and getting worse over time, it may be a red flag. Changes in other areas – Notice if there are declines in other aspects of their life, such as personal hygiene, academic performance, or social interactions.
"And the 50% decluttering rule offers a simple solution: remove half the items from any given area." When it comes to this decluttering method, she points out that small edits don't cut it, since this rule forces you to be intentional in the moment and makes a significant impact almost instantly.
The Core 4 Method was created by professional organiser Kayleen Kelly. It's designed to keep things simple and strip decluttering right back to the basics. The four steps — Clear Out, Categorise, Cut Out and Contain — give you a structured plan that says exactly what it does on the tin.
The chaos method is an organizing strategy popularized by Kim Jones of Lock & Key Home. It embraces total immersion in the decluttering process. You empty every box, container, bag, drawer, and cupboard in a room or space. Ideally, it's about creating a temporary state of chaos to gain full clarity on what you own.
The 15-Minute Rule for OCD is a Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) technique where you delay performing a compulsion for 15 minutes when an obsessive thought triggers anxiety, allowing the urge to lessen naturally as you practice exposure and response prevention (ERP). It teaches your brain that discomfort decreases without the ritual, building resilience and breaking the obsessive-compulsive cycle by gradually increasing tolerance for uncertainty and distressing feelings.
One of the key signs and symptoms of high functioning OCD is persistent, obsessive thoughts. These thoughts often revolve around fears of harm, making mistakes, or being imperfect. Unlike general anxiety, these thoughts are more than just worries—they are persistent, intrusive, and difficult to control.
The 80/20 rule (or Pareto Principle) in cleaning means focusing your limited time on the 20% of tasks or areas that yield 80% of the visible cleanliness, like kitchens and bathrooms, to get the biggest impact with less effort. It also applies to decluttering by identifying the 20% of items you use 80% of the time, making it easier to remove the excess stuff that creates clutter and adds to cleaning work. The goal is to streamline your routine and home, creating more calm and space by prioritizing high-impact cleaning and getting rid of unused belongings.