Just start somewhere

This is harder said than done. But just take a timer and set it to a time that's reasonable for you; maybe five minutes. And during that time, just pick a spot and start. This is something that I do to start a cleaning day. I usually start with trash, take 10 min and try to clean up all trash that might be around your problem areas. This usually jump starts your cleaning motivation.

Make a list

Observe the area that you're trying to get done and visualize what needs to be done. This can be skipped if you get overwhelmed with seeing how bad it is. I tend to, instead of looking at a whole room and giving up. Pick a shelf, or a table top, just something that you can manage with the energy you have.

Purge

This is something that you can do when you have a free day, I generally do this during a weekend or day off. Just take a day, grab a coffee or drink of preference and just go. Make your lists of what you need to do and just do it. It will probably suck, and something that you may feel like you hate, but once its done. Everything will feel much more manageable. When I was a kid we would call this "shoveling out the house". Growing up with just a dad, I got used to a messy house. And I had no motivation to keep it clean. I was the only one interested in having a clean house. And now that I am alone, those old messy habits have followed me.

Post-purge

Your house might be a war zone right now. You are trying to finish purging and moving things around. This is the point that you need to decide your zones in the house. I like to keep like things together. Like school supplies all in one spot, or electronics in one spot. I have many old bags that are full of old chargers. Just in case the main one I am using stops working. Keep maybe one and get rid of the rest. You don't need to keep 12 old iphone chargers, as I look at myself in the mirror.

Trouble areas

At least for me I have spots where clutter just starts accumulating in certain areas. Mainly table tops. I have a tendency to just put something down and forget about it. Taking the time to clean things off and reorganize these areas every day or week, can keep the clutter away.

Daily cleaning

Find a couple of daily tasks that you can do daily to keep the stress away. Now this is also harder to start than to keep going. I would love to be able to wash dishes every night, and not let my laundry pile up during the week.

Just remember, a little goes a long way.

Don't place blame if it doesn't change overnight

I have purged and caught up on cleaning too many times to count. I have cussed and hated myself for letting myself leaving the mess for so long. You need to forgive yourself, hating yourself will only keep associating negative with cleaning. Mass cleaning will not happen in one day, learning new habits will not happen in one day.

Try something new

Try to start habits to make your home feel like home. You need to remember that feeling of coming home and everything is done. To be able to relax and not have this overhead stress of just being home gone. Just start, you will reach your goals, it will probably not happen overnight. But just start and put effort into it.

Extra tips

• Leave your shoes at the door. I am an ag kid so most of the time my shoes have mud or dirt on them. And having a spot for them by the door, will keep that mess off of your carpets and cut down on cleaning your floors.
• Set a routine that works for you. I am useless in the morning, and when I said to myself that every morning I will wash my dishes. That lasted less than a day, now i am thinking about washing dishes at night when I am more active.
• Set a daily, weekly, monthly checklist