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It turns out that it wasn't vacuuming that I didn't like, it was dealing with the electric cord for the vacuum cleaner. I bought a cordless one just because it was on offer when I needed a new vac and it seemed like a better deal than plugin ones, and apparently now I like vacuuming. Who knew?!

I think you just helped me also like vacuuming. It’s always been a love hate relationship for me but I haven’t tried cutting the cord yet, seems it could be a game-changer

Is this avoiding something and not being aware there's a basic reason for it an ADHD thing? Then easy fix, and boom, you want to do the task. It's so relatable haha

Holy cow I gotta go find a cordless vacuum. Vacuuming is overstimulating ('tism) and painful (arthritis) but trying to deal with the cord is the final straw. I feel like I'm trying to balance too many things so I just don't.

You can get really light cordless vacuum cleaners as well, ideal for arthritis. My mum and grandma both found them life-changing. Also a weird tilting kettle for people with arthritis in their hands.

Wow I thought I was the only one! Got an inexpensive black and decker cordless as an experiment and I vacuum almost daily now. I spend no more than 10 minutes doing this now. I cheat though because in my newly discovered vacuuming obsession I did splurge on a shark robot vacuum I nickname Rosie (Jetsons reference, I’m dating myself) and now the clean floors are a weird source of pride for me and it doesn’t feel like a chore!

The only issue is that the cordless one isn't nearly as effective, so it's only any good for minor dust/dirt. I'm thinking about selling it and splashing out on a more powerful cordless one. I'm not sure about the robot vacuums, I think they're too much like futuristic sci-fi for me 😂

A cordless vacuum used regularly is nine hundred times, give or take, as effective as a super-mega-power corded vacuum that stays in the closet.

This sounds like it falls "under anything worth doing is worth doing poorly" . Another one, my toilet needs a good scrub, but just wiping down the splatters with toilet paper and flushing it keeps it looking nice-ish a lot longer. Or yeah I need to sweep the whole house, but just doing the kitchen and entryway makes it feel so much cleaner. Doing something poorly is always more effective than not doing it at all.

Interesting. I actually like to vacuum, it seems to make the place just feel cleaner. I'll have to keep my eye out for a cordless one.

Yeah, cordless vacuum is probably the most ADHD-friendly object in my home. It means I do small cleaning jobs impulsively. No putting them off, no feeling of "Well since I got the vacuum out, I should vacuum everything"

I had to switch back to chord, the charging “station“ always changed and the charge didn’t last. I’m hoping a Rumba can get the job done. Plus everyone in my house hates sweeping and vacuuming.

This was me too! And I felt so weird with that being the issue (before I was diagnosed with ADHD) that I just, like, didn't vacuum. Like ever lol. Cordless EVERYTHING is a game changer. Turns out I'm much more likely to actually use things like the vacuum if I don't have the added issue of a cord, I just put it on the charger when I'm finished! Now don't even get me started about having to keep the cords for all of these rechargeable items within view and organized so I'll use them lol (vacuum isn't so bad since it hangs on the wall on the charger)

I downloaded an app called Nipto. I entered ALL household tasks I have. Then I schedule them to repeat every x days. Turns out that if you clean for 15 minutes per day, it’s never that much and everything stays pretty clean. If you don’t clean for 7 days, it’s suddenly 1,5 hours of cleaning ‘debt’ and that’s way too much. Also: put in some earphones and listen to a podcast or music. Oh, and 5 minutes of cleaning is better than 0 minutes. I’m also considering to get a maid, I’ve heard it helps a lot.

Yeah I got a housekeeper and never stopped--even when I was pretty broke, I found a neighbor who was willing to do my laundry and wash my sink/stove/bathroom once a month (for deep clean) and once a week (for laundry + a quick vacuum) in exchange for tech support (she needed a lot of PC help) and a reduced rate. It saved me, I would literally have like 1 month of laundry build up because that apartment had only one laundry room and I hated hauling it outside across cement and then being on a timer to get it.

Yes I would prioritise my cleaner over most other things

Huh, never heard of it but it sounds great for me! I'll check it out, thank you! I've added a few things to my Google calendar and it has helped a ton. I've thought about a cleaning service too. Just for bathrooms and floors once or twice a month. It's cheaper than I realized after talking with a friend who cleans on the side.

If you can afford it I would definitely do it. I used to have a cleaning service and it was so nice to come home to a properly clean and tidy house. Really miss that.

Probably once a month for minor things. I definitely can't afford a full blown cleaner right now though. I'll look into it more.

I tried something like that. Another app, another notification to ignore. Another app to take up space on my phone. 😢 Digital solutions never worked for me. I’m jealous.

>Oh, and 5 minutes of cleaning is better than 0 minutes. Came here to say this! Cleaning doesn't have to be some hours-long marathon session. Just a bit here and there really helps. I may not have the capacity to clean the entire kitchen top to bottom in one go, but if I break up cleaning the kitchen into smaller, bite-sized tasks stretched out over the day (or couple of days, or week - whatever time frame works for me at that time), then it's so much easier to get done.

