Create an ADHD Cleaning Schedule You Can Stick With: Say Goodbye to Overwhelm and Keep Your House Clean

If you are overwhelmed trying to keep a tidy home, keep reading to learn how to build your own ADHD Cleaning Schedule to keep up with household tasks!

I am a homeschooling mom with ADHD, which makes keeping a clean home feel very daunting and overwhelming. Add three kids and a big dog that never stops shedding, and you have a perpetual cycle of cleaning- and then cleaning some more. Sometimes it can feel pretty hopeless trying to keep up, and I end up in a state of burnout.

But there is hope! Building a system that works for you is the key to creating consistency. 

If you have ADHD, you probably find it difficult to stay focused, get distracted easily, and become overwhelmed by the amount of household tasks that need to be done. However, maintaining a (somewhat) clean and organized living space is incredibly helpful for your mental health- especially for someone with ADHD. Keeping things orderly can help you manage ADHD symptoms and recover from burnout or avoid burnout entirely.

In this article, I  will discuss how you can create an ADHD cleaning schedule that works for you and some simple strategies to experiment with. Plus, you can download my ADHD Cleaning Schedule printables to help you stay on track.

An important reminder: YOU DON’T HAVE TO BE PERFECT!

Some days will be better than others. It is perfectly fine to have an “off” day or two here and there. We can’t be at our peak performance every day, and it is important to have self-compassion and pivot away from perfectionism.

Be kind to yourself and celebrate the small victories along the way. 

That being said, let’s get started!

Understanding Why it is Difficult to Clean with ADHD

It’s important to understand how ADHD affects your ability to clean. People with ADHD struggle with executive functioning, which impacts their ability to plan, organize, and complete tasks. This makes it difficult to maintain routines like doing chores regularly.

One of the challenges of performing household chores with ADHD is that it requires the use of several executive functions at once,  which can make housework quite literally feel like an impossible task.

I know sometimes I look around at a messy room and probably look like a deer in headlights. I have no idea where to even start, so I turn around and leave the room in defeat, getting nothing done.

But it doesn’t have to be that way! The only way to get that messy room done is to do ONE task at a time, and before you know it, it’s done, and you feel accomplished.

Not every tactic or system will work for everyone. It is important to allow yourself to try different strategies and discontinue them if they don’t feel right for you. That is NOT failure! The only way we fail is when we give up and stop trying.

If one strategy doesn’t work for you, view it as a learning experience. Now you know what does NOT work for you. That is an incredibly valuable learning experience. Brush yourself off and move on to the next strategy. 

How Can an ADHD Cleaning Schedule Make Housework More Manageable?

Having a cleaning schedule can help you stay organized and reduce the feeling of being overwhelmed.

It can also help you be more productive by breaking down cleaning tasks into manageable chunks. Following a cleaning routine can avoid procrastination, never miss a day, and ensure that your tasks do not pile up.

Creating a cleaning schedule can feel overwhelming at first, but it doesn’t have to be complicated. Start by making a list of all the cleaning tasks that need to be done in your home. Then, divide them into daily, weekly, monthly, and seasonal tasks.

But don’t try to add so many tasks that you are overwhelmed. Start with one daily task, and once that becomes a habit, add another one. You may find that some days you just don’t want to clean anything. THAT IS OK! With a neurodivergent mind, sometimes we have to follow our mood and structure our day around what we need at that moment.

Keeping Track of Your ADHD Cleaning Checklist

Your checklist will help you stay on track and ensure that you don’t forget any important tasks. It will provide an organized way to assign various tasks to different days or to other family members.

Here are some productivity tools you can use to create a cleaning checklist:

11 ADHD-Friendly Cleaning Tips to Say Goodbye to a Messy House

1. Make a Schedule

Creating an ADHD cleaning schedule is an important step to establish consistency. Use one of the tools or strategies listed in the section above to track everything.

I personally love using checklists because seeing that checkmark after I complete a task is really satisfying!

