Household Cleaning Jobs & ADD: Be Proactive and Git-R-Done!

I recently read an interesting article on cleaning your house in 20 minute increments every day. It had some good information that related directly to ADD and how to manage what seems like a never ending burden of house cleaning. If it’s in your budget, the simple answer is to hire a maid. Wouldn’t it be nice to have a staff of 130 cleaners like the Royal family in England!!

For those of us that live in reality, juggling the everyday tasks of life with ADD needs to be managed with a strategy. When it comes to cleaning the house and doing those jobs that keep things in order around my home, I use some strategies that have been very helpful for me. Like Larry The Cable Guy says, “git-r-done!”

Laundry – I hate doing laundry, with every fiber of my being. It’s a recipe made for procrastination. I order to help me through it, I have a couple strategies. Once the laundry is washed and dried, I fold it right away. It gets it done and out of the way. When it comes to kid’s laundry, I have my kids fold their own now, it’s a part of the weekly jobs they receive an allowance for.

Kitchen – After a cooking and a great meal, everything is cleaned up immediately. Dishes into the dishwasher, pot or pans are scrubbed and the tables and counter are wiped down. My kitchen is 100% clean and ready to go after a meal. No mess to create any chaos, disorganization or adding to tasks to do later.

Bedroom – When I get up every morning, I make the bed right away. The same goes for my kids. I keep laundry baskets in the bedroom, so dirty clothes have a place to land and a mess doesn’t build up.

Floors – Whether you vacuumed, sweep, Swiffer or mop….setting a specific time weekly to tackle this task works really well for me. Maybe it’s two times a week, if you have kids that make a mess. I have my kids involved with sweeping and Swiffering as part of their weekly jobs and allowance too.

In general I find two things that are tremendously helpful for me in managing all that needs to be accomplished around the house;

a) Be proactive and get it done when you have the time. If you procrastinate, it will usually lead to other things adding up and becoming over burdened with tasks…which can result in disorganization.
b) Schedule it, and it takes the stress of trying to squeeze it in some time. Set regular or scheduled times to get jobs done, it’s really helpful.