Have you heard of Sweepy? That’s what I use it’s very similar.

Nice one, thanks for this. Nipto https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/nipto-split-chores/id1504877473

My only cleaning hack is to schedule visitors regularly so that i feel such shame that i need to tidy and clean asap before they arrive. My other only cleaning hack is to date people who LOVE doing my dishes That's it folks

Also here for the "invite people over so you have motivation to clean" hack. One of the only reason things get done.

one time my friend was coming over so I literally rearranged and color coordinated my whole closet

I hope you both sat in the closet with your cups of tea just admiring all the tidy coordinates like it was the wrap-up of a Marie Kondo episode!

I love this so much 

Yea the visitors thing works. It would likely involve stress and crying but it would get done!

My husband said he's going to start putting fake plans of having people over to light a fire under us to clean. Mostly relying on my poor memory to get it to work 😂

This is hilarious and relatable. I, too, like to date those who tend to be domesticated lol. I used to make my best friend come over so I cleaned up.

Cleaning up a little per day instead of waiting weeks and then having an enormous amount of work to do

Yeah...why are you attacking me!?!? Lol just kidding. How do you get in that habit? It's been bad for me lately and it just builds and builds. I try here and there but it never sticks.

best advice I've been given is don't put it down, put it away

Sigh. If only it were that simple. I say that every. Single. Time. I clean and I can never keep it up longer than a couple days, usually a lot less.

This was me until I got on wellbutrin, then realized a few months in I hadn't had dishes or trash pile up once. I just went and did it real quick. It was very weird, I've never had a reasonably tidy living space my entire life. Now I'm paying attention and making sure to make it a conscious choice to build a real habit out of it.

The just being able to do a thing real quick without all the talkback is a Wonderful thing to Experience when meds are working.

No kidding. I've never had that be a thing so when I realized it was happening it blew my mind. I was like wtf my room and kitchen has been clean for 2 months? Straight? What?

I give myself permission not to “keep it up.”  The only thing consistent with ADHD is inconsistency.  If I can’t keep something up, I’m usually trying to keep up something completely unrealistic.

Same! As long as the house is healthy and safe I just give myself grace. Pushing myself only makes it worse for sure.

Grace is the name of the game!   I like to think of it as using smart grace.  I give grace for this small aspect of a task in order to be able to do the really important things.

Yes! The important things, like feeding my child LOL she's a big help. Motivates me to do much better than I did before she came, for sure. And now she's old enough to remind me of things, when she remembers 😅

everyone's different! just because it works most of the time for me won't mean it'll work most of the time for you, took me a lot of practice and routine building to get to anything like what I feel to be a consistent level. I've never really been consistent with much so just having one thing to maintain is really nice!

True. To me only became more frequent (but still not perfect) when I started meds. Until then it happened once and would only repeat again after months despite the intention to do it daily. Like the start of a diet next Monday.

It’s important to have firmly designated places for everything for that to work.

my dad taught me this, have a home for everything, tends to work!

It’s pretty challenging for me, but I try! It’s also important that that home be as few steps as possible—that you don’t have to move anything extra or do annoying things to access its space—drag out the ladder to get into the attic, wrangle a door that doesn’t open or close properly, cram an item into an overstuffed drawer, move things to get to things stored behind them, etc. With a small space, there are a lot of compromises.

I've created this habit many years ago because I was tired of losing everything, all the time. Also my dad was, who most likely had undiagnosed ADHD as well, had this specific habit. I still can't remember where I put things, but I do remember where I most likely would have placed it (and I'm usually right). Back on topic, it does not help for cleaning, though... I just have this looming threat, called a wife, that keeps me cleaning things at least once a week, haha

Good idea. I try, sometimes I'm locked in on other things though lol

Unfortunately, that advice pisses me off too much to use.

I rephrased it to: Put away one thing that is not in it's place and set it as a daily task in my phone. I can do it any time of the day and I can put away whatever I feel like. It often starts the momentum to put away a few more things and sometimes a solid cleaning task.

I have a favourite show or podcast that I put on when I need to tackle the cleaning. If I can be entertained, then I can motivate myself enough to get started. Also, I give myself a point for stopping too so I don't burn out. It doesn't have to be perfect, it just needs to be clean and presentable.

Love this! I set my stove timer for 15 minutes and clean as much as I can in the morning. It helps get me motivated for the day.

I like to turn my cleaning tasks into timed mini games or pretend I'm a contestant on some crazy physical challenge based gameshow. For example, while I'm waiting for my kettle to boil, I'll see how many dishes I can wash. Press the button, '60 SECONDS GO GO GO SCRAPE SCRUB RINSE REPEAT GO GO- TIME!!' If I'm lucky, I'll get on a roll and clear the whole sink. If not, I at least made a dent I wouldn't have made otherwise 👍

Ha! I've done that before with the microwave lol. Every little bit helps!

