How to Clean Every Freaking Day

Your ADHD has probably shown you that you can be a dynamo cleaner under the right circumstances. Someone dropping by in 10 minutes? There might be some screaming and sprinting involved, but you got it. Mom coming for a visit? Whew! Even scrubbed the window sills! Objects attacking you from atop the fridge every time you grab a snack? You know it's time.

So why is it so painful to keep our spaces clean on a more regular basis? Well, it's because, you know, ADHD. Your brain is not excited by cleaning in a way that isn't manic or neurotically thorough, because it's just not going to get any sort of worthwhile boost from it so it says, "nah" or "how 'bout later" or "You can try, but I am not coming with you". Sometimes it doesn't even see the tasks because they aren't sparkling with dopamine goodness. Other times it warns you that cleaning up the dinner dishes will lead you to certain death.

There's really no value in comparing yourself to women whose brains light up with sparkles of dopamine as they complete tasks throughout the day. Your brain is a glorious, demanding queen, difficult to please, but talented and capable of great things.

But, in the end, you still have to keep the freaking house clean every freaking day, so here's how three ways to do it in a way that pleases "your majesty".

1. Ten Minute Tornado

Clean like somebody's coming over! Hurry! Ten minutes! Set a timer and focus only on the main areas of your home. This job is for EVERYONE. If kids mosey around, give them one specific task (shoes, blue items, 5 things, etc.). We do this every day after dinner. I know, I laughed typing "every day", too. We do this most days after dinner and it's such a load off to wake up to a clean main space so I don't have to spend all my time doing stupid stuff to avoid cleaning that day. If you have an Alexa, try adding a repeating reminder so you do not have to initiate the clean-up all on your own. Or put someone in charge of "broadcasting the tornado warning" every day at the same time. Do NOT go over 10 minutes or your brain will refuse to heed the tornado warning the next time. If you cannot stop after 10 minutes because now you are in a hyperfocus, it's okay, it happens, but don't make a habit of it, or your brain will not heed the tornado warning tomorrow and you'll be buried in debris.

2. Armfuls of Stuff

It is utterly ridiculous that as a grown woman it had never occurred to me to pick up several things at once to put away rather than going item by item. Are you doing this, too? One day I watched, dumbfounded, as my sister-in-law grabbed as much as she could hold from the floor of the room the kids had been playing in and quickly put away all the items around the house before filling her arms again. Is she some kind of genius? I think so. Try it out. Just grab and go. This strategy cuts out the paralyzing tendency you may have to sort out where things go before you even pick them up. It will keep you from getting sidetracked by other items, too, because your arms are full. This creates an immediate problem for you to solve, which is great for ADHD brains. It also plays on your sensory issues because you hate holding stuff and are anxious to get it out of your arms. But, you are not just going to set down the pile, because you now have enough dopamine to put everything where it goes because you created urgency for yourself. You can have your kids do this, too, (one of my best tricks) just say something like, "let's see how strong you are" or, "I wonder if you can carry 20 things to your room" or "I bet you can't hold the lego box, your shoes, AND your backpack" then fill their arms with everything and watch them go. They are totally going to just drop that pile on the floor in their rooms, though, just so you know, but at least it's not in the living room anymore!

3. Organize your Day Loosely

Look. Your brilliant brain loves to invent new systems that are just going to change everything and solve world hunger, but it's a trap. Don't fall for it. You are as likely to stick to your gorgeous, intricate, thorough cleaning schedule as you are to make banana bread out of those black bananas on the counter. Think simple. Nope. Simpler than that. Mount a whiteboard on the wall. Write down 2-3 tasks to do in the next hour. When you finish all of them, erase and write 2-3 more tasks. This strategy works because it is not overwhelming, it keeps you focused, it helps you experiment with how long tasks take, and it doesn't have to happen every day to be useful. If you find you are spending too much time jumping back and forth to the whiteboard, try writing out a simple plan for morning, afternoon, and evening instead. This should only take you three minutes. Don't take it too seriously. A whiteboard is better than paper because you can't lose it and you don't have to open it to look at it. It's right there on the wall! Don't you dare lose the markers, though. Velcro those puppies to the board and plant a Whomping Willow in front of it to keep your kids from touching it.

Happy cleaning!