Say H for Housework | ADHD Information

somuch2do,

I used to do that all the time, and while I still end up distracted, I've found that keeping the cleaning supplies in the room they're most often used in helps a lot.

The vaccuum is in the living room closet along with a box of swiffers for dusting.  There's another box of swiffers in the cabinet in the family room.  Floor cleaners and a bucket are under the kitchen sink, but the 409 and disinfecting wipes are on top of the fridge where I can just grab them throughout the day.  Each bathroom has its own supply of cleaning products, paper towel, scrub brushes etc, cause if I have to carry them back and forth it just doesn't get done. 

Has anyone actually cleaned a whole room in their house in one try?

I start out vacuuming the living room, notice the coffee table needs dusting, go to kitchen to get the rag and polish and while under the sink to get that, decide to get the cleanser to clean the kitchen sink, decide since I have the cleanser in my hands, will go do the bathrooms.....and on and on.  By the time I get to the bathroom, I'm trying to remember why I am in there. 

I have always been a horrible "housekeeper."   But boy do I know how to clean!

When I was young my mom would find dirty plates, old food, clothes and trash stuffed under my bed.  That's how I kept it on a day-to-day basis.  But every now and then some little cleaning fairy would take over my mind and body and I would move all my furniture out of my room, paint the walls, strip the hardwood floors with ammonia, then apply fresh wax to them.  All while washing and folding all my clothes and cleaning out my dresser and closet.  I did this all in one day while my mom was at work.  I would have the stereo turned up full blast and wouldn't even stop to eat.  My mom would come home to the smell of fresh paint and wax.  Then there were the nights I couldn't sleep and I would clean out my mom's kitchen cabinets, lining the shelves and scrubbing down the exteriors and everything.

It's amazing though as I got older I learned that if I kept things picked up I wouldn't have to have these marathon cleaning sessions.  Just one of the coping skills I learned before I found out I had ADD.  Now I'm not saying I'm a great housekeeper but if I can start at one end of the house first thing in the morning and go thru and pick everything up, make beds, etc. ONE TIME WITHOUT BEING INTERUPTED everything's good!  But if it doesn't get done before noon OR THE PHONE RINGS it's probably not going to get done !

 

I have a list that I write on my white board that I  try to stick to.

ie tidy lounge, tidy hall,

dust

hoover

etc

that way if I'm loosing focus and start rearranging furniture or something I can look at my list and get back on task.

I like to pick a day, wake up early, drink tons of coffee, throw on some good tunes..(jam bands really help me concentrate on cleaning...the songs last forever and I never get too distracted) and then I get working.

My roommate has realized that it helps keep me motivated by keeping the house stocked with "fun" cleaning products. Counter wipes, swiffers, and all kinds of fun polishers, gloves for the dishes, bathroom, etc. I start in one room and always end up somewhere else, but I find that if I start early enough I have plenty of time to finish and then lots of leftover time to relax and enjoy the spiffy clean apartment.....

Often I get lost doing stupid things like rearranging a room or organizing the pantry....however in the end when time is running out, I feel like I get even more motivation to get everything else done....although I'm not gonna lie...sometimes I get easily distracted and focused on unrelated issues, like surfing on the internet, reading message boards about others with ADD/ADHD....hmm...I should get back to cleaning ;)

Now that would drive me nuts looking for the "right" cleaner.

I find if I just run around with some Murphy's in a bucket, a scrub brush and a rag--somehow it gets done.

If I gotta look for the "right" cleaner--well, my freezer hasn't been cleaned in 4 years. 'Nuff said
[QUOTE=eatmytry][QUOTE=jaderock54]

  Each bathroom has its own supply of cleaning products, paper towel, scrub brushes etc, cause if I have to carry them back and forth it just doesn't get done. 

[/QUOTE]

Thats a WICKED idea!! I always forget I'm cleaning something because I move around rooms and get distracted. Thats pure genius! I'm going to stock my rooms and see how it goes.

I sometimes put on some loud music and get hyperfocused and spend hours doing the nitty gritty, but I have to be REALLY bored and the house can't be all that messy, just not clean! If I have a really messy house its REALLY hard to get on top of. My boyfriend is very supportive that way!

[/QUOTE]

I have a little plastic scruffy attached by a string right to the toothbrush holder. Just put some antibacterial handsoap on it and wipe out the sink!
[QUOTE=jaderock54]

  Each bathroom has its own supply of cleaning products, paper towel, scrub brushes etc, cause if I have to carry them back and forth it just doesn't get done. 

[/QUOTE]

Thats a WICKED idea!! I always forget I'm cleaning something because I move around rooms and get distracted. Thats pure genius! I'm going to stock my rooms and see how it goes.

I sometimes put on some loud music and get hyperfocused and spend hours doing the nitty gritty, but I have to be REALLY bored and the house can't be all that messy, just not clean! If I have a really messy house its REALLY hard to get on top of. My boyfriend is very supportive that way!

[QUOTE=eatmytry][QUOTE=jaderock54]

  Each bathroom has its own supply of cleaning products, paper towel, scrub brushes etc, cause if I have to carry them back and forth it just doesn't get done. 

[/QUOTE]

Thats a WICKED idea!! I always forget I'm cleaning something because I move around rooms and get distracted. Thats pure genius! I'm going to stock my rooms and see how it goes.

I sometimes put on some loud music and get hyperfocused and spend hours doing the nitty gritty, but I have to be REALLY bored and the house can't be all that messy, just not clean! If I have a really messy house its REALLY hard to get on top of. My boyfriend is very supportive that way!

[/QUOTE]

I have been keeping cleaning supplies in each room for a while now - mostly because I could never remember which room I left them in the last time I cleaned and spent a lot of time just trying to find them.  I also made a checklist of chores for each room and keep them in a cabinet or under the sink.  This is because I will clean a bathroom and think I did everything only to notice later that I never cleaned the mirror.  With my checklist I can make sure I did everything (i.e. scrub countertops, clean mirror, scrub toilet, restock toilet paper).

And almost ALL of my cleaning is done when I can't find something.  I usually get so frustrated that I go into a hyperfocused psychosis and blitz-clean everything!  My husband knows to stay out of my way when I go into cleaning mode!

I usually find what I was looking for but get distracted by something else I found along the way and end up fiddling with that instead of what I originally needed....

My wife is Type A, and mildly obsessive about housework. We usually
have to clean together for me to get anything done, and I usually have to
pick a room with specific tasks and specific locations for things to be put
away. I usually do the kitchen, because it's the one room of the house
where I'm an organization freak and everything has it's place.

If I do the living room or dining room I'm always picking something up
and wandering around for 15 minutes trying to figure out where to put it,
and then I forget what I was doing.

Bathrooms and kitchens rock.

And maybe I'll just double up on Adderall on cleaning days . . . (JK)Well I started cleaning up today.

Motivation? A few months ago I did this neat little naked angel to put on my bro's Christmas card. I got photocopies in the size the card would be so I could copy them on in India ink [the original is pencil and too large]

Of course, here I am starting cards and I can't find the angel. So I HAD to start cleaning up around the art stuff.

Sheesh--stoopid way to get motivated!

PS: I've been cleaning up for hours and I still haven't found the angel!
Of course, 5 minutes after I wrote that I found the angels--with the original drawing. How obvious

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!

You mean there's another way to get motivated to clean, other than losing something!    I wonder how other people do it?

That's always the way it works out, though- you clean everything in sight, and then- Oh, look, it's tacked to the fridge!  Or something equally as obvious.

And, I must say I'm impressed that your making Christmas cards.  I'm lucky to get the store bought ones mailed before the 23rd.