2. Create a Chore Chart or Use My Free Printables

Creating a chore chart is a great visual way to keep track of your household chores. You can use a whiteboard, a piece of paper, an app on your phone, or create a family management binder to do this. You can download my FREE chore charts and use them however works best for your family.

3. Set a Timer

One of the most effective strategies for cleaning with ADHD is to set a timer. This can help you stay focused and on-task without getting distracted. Try setting a timer for 15-20 minutes and see how much you can accomplish in that time. When the timer goes off, take a break. You might be surprised at how much you can get done when you’re focused!

If you haven’t finished, that is alright. Don’t get down on yourself if you can’t stick to the timer at first. Change takes time and effort. I still have trouble stopping when the timer goes off. My hyperfocus kicks in, and that is a whole other battle. But Practice makes perfect!

I use the timers and stopwatch feature on my Apple Watch for this, but a simple egg timer or your phone will do. Some tasks really do only take a few minutes a day, like wiping the bathroom sink for example. I also find that when I time myself, I see that certain tasks really only take a few minutes, which puts things in perspective and helps with feelings of being overwhelmed the next time that task needs to be done.

I always think something like: “I can sit and scroll on my phone for 5 minutes, or I can do this task and be productive”.

4. Set Reminders

Setting reminders on your phone or a smartwatch can help you stay on track.

I have alarms on my phone and Apple Watch for certain tasks. I noticed that I started ignoring the alarms when I set up too many. Once again, I overwhelmed myself. I started with one alarm for a specific daily task. Once I started actually responding to the timer and completing the task, I added another alarm.

5. Use Hyperfocus to Your Advantage

People with ADHD experience something called hyperfocus, which is the ability to become completely absorbed in a task. Use this to your advantage by choosing one task to focus on at a time. This can help you stay on-task and avoid getting overwhelmed by multiple tasks at once. Perhaps you can pick a specific area to focus on.

Be careful with this though. Hyperfocus can be a blessing and a curse. Sometimes my hyperfocus takes over and I have a VERY hard time stopping something. I forget about the outside world when I am in hyperfocus mode. It’s an ongoing self-awareness struggle that I try my best to work on every day. I remind myself that I don’t have to be perfect- nobody is.

A little bit of self-compassion helps me calm my anxiety that stems from perfectionism.

6. Break Tasks into Smaller Steps

Breaking down tasks into smaller steps makes them less overwhelming. You can focus on one task at a time and feel a sense of accomplishment after completing each step.

I know when I walk into the kitchen and the sink is overflowing with dishes, the counters are covered in clutter, the garbage bin needs to be emptied, and the floor is desperate for a sweeping, I sometimes just walk right back out of the room because I have no idea where to start. 

When it is time to clean the kitchen, focus on one area first. Maybe wipe the countertops first. Once that’s done, move on to the next task. Start with the important tasks. I always say that if the dishes get done, the floors get a quick sweep, and maybe the counters get a bit of a wipe down, that’s good enough!

7. Make Cleaning Enjoyable

People with ADHD have a difficult time staying on task when performing tasks that do not interest them. Here

Listen to music or a podcast. Turn up the music while you clean! This can make cleaning feel more like a fun activity rather than a chore. It is amazing how much music can affect your mood.

Use products that you can enjoy using. Try incorporating enjoyable scents into your cleaning routine. Use a cleaner with your favorite scent or light candles with pleasant fragrances. This can make cleaning feel more luxurious and enjoyable.

8. Shift Your Perspective

Your perspective can really change how you feel when doing housework. Go into it with a joyful mindset instead of dread. It may sound strange for me to tell you to find a joyful way to clean, but stick with me. I often think back to Thich Nhat Hahn’s lesson when he gave the example of being truly mindful and present while doing the dishes.

We can think of how we are serving ourselves and our families by having an orderly home, which reduces stress for everyone involved. And we can provide that through acts of service, which in this instance is cleaning.

You can also think about how great you’ll feel afterward when it is done! That will give you one of those dopamine hits that help out ADHD brains so much.

9. Reward Yourself

Finally, don’t forget to reward yourself for a job well done. Set a goal for yourself and reward yourself with something you enjoy once you’ve completed the task. This helps motivate you to get started and stay on-task.

