Decluttering can be a huge challenge for those living with ADHD. Given how hard it can be to focus for more than a few minutes, ADHD makes it difficult for you to keep your house clean and organized. Even if you have picked up a task to tackle, you may not be able to complete it because the clutter surrounding you further adds up to the distractions prompting you to give up midway.
Let’s first begin to understand how clutter and ADHD goes hand in hand. Supposing that you have ADHD and you decide to declutter your closet by emptying everything out on the bed. Now you start pulling clothes out of the pile to decide what stays and what goes. 15 minutes have passed and you suddenly lose your focus on the task because of ADHD. You decide to give up after trying for a few more minutes and stuff everything back into the closet. Few days have passed and the clutter has multiplied in your home making it even harder for you to focus on your regular activities. In simple terms, clutter feeds ADHD and vice versa. This is exactly where this post comes into play.
This post contains affiliate links. For more information, see my disclosures.
If you have the desire to make your home clutter-free but ADHD is stopping you from going there, here are a few very powerful tips that can help you declutter your home slowly and steadily. You can decide which of these tips might work for you and use them to declutter your home:
1. Take Baby Steps
As someone suffering from ADHD, your focus should be on tackling small and manageable tasks rather than aiming for the bigger ones. If your attention span lasts for 10 or 15 minutes, prepare a list of tasks that can be done in this time period. Instead of going for an entire kitchen declutter, you can just divide the entire process into some doable tasks as listed below:
- Get rid of duplicate kitchen utensils
- Throw away the expired and unused spices and condiments in the pantry
- Clean the bottom section of the refrigerator
- Clear the kitchen countertops off unwanted items
Although the tasks listed above are small, they will eventually add up to give significant results in no time. Give yourself grace and do just as much as your mind permits.
2. Create A Schedule
Decluttering can get overwhelming if you don’t have a plan in place. So if you have decided to make the best use of your time and abilities, make sure that you mark the days on your calendar with every task you wish to accomplish during that day. Spread it out over a period of weeks to avoid feeling overwhelmed and allow yourself some rest days in between.
For instance, if your primary decluttering goal right now is to declutter your bedroom, create a plan for the same. Assign a period of 4 or 5 days to accomplish this task and don’t try to do more than your mind allows you. To start with, you can just declutter the nightstand and call it a day. Then move over to the work desk and deal with the paperwork on day 2. On day 3, you can tackle the office supplies and the closets can be done over the next 2 days.
3. Play A Decluttering Game
ADHD can often make you feel disinterested in the decluttering projects which is why it always helps to focus by playing a decluttering game. Here’s a list of some fun decluttering games that you can play to make it easier for yourself to declutter your home. If these decluttering games don’t amuse you, you can just play some good music to stay in a good mood as you declutter.
4. Don’t Shy Away From Seeking Help
Given how overwhelming decluttering can sometimes be, feel free to reach out to people who understand your problem and would be happy to help you. Ask your spouse or parents or kids to give a helping hand. If you have a friend who excels at decluttering and organizing, invite them over for a day to help you tackle with clutter.
5. Prevent Distractions
Since your attention span is limited, make sure that you don’t allow any kind of distraction to come in the way of your decluttering goals. Keep your phone out of your reach when you are decluttering. Keep all the decluttering tools handy to avoid running around to grab them during the tasks. Also, make sure that you’ve set a timer for every decluttering task to keep a tab on the time you have dedicated to every task.
6. Do A 10-Minute Tidy-Up Every Day
Stay on top of the clutter by preventing it from settling in. Considering how cumbersome a task it can be for you to declutter, the best way to go is to create the rule of putting everything back to its rightful home immediately after using it.
Once you are back home from work, hang your keys on the key holder, park your shoes at the appropriate place, hang your jacket in the coat closet, unpack your handbag and prep up in advance for the next day. And before you hit the bed to sleep, spend 10 minutes every day in doing a quick pickup of things that are lying out of place.
7. Acknowledge Your Efforts
Don’t forget to celebrate your achievements no matter how small they are. Treat yourself for reaching those little milestones to keep yourself motivated. If you have decluttered an area that you never thought you could, order in your favourite dessert as a reward. If there are tasks lined up that are needed to be done, make a promise to reward yourself once you complete them.
Decluttering with ADHD has a different set of challenges that require you to take things easy. No matter how badly you want to get rid of all the clutter residing in your home, don’t forget to be kind to yourself. Give yourself grace and acknowledge the fact that it’s alright to accomplish one small task at a time.
I hope these tips help you in making some progress towards achieving a tidy home!