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Easy ADHD House Cleaning Checklist

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Here’s an easy-to-follow ADHD house cleaning checklist! No matter where you live, there is no escaping cleaning your home. We all have to do it, and sometimes, ADHD can make it just a little more challenging.

ADHD Housecleaning Checklist

Where do I Start?

Before you start your house cleaning, do a little planning to make the entire process easier. 

Check out 47 BEST ADHD-friendly cleaning hacks: Free Checklist!

Cleaning Supplies. 

Keep your supplies together in an easily accessible space. It can be handy to have a caddy or bucket to carry them from their storage spot to where you are cleaning.

You may find a multi-purpose spray and some reusable rags or microfibre cloths are more efficient than a lot of different cleaners and wipes. Minimize your cleaners. 

Remember, if you don’t like that cleaner or tool, you don’t have to keep it. Maybe it’s the scent or it doesn’t work as well as you thought it would. Maybe it just got worn out. You can declutter it! 

Hand arranging cleaning products in a tidy organizer, promoting cleanliness and order. Perfect for your ADHD House Cleaning Checklist

Write it Down!

Writing it down lets you take control of the situation. We like to be in control. That’s why the ADHD house cleaning checklist will help you stay on track.

Visual Lists 

These lists are a great way to see what you have to do. Crossing tasks off a list can be very satisfying. It also takes the pressure off trying to remember everything you wanted to do, especially when something extra crops up as it always does.

You can make a detailed list if you want to because it’s not a one-day list. This ADHD house cleaning checklist is for you to work on over a period of time. Don’t be intimidated by it. You are going to tackle this one bite at a time. 

Extra Notes.

Physical sticky notes or a reminder on your phone can be handy if you think of something you need to add to your list when you are busy with other things, like grocery shopping. (Anyone else remember things at the absolute wrong time?)

Book the Time For Yourself.

Like going to the doctor or the gym, decide when the house cleaning is going to fit into your daily schedule and schedule the appointments. You can use reminders or alarms on your phone, your computer or even your smartwatch. 

It doesn’t have to be the same time every day. Make this work for you. Maybe it works best to schedule your 15 minutes after the kids leave for school during the week, but, on weekends, after lunch works better to tackle items on your list. Each day is different from the next so plan in advance the best time for that day to tackle your list. Try it.

Commit to 15 minutes a day. If you find some momentum you can keep going, but you only need to complete the 15 minutes.

Plan Ahead for Bigger Projects.

Use your planner to schedule bigger jobs that you know might be coming, like spring cleaning or preparing for house guests. 

A close-up view of a handwritten to-do list on a spiral notebook with numbers for tasks. Write out your ADHD House Cleaning Checklist
Write down what you want to tackle on your cleaning list

Motivation.

Motivation can be tough and you will have days when you don’t want to do the work, but these ideas might help you get going. 

Podcasts & Music for Your ADHD House Cleaning Checklist.

You don’t have to do this in silence. Enjoy a podcast, some music or an audio book while you are cleaning. 

Body Doubling. 

Body Doubling is a great strategy to help keep you on track. By having someone else working in person or virtually alongside you, you can stay focused on the task you are doing. On the Minimalist Home’s YouTube channel, there are lots of videos that are great for body doubling. 

Before & After Photos.

In the age of cell phones, this is such a useful little hack. Our brains quickly forget how far we have come when we are working. Take a few photos before you start and again after you’ve finished for the day or the week (or both).

Always compare where you are now with where you started, not with what your ideal goal is. Measuring backwards will help you appreciate the gains you’ve made. 

Remember, you are the only one who has to see those photos if you prefer not to share them publicly. However, if you do want to share and get some accolades for your successful cleaning, feel free to come share those in our Facebook group. We’d love to see you and celebrate your successes with you.

Now It’s Time to Get Going!

You got this. Take that window of time you’ve planned for your cleaning and start! 


Manage Your Time With Your ADHD House Cleaning Checklist.

Use a timer! Like with decluttering, you can accomplish a lot with a small chunk of time. 

You can spend your time in one room. Sometimes, it can be handy to do 5 minutes each in three rooms when your home needs to be reset. Use your 15 however you need to on that day!

When using a timer, you may find you become more aware of how long specific chores take. Often, it doesn’t take as long to do it as we think, yet we procrastinate chores because we think it’ll take too long. Bust those time myths! 

ADHD House CLeaning checklist

Manageable Chunks. 

It might be overwhelming to think about cleaning your whole house so don’t think of it that way. Break it up into manageable pieces. Think about emptying the sink or wiping the counters instead of cleaning the kitchen. 

Take Breaks To Avoid Cleaning Burnout.

If you plan to clean for 20 minutes, then do ten minutes, take a five-minute break and do the other ten minutes. This can be especially helpful when tackling a larger task. 

Tidy, Not Deep Cleaning.

Recognize not every clean has to be a deep clean. Sometimes tidying is enough. When you clean consistently, you may find the amount of time between big, deep cleans becomes longer. 

Reward Your Efforts.

Celebrate your wins with a small reward. This can be as simple as a quick cup of tea, a square of good chocolate or step outside for a few minutes of fresh air. 

You don’t have to wait for a big finish. Set reasonable goals you can reach and reward the steps. Don’t set yourself up for failure. 

Prioritize High Traffic Zones.

While we want to eventually get all corners of our house clean, don’t worry if you can’t get to low traffic spots as often. 

