ADHD and housework

[deflatedbirthday]

Looking for perspectives from those with ADHD and how they manage housework. I’m really struggling at the moment with it feeling overwhelming and can’t seem to keep on top of it. I also can’t relax properly when it’s not done. I ruminate on it and the thoughts about it take over everything.

Do you find it easier to do a room each day and a small list of daily tasks such as vacuuming or dedicate a morning a week to all the cleaning whilst keeping up with small jobs throughout? Or another way?

I had adhd, medicated.
A Robot Hoover is helpful one with a wet mop as well even better.
I have a sort of routine but my DC are late teens so it is a bit easier now.
I have set days to change bedding and then I use robot hoover/mop to do floor after I have stripped and made bed.
Set days- with 1 day leeway each side to do bathroom. I have a bathroom with good storage so surfaces are clear. It’s taken me a long time to get this so before I used baskets.
DH and I share the dishwasher.
Sometimes I am on top of things and sometimes not. I’ve learnt there is a balance - if I do too much housework I get fed too. Too little and place looks like a mess
I really swear by robot mops and Hoovers tho.
I don’t love ironing so let it pile up and then do it in one go.
Podcasts and music help me when it’s boring.

Self acceptance

my house is either entirely blitzed and immaculate or a total disaster, and I don’t care.

the good thing about the total disaster periods is because it’s usually because I’m off out having fun.

I recommend Dana K White of “a slob comes clean” and others, including a podcast and books. She has ADHD and her podcast and books really do help.

As another PP has said Karen self acceptance and buy in what help you can afford.

ADHD too. House work is not my friend. Not giving too much of a shit helps. Tidy up when someone comes over. My latest wheeze if putting the equipment I need eg mop and floor cleaner in the room, so that when I get the urge I grab them and do it. Inertia is my middle name!

That sounds incredibly draining, especially when the pressure to get everything done makes it difficult to rest. A gentle daily routine with one or two realistic tasks may feel less overwhelming than trying to catch up all at once. Breaking things into small, visible wins can help make housework feel more manageable and less consuming.

Someone on here mentioned the Tody app. I downloaded and gave it a go. It sometimes gets ignored for a month or so, but I come back to it as a tick list. It is particularly good for reminding me of the jobs I forget to do (cleaning floors and windows) and also that I do not need to repeat the ones I do a lot /find easy (eg changing bedding, towels or doing laundry)

A few daily "must do" items - for me its running & unloading the dishwasher, at least one laundry task (I'm good at washing a load but struggle with putting away a clean load!), quick hoover of one of the highest traffic areas (RIP my robot hoover, may it someday be replaced) & a 5 minute pick up (dashing around to put out of place things back in their "home").

Beyond that I try and do the Organised Mum Method, because the breakdown of tasks in each room helps me get started when I feel overwhelmed, but I'm not very consistent. To be honest I'm treading water most of the time, but the daily tasks stop things piling up too much.

Another vote for Dana White - her method sorted out my house. Long before I understood about adhd, her approach and methods made me realise that if I could adapt to how my brain worked, I could probably succeed at anything really. Most of my problems were trying to do things in ways that worked for other people.

Either listen to her podcast from the start (or at least through her slob story) or the book How to Manage your Home Without Losing Your Mind

I use a timer for 5 minutes to tidy a room, then another 10 mins to clean it. It works. Not perfect but way better. Do it regularly and the times get shorter. The other day the house looked and felt like a pigsty but I tidied each room in 3 minutes, hoovered, dusted and polished in 8 mins per room.

The ADHD brain loves all these short-term rewards of mini tidy-ups and mini cleaning sessions. Lots of little dopamine hits as the buzzer goes.