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How can I declutter my home with ADHD?
Keeping your home organized can be one of the most challenging things with ADHD. I struggled for years, especially before my diagnosis, wondering what was wrong with me and why it was so hard to keep my home tidy and organized. I started to believe I was lazy and didn’t have what it took to maintain my home. This is also where the ‘ADHD tax’ comes into play. ADHD tax can involve spending unnecessary money because you can’t find something, so you must repurchase it. It can also mean forgetting to pay bills and incurring extra late fees. However, keeping your home more organized can help you to be more productive with your ADHD, save money, and also feel more relaxed in your home. Here are ADHD organization hacks to help keep your home stress free.
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Specify the Days of the Week
One way to make things less overwhelming is assigning tasks to different weekdays. For example, on Monday, you clean the bathrooms; Tuesday, you vacuum the floors, and so on. I have a Simple Cleaning Schedule download you can print out and use or create your own that works best for you. This can work for ADHD because it breaks things down into more manageable chunks and feels less overwhelming. At the same time, this approach will not work for everyone. You may feel unmotivated on a particular day or like you can’t complete the task. There may also be a feeling of perfectionism where if you skip one day of following the schedule, you feel like you’ve failed, making it extremely hard to pick back up on the plan the next day.
Something is Always Better Than Nothing
My biggest tip is something is always better than nothing, so if you miss a day, don’t worry about it. Do what you have scheduled for the next day, and don’t feel like you also have to complete the task you missed. You will complete it next week or if you are getting ready for company sometime soon. People coming over is sometimes the best motivator for ADHD people to get cleaning tasks done. The only problem is that if you have too much clutter, you end up stashing it somewhere ‘to go through later,’ which never really happens.
My other tip when you are entirely unmotivated is to set a timer. I’m a big fan of a 5-minute timer because that feels the least overwhelming. Start your timer and see how much you can get done in 5 minutes if you clean one toilet, mirror, or vacuum one room; awesome! If this motivates you to do more, set the timer again and keep going. Of course, if you feel like you are done for the day, that’s ok too.
Avoid Stocking Up
Stocking up when something is on sale or buying things in bulk can be a great idea and feel like a responsible plan because you are ‘saving money.’ However, if you don’t need it, aren’t going to use it in a reasonable amount of time, or have a good place to store these items, then it probably isn’t as beneficial as you might think.
Having too much stuff can lead to clutter and overwhelm. Also, it may lead to not knowing where things are or forgetting that you stocked up on those items, which will end with you repurchasing them so that it won’t save you money in the long run.
Label Shelves and Containers
Labeling shelves and containers is an excellent hack for helping you know what you have and what items are being kept where. This also allows you to keep your space cleaner and more organized because it is much easier to put things away when they have a spot, and you know exactly where they go.
You can buy a label maker, purchase labels on Amazon, purchase from a small business like Mabel’s Labels, or create your own. The most important thing is not to overthink it.
Use clothing hooks
I’ve spent most of my life just throwing my clothes on the floor when I’m getting ready for bed, creating a messy room that takes a while to clean. My fiance and I now use clothing hooks for clothes we’ve worn once and will wear again, especially things like pajamas. Hang them up, so they aren’t on the floor, and you’ll feel better coming home to a somewhat tidy room.
Also, ensure you have easily accessible hooks in the bathroom for hanging up towels and your clothes while you are showering or getting ready. We like to use a double hook like this and put them in the kids’ rooms to hang their towels.
Another good place to have hooks is in your entryway or wherever you keep purses, backpacks, etc. We also use a small set of hooks to keep our car and mail keys together. If you develop a habit of always putting it in the same spot, it helps. However, I’m still guilty of sometimes putting the car key in the side of my purse or coat pocket or leaving it in the car in the garage.
Use baskets
My bathroom was chaotic for most of my life, and my products were messy. It was hard to use things up because I would forget what I had. Finally, I picked up some excellent bins (pictured) from The Container Store, and now I have one basket for all my hair stuff, one for any face or skincare items, and another for medicines.
To keep similar items together, you can use baskets in cabinets, such as under your sinks or in your pantry. It is important not to hide your stuff so you can either utilize clear bins for storage or appropriately label them if you can not immediately see what they contain.
Don’t be afraid to throw stuff away.
The last of my ADHD organization hacks, possibly the biggest, is not being afraid to throw stuff away. You can’t organize clutter, and too much will make it nearly impossible to feel like you are getting a handle on it. If you have clothes, you haven’t worn in years, donate them or sell them somewhere like Poshmark. Get rid of old shoe boxes are the box your cellphone case came in! The problem with ADHD is we have a tendency towards hoarding because we are scared to get rid of things. We feel we might one day need that item, or we feel we have to figure out what it was used for in the first place if we no longer know.
One thing that helped me a ton was setting aside a day with a friend to go through my stuff. She helped me by going through my stuff item by item and asking if I wanted to keep them. If I paused for too long, it went into the ‘get rid of’ pile. If you have someone in your life who wants to help and you feel comfortable letting them into your home (trust me, I spent a lot of time being embarrassed), then let them. It can help to have someone not emotionally attached help you through your stuff.
I hope these ADHD organization hacks are helpful to you. If you have other things that you’ve tried and have worked, I’d love to hear them! Connect with me on Instagram, in my private Facebook group, or join my email list!
