11 Bulletproof Ways To Organize ADHD Home • ADHD Organized

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I’m sure we can both agree that a clean and tidy home is a happy home. I’m sure we can also agree that keeping it that way, isn’t always easy… Especially as an ADHD person. With these handy tips and tricks, you’ll make keeping your home tidy easier and easier, and that it also stays that way.

I personally don’t like tips like “put your stuff back after the use”. No sh@!%t, Sherlock! I know, such simple, basic advice, I know that I should be doing so – but as someone with ADHD… I usually don’t. So even for a disorganized person like me, the following tips have made me able to keep my place (almost) always organized.

Before we start: Identify your problem areas. If you look around now, what things are not in order? Is it the dirty laundry on the floor, undone dishes in the sink, or maybe kids’ toys all over the place?

1 – Declutter

I know it sounds like a tedious task, but decluttering your house helps tremendously keeping it tidy as well – you can’t create a mess with stuff you don’t have! Go through all your things – do you really need ten different pairs of slippers? Think on every item, when have you used it last? If you haven’t used it for the last 6 months, it is quite unlikely you’ll use it in the next 6 months either.

If the decluttering process sounds overwhelming, check out this post.

Sometimes, especially if you don’t want to throw away some of your items completely, it is nice to pack some of your stuff away, store them neatly in boxes and swap the stuff around every 6 months. After a half a year when its time to swap, it almost feels like Christmas when you open your boxes and find things that you don’t even remember you owned. This trick works especially well with children. This also saves you money – you won’t need to be buying new toys all the time.

Also Read How to Stop Procrastinating as an ADHD Adult - 8 Tips

After you have gone through everything, an easy way to keep the house uncluttered is to follow “one in, one out” -rule. If you buy something new, something old has to go.

2 – Dedicate a place for everything

If I asked you now where your wallet, passport, or driving license is, you might have to think for a while. On the other hand, if I asked where your shampoo or your cutlery is, you probably know straight away. In most households, shampoos are usually stored next to the shower and cutlery usually in a cutlery draw in the kitchen. So why not use the same tactic and dedicate a place for everything in your home?

For example, a handy wall organizer like this is a great place to store your keys.

3 – Make keeping it tidy easy

3.1 -Tackle the laundry

If the laundry is your key problem area, how could you make it easier in your house?
Personally, for me, the easiest way is to have laundry baskets in each room I might be taking clothes off. For example, in my case both in the bedroom and in the bathroom. Laundry baskets with little casters are extremely handy for this.

If you like to wash your whites and darks separately, a laundry basket with separate bags for different colors makes your laundry day go way smoother, as you divide the clothes as you go.

If you have clothes that you will use again before washing them, have a dedicated shelf, chair, or clothing rack for them.

If you hate folding clothes and putting them back after they’ve dried, how about some baskets or pull out draws?

3.2 – Tackle the dishes

Are dishes always piling up? No worries, you are not the only one. One tested and working method is to reduce your tableware to the minimum – one plate, bowl, and cup for each person in the household. Pack the rest away in case you have visitors, but put them in a place that it takes more effort to go to get a new, clean one, than quickly washing the plate you already have.

Also Read 8 Motivational Thoughts About Decluttering For When It Feels Overwhelming

Drinking glasses everywhere? I saw this handy tip from a home improvement magazine years ago and it has been proven to work, especially with children – cut round shapes from a pretty paper, cover it with clear contact paper/sticky back plastic and tape them to the countertop. This way everyone puts their own glass to their own dedicated place to be reused.

4 – Get pretty cleaning equipment to have it in hand and create shortcuts

Get pretty cleaning equipment that matches your decor, so you don’t always have to hide them in the darkest corner of your house and make the effort of digging them out! When the cleaning equipment is close and in hand, it is easier quickly to brush the dirt on the floor or wipe the countertops as you go, and avoid massive cleaning sessions later.

Minimize high-maintenance cleaning equipment. Nowadays I only go for a bagless vacuum cleaner, for instance – no hassle of remembering whether I remembered to buy new bags or not to even mention to figure out which one is the right one!

Trash piling up easy? Put your trash bags next to your trash can so it’s easier to put a new bag in after you have taken out the old one. Has trash been left in every room? Get a trash can in every room. Socks always missing? Get only black ones. Create shortcuts like these to prevent the mess!

Pretty trash cans like these would look good in any room. When you choose a trash can, choose one without a lid – it more likely gets used, and, well, emptied…

Dish drying rack like this can be very useful in an ADHD kitchen. The storage and drying are in the same and everything you need is close by.

Also Read ADHD Adult: How to Use a Calendar Like a Pro

5 – Have “a mess basket” and a dedicated emptying day

Are there places in your home that gather miscellaneous clutter all the time? One place like this in most households is by the front door – keys, sunglasses, receipts, coins, hairpins, shopping lists, a glove looking for a pair, yesterday’s movie tickets… you name it. Put a pretty basket close to the door where it’s easy to dump stuff and then dedicate a day in a week when to empty and sort it out -remember to mark it in your calendar! No stress and the space looks neat.

6 – Pretty storage

The key to an organized home is storage. When it is pretty and easily accessible, it is easier to keep the home tidy too.

For example in the lounge, use ottomans – they are great as they work as storage, extra seating, and as a coffee table if necessary.

Creative storage places inspire kids to keep their toys in order as well.

7 – Utilize waiting times & create time pressure

When I have my coffee in the morning, my filter coffee machine takes around 5 minutes to prepare the coffee. At that time I quickly clear the countertops or empty the trash can, or when I’m cooking and the food is in the oven, I quickly do the dishes leftover from cooking.

Alternatively you could use a timer – get these cute fruit and veg timers here.

It’s easier to do a bit of tidying when you know you have a time limit (no need to start to clean the whole house) and also it forces you to work quickly (more gets done).

8 – Make it fun

Put on the music and dance at the same time when you are tidying. You get a handy exercise at the same time! Take the whole family into the cleaning routine too. Make it a game – who is the quickest to tidy up?