5 Tips for a Cleaner House When You Have ADHD

ADHD wreaks havoc in all areas of our life. That can sometimes mean some of our responsibilities fall by the wayside. This can result in a messy house. Many ADHDers report having messy or untidy homes. So, what is an ADHDer to do to keep their house in order? Here are 5 tips:

1.) Determine What an Acceptable Level of Mess Is

Keeping a house clean is dang near impossible. Even if you do get it to a pristine condition, moments later you will do something that will mess it up again. I have a throw pillow in my living room that has “Sorry about the mess, but we live here” printed on it. I have accepted that my house will never be 100% clean. However, that does not mean I am okay with letting it get out of control. I try my best to keep it clean, but some level of mess is inevitable. I have determined what is acceptable for me and what is not. What is acceptable to you?

2.) Stay on Top of It

This is easier said than done. The idea is to do a little bit of cleaning at a time as you make a mess. The best example of this is your kitchen. Clean as you cook or right after you cook. If you put off all forms of cleaning in your kitchen until things get out of control, you will be less likely to do it. The more challenging a task seems, the less likely you are to do it. Cleaning a little bit at a time and preventing it from getting out of control is the way to go.

3.) Make It Fun

Recently, I had some dishes to clean in my kitchen. To help me get through this task that I hate, I turned on Frank Sinatra’s “Come Fly with Me.” Singing along to that song made the cleaning go by quicker and a lot more fun.

You could also make a game out of cleaning. How fast can you get it all cleaned? How does that time compare to previous cleaning times? What other ways can you gamify cleaning? Use your imagination. You have complete freedom to create whatever game you want.

4.) Delegate When Possible

When possible delegate, the cleaning tasks you do not like. The less you like something, the less likely you will be to do it. Giving those tasks you do not want to do to someone else. Granted, this is not always feasible, but it is a valid strategy when it can be done.

One unique way of delegating is to get a smart vacuum that will do the vacuuming for you. Roomba is the most common brand of smart vacuum, but there are other smart vacuums out there.

5.) Increase the Stakes!

If you know you need to clean, invite someone over. Having a deadline by which you need to have the house clean will increase the likelihood that you will actually clean. A clean house makes a good impression when you have visitors. If you are someone who has people over a lot, that means it will be easier for you to clean because you will be cleaning more often, meaning messes will not pile up.

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The Emotional Side of ADHD