Your kitchen and bathrooms will need cleaning more often. If you are pressed for time, cleaning there will have a bigger impact. (This is similar to why decluttering a highly visible spot can be a good start when leaning into minimalism and getting rid of clutter.) 

Spacious modern kitchen with white cabinets and island in natural light.
The kitchen is a high traffic area in your home so prioritize cleaning it over low traffic areas

Use a Return Box.

If you are cleaning in one space, have a box or even a laundry basket for anything that does not belong where you are working. You don’t want to lose momentum while cleaning by running errands to another room. 

You can return those items to their home, the donation bin or the garbage when you finish in this room.

Group Similar Tasks.

Keeping the similar tasks together can make it easier. This might mean that you wash the kitchen floor on the same day you vacuum the living room rug. Maybe you wash towels and bedding the same day. 

Recognize that Something Is Better than Nothing.

I know it’s hard but try not to feel guilty if life gets in the way. If you were eight minutes of house cleaning into your 15 minutes before your child woke up or the phone rang, then you are still eight minutes better.

Consistent, Not Perfect.

Do what you can. You owe it to yourself to try. Don’t apologize or make excuses. You got this!

When you do something in spite of being busy, you know you’ll be able to maintain that when your life slows down. If it’s a low energy day, then you do digital cleaning of your cell phone or something on your cleaning list that is less physically tasking. Just do something. 

Consistency is doing it regularly, not doing it perfectly! Put a star on your calendar for each day you do some cleaning. You are doing more than you think! If you miss a day, keep going the next day. Keep moving forward. 

Don’t Forget About Your Everyday Habits and Routines!

What we do every day without thinking has a big impact on how much cleaning we have to do and how much effort we have to put into that cleaning. 

Declutter Often.

You can’t organize clutter. You can only rearrange it and move it around. When everything has a home, it makes it a lot easier to clean. Your regular cleaning will give you a new appreciation for bare flat surfaces.

Keep a donation bin in a location in your home everyone is aware of. When your teens want to use it, let them. Nothing will kill their enthusiasm for donating their own unwanted things like resistance from Mom or Dad. 

Make a point to drop off donations on a regular basis. This should be a scheduled appointment on your phone or in your planner as well. 

Simple Organization Hacks

Create a Home for Everything.

When a new item comes into your home, assign it a spot. If this requires getting rid of something in order for it to fit in the space, then assign the old item to your donation or sell pile. You can keep anything, but you can’t keep everything.

Make sure you tell your family or your roommates if you have a new spot for things. You want them to buy into the idea of homes for everything as well. You are all in this together! 

Use the 2-Minute Rule.

If it will take you less than 2 minutes, do it right now instead of waiting. For instance, you tell your ten-year-old, put the dirty cereal bowl in the dishwasher, not on the counter. When you have decluttered, it’s simple to put things back where they belong in under 2 minutes.

Or maybe the better example is the maple syrup dripped on the table. If you wipe it up at breakfast, it’s easy, but every mom knows that the syrup spilled in the morning is like cement by suppertime and much harder to clean up.

Use the ADHD House Cleaning Checklist to Create a Cleaning Schedule.

Establish a cleaning rotation to ensure no area gets neglected too long. Start with one of two habits, like washing bedding on Fridays. Then build from there. 

If you have smart devices, like a robot vacuum, make sure you have taken the time to schedule their work. It’s one more thing you don’t have to think about. 

Cleaning will become a regular part of your week.

Ask for help.

Unless you live alone, you shouldn’t be the only one responsible for cleaning.

Whether it’s getting your toddler to do a 5-minute tidy before their nap and again before bed or asking your teen to pick up after supper, make it a regular habit. Something always needs to be dealt with. These five-minute tidies where everyone pitches in makes a difference.

A mother and her two children cleaning together in a bright, modern kitchen.
Everyone in the family should be responsible for keeping the house clean

Rotate Tasks.

Further to asking for help, rotate the tasks between family members or roommates. This way, everyone takes a turn with a cleaning job they may not like. There are age-appropriate chores for kids; don’t give them a pass.

This is also great for your teenagers to help them learn how to do all these things. You’d be surprised how many first year university students don’t know how to do laundry or how to clean a toilet!

Habit Stacking.

In his book Atomic Habits, author James Clear talks about habit stacking. This involves taking a habit you already do, then stacking a second habit you want to build against it.

If there is a cleaning task you keep putting off, consider stacking it against a habit you already do. If you make coffee every morning, you can stack the habit of sweeping the floor with it. Every time you make coffee, sweep while you wait for it to be ready. 

Deal with Paper Immediately.

This is important because paper can get out of hand so quickly. Assess your incoming paper and put it in the appropriate place right away, whether that is recycling, a file or, in the case of school paperwork, back into a backpack. 

Consider going digital where possible. Many companies offer digital receipts, forms and invoices. 

You can scan documents with your phone that you don’t need to keep a physical copy of. Invest in a paper shredder and keep it in an accessible spot.

Don’t neglect to purge receipts and other scraps of paper from your wallet and purse. 

Whether you are neuro-typical or neuro-spicy, you don’t need to struggle to keep a clean home. Pick and choose things to try from this ADHD house cleaning list and see what works for you! Take it one task at a time. You can do this!

47 BEST ADHD-friendly cleaning hacks: Free Checklist

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