Cleaning while you have ADHD

Cleaning is something that we all have to do. As adults, we can’t really avoid it. For most of us, it’s a fact that we come to accept. We need to clean the dishes, our home, our car, and such. We can’t really avoid it.

For many, cleaning can be done. However, if you have ADHD/ADD, it’s a very different story.

For those of us with ADHD/ADD, cleaning isn’t so easy. It is dull and isn’t interesting at all. Two things that absolutely don’t help us do things. If it isn’t interesting, ADHDers/ADDers are most likely going to struggle with the task. It can be overwhelming for us, when we just look at a mess, whether it’s big or small.

I’m not exception to this. I’m horrible with cleaning. I always was, and I still struggle with chores that involve cleaning. My mom can attest to my horrible cleaning skills when I was a kid, and my husband can attest to them now.

There are a lot of reasons why we struggle with cleaning. Well, I kind of mentioned it early. It mostly has to do with the fact that cleaning is a task which is usually dull and uninteresting. And if it doesn’t interested us and is dull, then we aren’t very likely to do it. Or unlikely to do it well.

Cleaning is a task that I’ve never enjoyed doing. If I can avoid it, I try to. Unfortunately I can’t avoid it as much as I would like. Especially now that I’m an adult and a mom. It’s a task that I must now do every day.

So, we do have to have ways or methods to be able to clean and not live in utter mess. However, what may work for non-ADHD/ADD individuals don’t necessarily work for us. We need ADHD-friendly ways to clean.

There are various methods that we can use to help us clean, which are ADHD-friendly. Here are some suggestions.

1. Don’t do it all at once. Take a timer and set for, let’s say, 25 minutes. During this time, just focus on cleaning one room. When the timer goes off, take a five-minute break. Then start again.

2. When it comes to laundry, have one basket for dark and one for whites. I do like this suggestion, as it would certainly make doing the laundry a little easier.

3. Whoever possible, go through things with a big garbage bag and get rid of anything that isn’t needed anymore. No one uses? Toss. Forgot you had it? Probably safe to get rid of.

So, these are a few suggestions. There are more that can be beneficial, but these are just a few examples of ADHD-friendly methods that can help clean and aim for a cleaner home. Or at least, work towards it.

For those of you, who may want to read some more on the subject, here are some articles for you.
www.additudemag.com/housekeeping-made-easy/
www.additudemag.com/overwhelmed-mom-with-adhd/
untappedbrilliance.com/housework-and-adhd/