Cleaning in the Chaos
: Tips and tricks from my brilliant adhd tribe to bring peace to the chaos.
A week and a half ago I posted a video on Tik Tok asking for help! I have always struggled to keep my space clean and organized. I call myself the most organized disorganized person there is. Without the diagnosis of Adhd it just frustrated me that I couldn’t keep my space together. My room was ALWAYS a mess, like clothes all over the floor and everything it utter disarray. It always frustrated me because I felt like maybe I was lazy or I kept making excuses for myself. Now knowing the real reason I always felt frustrated knowing that my desire was always to be neat and tidy.
I posted that video on TikTok and my new tribe came through. The video has nearly 1,000 tips and tricks from beautiful and brilliant brains that thrive with adhd! Here is all the advice that I received!! I hope it helps you like it is helping me!!
“Everybody is a Genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree it will go its whole life believing its stupid.” -Albert Einstein
Minimalism: This was the most commented piece of advice! Purge, purge & purge! Part of my issue with cleaning a space is that I get overwhelmed by clutter and the amount of stuff. Getting rid of things you don’t need is a huge step towards being more organized. When there is less stuff to tidy, pick up or put away the less stressed you will be. When the room feels full of stuff it can feel almost claustrophobic causing stress and allowing our brains to not focus on the task at hand. Someone said, “Only keep it if you would take the time to pack it if you moved or buy it again if you lost it.” Brilliant.
Everything must have a home: As someone who loves when things are clear and in the right place I love this concept. I don’t think I have ever taken the time to give my items an actual home. It takes the stress out of putting things away because it takes away the thought process of, “where should I put this, where does it go?” When you are cleaning your path should be clear and manageable so you can easily follow through without fear of failure.
Storage Bins & Labels: If everything has a home you can take the extra step to remind our sometimes forgetful, brilliant brains where that home is! Once you have purged and assigned a location, the next most commented advice was to buy bins and a label maker!! *Also Object Permanence is a thing so it will help if the bins are a little see through or clear! Put as many things in bins as you can! If there is a place in your linen closet for overflow shampoo… get a small basket and place them all in there. Food pantry? Label where the extra pasta and bread is, you know… the important stuff!! Oh, and if you’re a mama like me… keep a basket of chocolates in the laundry room when you are escaping to throw a load of laundry in the washing machine! Bonus… it’ll help you remember to change the laundry over when you want another piece!! Win Win!!
Schedules and Routine: Before I jump into this one I would like to start off by saying that there isn’t a perfect system that helps everyone. Find and think though a routine or cleaning schedule that makes sense for you and your family. Maybe that cleaning schedule looks like one room a day. Monday you clean the bathrooms, Tuesdays you clean the bedroom, Wednesday you clean the living room and so on. I have also heard that it helps to clean surfaces a little at a time throughout the day. Someone suggested putting baskets in every room of the house where you can throw miscellaneous things and at the end of the day sort through them! You could start the day every morning but making your bed right after you take your medicine! Or you could start the dishwasher every night and unload while making breakfast. Lots of people suggested doing a deep house clean once a month and keeping the house tidy throughout the week so it is less overwhelming when you begin. Whatever you think will best help you stay on track is the best schedule for you and your family! **Go easy on yourself. It is not a set in stone type of schedule. It can be breathable if you allow it to be as long as the goal stays the same. No fear of failure necessary!
Lists: Make lists all day, everyday. I find it funny that I am the Queen of making lists and yet I complete so few of them. Making a manageable list is the key. I heard it helps to keep white wipeable boards around your home and office so that you can easily add and cross things off during the day! Then you can start over the next day, or the night before to really start your day the right way. It’s also good to have a calendar on display for reminders and grocery lists! Do not be afraid to have reminders all over your house!! There are ways you can accomplish this without messing up the decor!! Make the list manageable and stick to it. Plus that extra dopamine hit when you cross of something is pretty legit!
Timers: Time yo’ self. Our brilliant brains are processing way too much info too fast. Give yourself some grace and let it focus for increments of time. Some people swear by doing 15 min increments, meaning do a task for 15 min… reward yourself & do another task for 15. Other people say to take a break for 10 min and clean as much in the room that you are in as fast as you possibly can for those ten min. Some people have said that if you can take care of the task in 5 min or less.. go ahead and take care of it. Timing yourself will help your brain focus with a sense of urgency. We tend to work better under a deadline. Create that deadline.
Use Technology: This was a huge one as well. Use what is available to you if you have it!! Do you have an Alexa?? Google?? Set timers, reminders and add things to your calendar! Do you have an Apple Watch? Set reminders!! Set alarms. I am that annoying girl who sets 5 alarms just to make sure that I wake up!! My hubby is so patient with me. Also, here is a list of apps that were recommended by numerous people!
Google tasks
Tiimo: the adhd & autism app (didn’t even know this existed and it’s super cool
Team Tomm cleaning app
Don’t Break the Chain
Tody smarter cleaning app
Spotless
Amazing Resources: The other amazing thing that my tribe provided was powerful resources to help us all become the superheroes we were created to be!! Here is a list of books, podcasts, YouTube channels and websites designed to give advice that will help you understand your brain and thrive in the middle of our chaos!!
Clean Mama Blog. I also follow her on Instagram: @cleammama . She has calendars, books, planners and recipes for home cleaners… needless to say… she’s legit!!
One of the number one tagged people was @domesticblisters - Kc Davis! The Struggle Care Website - This resource is golden. Her website is amazing and her social media platforms are so informative and helpful. Also her book “How to keep House while Drowning” Go check her out!!
The Lazy Genius! website awesome blog and more hacks!!
How to Align your Ducks @Alignyourducks on insta as well. Home organization BOARD GAME. Brilliant.
The Queen of Distractions , a book all about women with adhd! For all my Queens!!
She’s in her Apron (YouTube channel!!)
Order from Chaos The Everyday Grind of Staying Organized with Adult ADHD by Jaclyn Paul
The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing - Marie Kondo
Have Fun: There were many ideas to make cleaning fun and/or a game to help stimulate our brains more so we can focus! One example was to clean by color- meaning that you pick a color and pick up anything that is yellow. Continue to pick colors until you’re done! Another idea was to distract while cleaning- listen to podcasts or audiobooks. In the same mainframe my favorite hack was to crank up the tunes… which for me just leads to me learning new dances and trying to be Beyonce in front of a fan… cleaning does not happen so choose your playlist wisely!! ;)
Lastly: Give yourself grace. This will not happen over night. The most important thing to remember is it takes time to create these types of habits so DO NOT QUIT after one day if you get stressed or you feel like something isn’t working right. Adjust your sail to catch to wind and keep sailing. Keep trying. Also, ask for help!! If you are living with family, divide and conquer!! Delegate!! Especially if you have kiddos- teach them to tidy as they go! Communicate with your spouse or partner where your weaknesses are and try to create a schedule that works for both of you!! One last piece of advice… hire someone. I saw this comment over and over again. It is not a reflection on your abilities if you ask for help. If this is an option available to you… hold your head up high and do it, proudly! Some people even hire someone to deep clean and then they use their schedule and routine to keep up with it! We all do what we can!! Find what works for you!! We do not have to live in a stressful environment!!
Stop believing the lie that you are just incapable of living in stress free space. There will be chaos and there will be times where nothing works and its just a little messy. Embrace your brain!! We are superheroes- we may just need the right cape!!
Go save the world, tribe!!
XOXO, KB