7 Tips for Cleaning with ADHD

Living with ADHD can make keeping your living space clean and organized feel like an uphill battle. Those with ADHD continuously seek activities that help their brains produce more dopamine—which doesn’t usually include the monotonous rhythm of cleaning. This challenge, combined with the stress of executive dysfunction, can quickly turn your home, car, or office into a cluttered mess. But don’t worry—there are ways to make cleaning with ADHD more manageable.

In this article, we’ll share some of the best tips and strategies for cleaning with ADHD. From breaking tasks into smaller steps to creating a routine that works for you, these techniques will help you tackle cleaning projects with greater ease and efficiency. Say goodbye to feeling overwhelmed and hello to a cleaner, more organized environment.
Ready to manage your ADHD and conquer the clutter? Klarity connects you with licensed healthcare providers that can help you manage your ADHD symptoms, making cleaning easier. Book an appointment with a licensed healthcare professional on Klarity to receive comprehensive online treatment—no insurance necessary.

1. Choose a Technique for Accountability

Accountability for those with ADHD is an effective way to ensure your chores get done. Chores and clutter can feel overwhelming, but when cleaning is part of your daily routine, it forces you to complete the task. There are methods to keep yourself accountable, such as having a physical chart that outlines your daily chores, creating a checklist, or sandwiching the cleaning between important tasks in your morning or night routine. 

Chore Scheduling 

Those with ADHD can struggle with time management, so making a plan and setting precise times for cleaning can help you get it done. Making a daily, weekly, and even monthly routine to follow will build good cleaning habits that you can sustain long-term. 

Cleaning Chart

A great way to keep track of your cleaning tasks and focus at home is by creating a cleaning chart. At the beginning of the week, you can write down chores you need to complete, like laundry, cleaning the bathroom, or vacuuming. With a physical reminder to complete these tasks, scheduling your cleaning takes away the guesswork. With a list, you’ll be able to cross off completed tasks as you complete them, which gives a feeling of accomplishment.

2. Declutter Daily

ADHD can make activities like organization difficult due to the fast-paced nature of the brain. This can lead to clutter build-up in the home, which can quickly feel overwhelming and out of hand. However, when completed in small chunks, decluttering can be more achievable. 

Daily decluttering can break apart the task of cleaning and make it more manageable rather than trying to get everything done at once. Start by cleaning one room of your house each day for as little as 15 minutes. Setting a simple task to accomplish, like cleaning up the bathroom for 10 minutes, reduces the overwhelming sensation of clutter and gets your house clean. 

3. Add Stimulating Activities to Make Cleaning Less Boring

Chores don’t have to be a boring activity. By including more enjoyable activities, like listening to music, talking to a friend, or having a cleaning competition with a spouse or friend, you can make your cleaning feel more fun, almost like a game. In addition, when cleaning with another person, you can split the work and end up cleaning more than if you worked alone. By making it feel less like a chore, and more like a fun activity, it’ll be easier for you to stay on track. 

4. Organize With Labels and Bins

If you have a habit of building up a lot of clutter in your home, labeled bins can be an effective solution to keep your home clean. This method works by grouping similar clutter together, like mail, chargers, or even clothing items like hats. 

Instead of dropping your mail on a table, a bin will put the eventual clutter into a designated place, and once it’s filled, you can sort through the clutter and determine what goes where. Important mail may be filed away, and spam can be thrown out. 

5. Use the 80/20 Rule

The 80/20 rule is based on the idea that 80% of the time, we use 20% of what’s stored away. This means the more stuff we have packed away or out of sight, the less likely we are to use it. You should make a point to go through the stored clutter in your home; this can mean anything from old clothes you don’t wear, things you don’t need or plan to use, or things you save for the sake of saving. 

This, in addition to some of the other techniques, will keep your home from feeling too busy, crowded, or cluttered. Clearing out your clutter will be cathartic for you and bring some much-needed clarity and order to your day-to-day life. 

6. Make Cleaning a Team Effort

For those living with a friend or spouse, dividing cleaning responsibilities evenly can take a bit of stress off your shoulders. Breaking up your duties into smaller chunks makes it easier for you to accomplish them, and the extra help means there is less individual work for you to do. 

7. Get Help From a Professional

Keeping up with cleaning can be particularly challenging when you have ADHD, but there are ways to avoid becoming overwhelmed. Seeking professional assistance, especially through online telehealth services, can provide you with the guidance and support necessary to navigate your ADHD symptoms and conquer daunting tasks like maintaining a clean and organized space.

See a Healthcare Provider about Your ADHD Symptoms With Help From Klarity

At Klarity, we understand the challenges those with ADHD may face in keeping their spaces tidy. The providers on our platform can help you manage your symptoms and make cleaning easier. 

We’ll connect you with a qualified medical professional within 48 hours so you can take back control of your spaces. Schedule an appointment today to get started.