Once Again Thinking About Tommy's Reversal On Letting Abby Live :/

once again thinking about Tommy's reversal on letting Abby live :/

he walked in on Ellie having a panic attack after killing Mel. he knows how hard this whole revenge trip is on her, and yet.

and yet, once she has a family and is doing her best to keep her head above water, you send her out again? I know she was gonna go anyway, but maybe it would've been longer, and maybe she would've been able to realize it wouldn't help sooner.

i dont understand

sorry to add onto this, but I also struggle with cleaning and found a few ways to help with it! not all of these will work on a time crunch, but it might help eventually :)

to start off, I make a list of what I know needs to get done. being able to see what needs to get done is a big help for me and I usually start by picking what seems easiest. I've done this enough that once I start, I can usually keep the momentum going until most everything is clean

also recommend going room by room! so if the bathroom seems easiest to start with, start there! I usually work in a line, so toilet first, then sink, then shower. sometimes I sweep, but if it's not too noticeable, I leave it. then go to the kitchen. I do any dishes that need to get done - with upbeat music! that part is vital to me because I hate doing dishes, but if I have upbeat songs playing? I do a little dancey dance while doing them and it makes it easier. if I don't have it, I usually lose momentum. then I do pet stuff, and then I worry about tidying the little things

buckets are great help! or little boxes or bags! whichever is easiest for you! having separate piles/stashes for different rooms is very vital to cleaning quickly! and to make sure you don't lose momentum!

once everything looks good enough, I sweep and mop if it needs it.

having a list is very important for me because if I lose track of the mission, I can look at the list, see what still needs attention, and go from there. and I get to cross stuff off! I used to give myself stickers after everything, too! that helped a lot :) and still does on the harder days :)

I've also found that having a set day for cleaning is helpful, too. so, I get out of bed and start cleaning almost immediately while eating breakfast. it isn't always the same day, but if I have the urge to clean something, I try my best to clean other stuff while I'm at it and turn it into a cleaning day (it doesn't always work that well, though)

adding on to the list aspect, if you have dnd dice, assign a number to every task! it makes cleaning a little more fun that way! :D (and if you're secretly hoping for a specific roll, then you should go do that thing)

this process is completely different for everyone, though! so find a way that works for you! and make sure to give yourself a nice reward after! that helps to motivate me - knowing there's a little treat at the end :)

pen do u have any advice for tackling an absolutely filthy apartment? like there are actual, should use bleach to clean up messes, but also TONS of clutter—and it was never organized in the first place, so it’s not like i have homes for these items to sort them into. i’m AuDHD which adds a layer of challenge for sure, but i’m also an adult, and this environment is worsening everything! u just seem so ~together~ and i bow at the altar of your wisdom. the pressure is on a bit more than usual bc my stepdad is coming over tomorrow to look at my wonky dryer and i CANNOT have it be in this state when he arrives 😭

i am one billion percent a hot mess, but i thank you for the compliment lol

as a quick overview just as a basic help from what i tend to do on big clean days but reduced for hurry:

put on headphones and a good book/podcast/youtube video. we are counting on the power of autopilot here.

alternatively, if you have a friend to talk to, you can also just talk to them and clean while you go. i do this sometimes with mealprepping.

first off, collect ALL THE TRASH. literally just walk around with a garbage bag and toss everything that needs tossing. we're not worrying about cleanliness or organizing yet. we're just getting rid of anything that needs to be trashed.

if you have laundry that needs to get done, collect it in one place (preferably a hamper). it doesn't need to get done. stepdad already knows your dryer is on the fritz, so you have a gold ticket excuse if you have a lil pile. we are not worried about that situation today.

if there's dishes, collect them and put them in the dishwasher to run while you're doing everything else. if you don't have a dishwasher, put them in the sink to come back to. we can't lose our momentum yet.

if you have baskets, this is a great time to have baskets for things, but if you don't, make a basket out of your shirt and collect things that have migrated from their home (out of your bedroom, out of your kitchen, etc.) or never had a home to start with. if you spot it, put it in the basket/shirt. when it's full, take it to its designated room and leave it there for now. this way you won't be wandering later. i know you said you had thing that didn't get organized before, but we're making a decision in this step. we don't have to find its specific place yet. just decide which room it's going to live in.

now we can get into cleaning cleaning. if you have dishes and no dishwasher, do those first. leave them to dry. clean your microwave, stovetop, and get a damp cloth with some lysol or other cleaner and get any spots in the fridge that you can see (normally i'd say also go through anything expired, but we're going for speedy here). this isn't a deep clean, but that's okay. it'll be cleaner than it was before. after that, wipe your counters down, and when that's done, tackle the sink. i always save the sink until last bc i sweep crumbs in there sometimes. now that that's done, sweep your floor. voila, other than putting your dishes away (which is socially acceptable mess), your kitchen is clean.

tackle the bathroom. spray down your toilet and shower and let them sit. wipe your mirror off and then clean your sink faucet and basin. by the time that's done, the cleaners have had time to go to work. clean the toilet and the shower. when that's done, sweep. if you have time, feel free to mop/swiffer, but even if it's just sweeping, we're counting it as a success. bathroom down. now you've got two rooms done. if you need a boost, literally just go stare at your clean kitchen or bathroom. you did this. you got this. you have success.

this one is trickier. going one room at a time, find homes for anything that's loose and out and about. it doesn't have to be perfect. it can absolutely change later. we've already decided that these items live in this room, so we just need to find where they live for now. if you start getting frustrated, move rooms and then circle back. we organized things out earlier bc it means we can stay in one room and dial into hyperfixation of finding where things live. since you're worried about your stepdad seeing it, prioritize public places (livingroom/dining room/etc.). obviously for you, you should get to live in an orderly bedroom, but this is a bandaid cleaning to get us a good start. even if your bedroom ends up messy, we can close the door and tackle that tomorrow. you will still have an organized rest of the house.

when you've sorted out where loose items belong in each room (or even if you've done everything but your bedroom), sweep/vacuum.

go around and collect smaller trashcans (bedroom/bathroom/office/etc.) and throw them out along with the big trash. put fresh liners in the trashcans.

light a candle and have a fun drink. you have EARNED IT.

whaboom. you've got a clean kitchen and bathroom, things are at least in the general area they need to live in, and your house should look perfectly respectably tidy for your stepdad stopping by.

what i REALLY want to do is knit my friends chunky wool sweaters in ugly patterns and send them jars of homemade jam and lavender honey and sugar-crusted shortbread wrapped in brown paper tied up with knotted twine and handwrite them letters on thick yellowish paper infused with dried wildflowers i picked and pressed myself but nooooo i have to “study” and “work” so that i can earn ‘‘‘money’’’ and pay ‘‘‘bills’’’. fuck all life.

in menace news, I think we are starting to understand Abby and maybe even liking her

wait omg Ellie never came out to Joel. like, yeah, he knew, he put two and two together, but there was never an official coming out for them :(