One of the challenges of having Attention Deficit Disorder is keeping up with all the stuff in our lives. Not just material stuff, but things like appointments, errands, and even the work we have to do.
It feels to me sometimes like I’ve got this orbital path circling around my head – kind of like the rings around Saturn – and in it is everything I need to do and remember. Kind of like this, but with way more stuff:
Since all of us with ADHD experience the same kind of thing, I’m always looking for new ideas and ways of doing things.
Today I found an article on the Real Simple website that says you can keep a clean house in less than 20 minutes a day. Real Simple Magazine owns the site, and it’s full of great ideas and information. Well worth a look.
The ideas aren’t bad, and are very easy to do. I’ve already put a few of them to work for me. And if you’re one of those people with a lot of clutter in your house, I say try these ideas anyway. Once you start doing 20 minutes a day, you might find your cleaner home is motivation enough to work on that clutter.
Oh, and if you’re one of the lucky people who isn’t the one in charge of keeping the house clean, these ideas can easily be adapted to other areas of your life: your bedroom, your car, even your job.
2 Responses
I’ve tried this but it just doesn’t work for me. I can’t do the whole house every day with two preschoolers! LOL The system that works for me is “assign chores a day/one room a day for extra attention”. LOL
Kitchen, laundry – M
Living room, bathrm – T
Master bedrm, groceries, bills – W
Daughter’s rm, basement – TH
Son’s rm, laundry – F
The chosen room gets a 3-5 min once-over tidying up and then one extra chore. For example, Tuesday I did all the things listed for the bathroom then also mopped the floor. Or, on MOnday did a quick pick-up of the kitchen then also steamed the microwave or wiped down cabinets.
So, in a month in the master bedroom, the dust bunnies under the bed got sucked up, the exterior windows and mirrored closet doors got Windexed, the bookshelf dusted and reorganized, and the extra hangers/extra clothes cleaned out.
Small bites end up making a big difference!
I’ve tried your plan as well as the one I mentioned in my post. Neither work especially well for me – I think I just don’t like housework!
I tend to do a sort of hit or miss thing when I notice something needs to be done, or I’m motivated to do it. Certain things always get done – dishes done including pots, kitchen cleaned including stove, microwave and table, garbage emptied daily, beds made and a quick pick up daily.
Any given moment I wouldn’t be too embarrassed for someone to drop by 🙂
How much time do you spend each day cleaning? Some days more than others?