How to Deal with Clutter When You Have ADHD

Clutter is one of the hardest things for me personally. I move quickly and stuff ends up everywhere. I finally hired someone to help -- and they were SO helpful, I asked if they could help you too. Enjoy!

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WE WROTE A SONG!!
Get the “The Fish Song” on...


LINKS:


Music for "How to Deal with Clutter When You Have ADHD:"
"The Show Must Be Go”
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

[carmennave]

Hi all! Carmen here, so glad to see that people are finding this helpful!

I saw some people ask about making it so they could fill it out online, and others concerned about creating paper clutter (I hear you on that one!!!).

If you want to edit an electronic copy of the worksheet, you can copy it into your own google drive and then it will be your own private copy. You go to file and select "make a copy."
If you don't have a google account, then "file, download" should let you open it in a standard word processing program, although it might look a little unsightly (I haven't tested that).

[MyRedmamba]

The worst part about clutter is when you start rebuying stuff you misplaced in your own home and cant find it!

[kallisimmons]

Me, watching this in my messy room that I’ve been meaning to clean for days: 👁👄👁

[thedovahkiin]

"Some level of clutter is inevitable" is so reassuring to hear, I'm actually crying.
I just looked around at my morning coffee spot and noticed how messy it is again, but I congratulated myself because it was a lot messier last week before I had cleaned it.

[janetbecker]

I feel so accepted and understood when listening to you speak. I am ashamed of my mess and paralyzed with fear of the condemnation when reaching out to ask for help. Thanks for encouraging this 61 year old.

[Tiffanyamend]

When she talks about the clutter/overwhelm/avoidance cycle, sometimes I do a short-term fix to break that: physically cover the area that's stressing me out, like with a blanket or something, it reduces the "overwhelm" and helps me get started.

[aniayk]

This makes me cry because I connect with it on so many levels! "Being the only woman who can't keep the house clean" that's me, and after 38 years I am learning I'm not the only one, and why every book I red, Every method I tried never stuck.

[motherchaos]

As another woman who gets annoyed with herself for being the only one who can't keep her house clean, I completely relate. I'm so relieved to know that I'm actually not the only one. ♥

[elizamalone]

When they talked about the clutter being there so long you start to move around it😂😭

[EllenLouise]

Well this definitely explains the chair in my room of "clothes which have been worn but aren't dirty enough to wash yet" 😅👌

[sarahwarnock]

I've always considered myself a "borderling hoarder". Then I married a neat freak... luckily he's very patiently taught me over the years how to organize, how good it feels to have a tidy home, how everything needs it's own place ect... and I tell him every day how lucky I am to have him lol

[shelbywilder]

0:22 - 0:47 Yes! Exactly how I explained it to my boyfriend! It’s hard to clean or do any task while having adhd(from mom), some ocd(from dad), dissociation due to trauma, and also mal-adaptive daydreaming. People think you’re just lazy and if you try to explain, they think you’re making excuses.

[katkitty]

As women, we are especially hard on ourselves for not having the perfect, tidy home. I love this idea of some level of clutter being okay.

[elsf]

Every surface turns into a nightmare in moments! 😆 I end up using the floor as the table, the tables as drawers, and idkwtf is going on inside those drawers😭❤️😆

[flawlix]

Clutter makes my brain feel terrible, but the clutter-overwhelm-avoidance cycle is SO REAL. Also, I tend to want to fix the clutter when I have other things I absolutely have to do—like when I’m overwhelmed at work.

Edit: Clutter in stasis is SUCH a thing. I moved recently and a lot of stuff still doesn’t have a home. There’s a lot of stuff standing in the way of getting everything in place (e.g., I need to set up the cabinet I purchased because the new apartment has way less clutter).

Edit edit: I ALSO hate tech clutter. Husband and I have deep disagreements about this, because he likes to have his tech free and accessible, whereas wire clutter makes my brain feel jumbled and chaotic.

[jxkcd]

4:55 minutes of useful de-cluttering video followed by 27 seconds of making me cry. Thank you!

[thepwnagepwr]

Thanos: I am Inevitable.
ADHD: Hold my clutter.

[jllemin]

Me: *sees empy space on desk*

Nobody:

Me: *stacks dishes on spot*

[HeronCoyote]

My best friend has ADHD, and really messy rooms. I’m a minimalist. He’s always saying we need to clean up (pick a room), which I can help him with. But I get frustrated when it doesn’t stay that way for more than a day. He blames his ADHD.
This video helped me understand a little what he’s going through. Thank you.

[jonathanlor]

This helps me understand my wife's needs for her adhd and I'm a proud supportive husband that loves this journey we are on with our kids.