I usually treat myself to some coffee or tea after cleaning, and I give myself permission to just sit on the couch and relax while I enjoy it. If my back or feet hurt after being on my feet for a long time, I’ll quickly do some yoga stretches to get my body back in balance before making my drink of choice and sitting down.

The ADHD brain is deficient in dopamine- the neurotransmitter that gives you feelings of pleasure and motivation. Rewarding yourself can give your brain the dopamine hit that it craves.

10. Involve the Whole Family

In our family, I am building each child their own binder with printable planner pages in them. You can include checklists for the chores they are responsible for. We use this for daily cleaning checklists as well as homeschooling– chores have become part of the homeschool routine.

The biggest challenge with this one is making sure everyone is consistent in checking their planner every morning. This makes me feel more accountable to have everyone in the house following a similar system. It ensures that I check my own planner before telling everyone else to check theirs. The goal is to make it a habit for them too.

It is never too early to get them involved and teach them some homemaking skills and productivity hacks!

11. Get Professional Help

Seeking professional help can be a great option to consider if it is in your budget. You can use a site like Care.com to find a housekeeper to come in and clean your home on a regular basis. This can be especially helpful if you have a busy schedule or maybe have babies or toddlers in the house. Housework is so much more of a hassle with little ones around, I know!

Sometimes we get burnt out. Seeking professional help is not a sign of weakness. It is a proactive step towards creating a more organized living space, which can have a considerable impact on your mental health.

Creating Your Schedule to Clean Your House and Keep it That Way

Now let’s actually break down what to put on your cleaning checklist.

When creating a schedule, start by breaking down your cleaning tasks into daily, weekly, and monthly tasks.

Don’t forget to delegate tasks to other family members. Kids are more capable than most people give them credit for. They may not do the job perfectly when they are younger, but like I said before- practice makes perfect!

Here is an example of a simple cleaning schedule to get you inspired:

Daily Schedule

• Make bed
  
• Wipe down kitchen counters
  
• Do a load of laundry
  
• 15 minutes of decluttering
  
• Wipe bathroom sink and faucet

Weekly Schedule

• Vacuum floors
  
• Deep clean bathroom
  
• Dust surfaces
  
• Wash bed linens

Monthly Schedule

• Clean windows
  
• Deep clean kitchen
  
• Clean out fridge and pantry
  
• Vacuum under furniture

You can also break it down even further by brainstorming the tasks that need to be done in a specific area of your home:

Kitchen

• Wiping down the countertops and stove after each use
  
• Sweeping or vacuuming the floor regularly
  
• Running the dishwasher or washing dishes by hand
  
• Cleaning out the refrigerator and pantry regularly

Bathrooms

• Cleaning the toilet, sink, and shower/tub regularly
  
• Wiping down the mirrors and countertops
  
• Sweeping or vacuuming the floor regularly

Floors

• Sweeping or vacuuming the floors regularly
  
• Mopping the floors
  
• Spot cleaning spills or stains as soon as they happen

Final Thoughts: ADHD Cleaning Schedule and Checklist

Remember, the key to creating a successful ADHD house cleaning schedule is to make it realistic and manageable. Don’t try to do too much at once, and be sure to give yourself plenty of breaks.

DON’T OVER DO IT. Those of us with ADHD tend to do that. We try to be overachievers and do all the things at once, then get overwhelmed and give up entirely. Practice adding in ONE daily task at a time until it becomes a habit. Then add another task, and so on.

The truth is, our houses will never be perfect, especially with children in the house. Your living room doesn’t have to be the perfect example of cleanliness or Instagram-ready. You don’t need to vacuum every day, but maybe once per week is reasonable (depending on how many pets you have of course). But we CAN try to help things run more smoothly to reduce stress for everyone in our house.

If you are reading this blog, that means you are actively trying to improve yourself. So give yourself a pat on the back for investing time in personal growth.

With a little bit of planning and organization, you CAN create a cleaning routine that works for you and helps you with keeping your home clean on a more consistent basis!