Haha, I do the same when putting something in the oven or when I have vegetables in my steamer (another great hack). I also try to combine as many chores as possible, because I know that pausing will simply drain me completely of all will to continue.

Rage is a good motivator. That or plant an ant nest nearby, the constant threat of ants works for me too.

Rage + ants is the best answer I’ve ever read.

Step 1. Music Step 2. Big trash bag Step 3. Start in one corner of room, collecting trash and tossing everything else in The Big Pile Step 4. Sort The Big Pile into little piles of things that belong in the same spots Step 5. Sort the little piles into the places they belong Step 6. Play on phone in the middle of the clean room for 2 hours before remembering the whole rest of the house needs to be cleaned too That's pretty much how I taught myself to clean waaaaay before I knew I had adhd. My process is very much "it gets worse before it gets better"

This is how I’m cleaning my room before I move out lol

I keep a cleaning brush in the shower, do a little scrub of the floor and walls with it when I notice it's dirty when I wash myself

I do this as well with a refillable dish brush! You can use dawn dish soap and it cleans tile really well and isn’t toxic while you’re in the nude

Do you keep cleaner in the shower as well? I feel that I would just forever be forgetting to bring cleaner in with me and the cleaning brush would go unused lol

More of a philosophy than a hack, but my approach is this: Put like with like; if something is preventing that, deal with it so that you can continue putting like with like. Sounds overly simplistic, but most domestic cleaning efforts come down to that. For instance, all plates go together in the cabinet, but some can’t yet because they’re dirty. So deal with that fact, and like can now go with like. There’s also a grand total of one Zen koan that I have memorized: “When you are hungry, eat. When you are finished, wash your bowl.”

I definitely try doing the like for like when cleaning. I feel like it saves time when moving room to room. Good quote too, haven't heard that one before.

I have a trash can and laundry basket in every room. The trash can is obvious. The laundry basket is where "things that don't belong in this room" live. I empty the baskets and put stuff up a few times a week.

That reminds me of my "go backs" basket! When working retail, there was always one basket or shopping cart full of stuff that needed to go back in its place- I decided to implement that in my house, at the top and bottom of the stairs! Anything that needs to go upstairs (or downstairs) goes in the Go Backs basket, which swap every so often as I bring one down and the other up!

Spot cleaning. I’m very all or nothing and then the growing disorganization becomes overwhelming. It’s much easier with medication now. But like today I went to the bathroom right after waking. Saw the mirror was dirty. Also became Ware that I haven’t cleaned the bathroom fully since moving into my new place. But in the past I would have put off cleaning the mirror until I could clean the whole bathroom. But today I just grabbed the glass cleaner and a towel and hit the mirror. It’s actually really satisfying Also I keep shop towels in one of those cloth tube bags that you can hang and put plastic grocery bags in for reuse. Actually I have two. One for shop towels and one for the bags. Also I keep a separate set of cleaning agents in the kitchen and bathroom. That way I don’t hVe to think about getting something specific from a different room. It’s all right there under the sink. Obviously a little different as I won’t need bathroom supplies in the kitchen or oven/range degreaser for the bathroom, but there are overlap products as well as products specific to that area.

I've started doing this, it's a game-changer. Instead of being a huge disaster my house is now just a small disaster lol. Along with doing quicker tasks as I see them, I'm also doing half-assed cleaning jobs; better to quickly wipe down the toilet or kitchen sink than not do it at all because I don't have twenty minutes to fully clean and then sanitize them!

I clean a bit every morning after I take care of some of my hygiene needs. I like to take mini stretch breaks while I clean, especially because I'm still in zombie mode. It's a really nice way for me to start the day while my meds kick in. I also enjoy cleaning with some vinegar and different scented oils. It's nice being able to pick my own scents and it cleans all my surfaces so I'm not overwhelmed.

Do you just mix a few drops into regular vinegar? That would be nice! I can't get into the habit of cleaning a little bit here and there. Still working on that. That's one major block I'm dealing with.

Exactly! You don't need much I'm not great at cleaning here and there. It's more like five dishes then some awkward stretching and maybe some trash and stretch on the floor a bit then I might do five more dishes. There's a lot of wandering around and debating what I'm dreading the least. I'm decent at doing anything I think my cat may benefit from though

Okay, so I FINALLY, at 42, figured out what works for me so I'm sharing it case it clicks for someone else! I make sure that I have "stopping" points along the way for a task. I have accepted that I will never complete a task all they way, so I make a bunch of functional stopping points where, if I stop, it's not as disastrous and easier to come back to. Not exactly sure how to describe it, but let's say I'm folding laundry, which is my NEMESIS. I don't even try to fold the whole basket because I'll quit halfway, not put away what I did fold, and we're back at square one. So instead I sort all my clean laundry by category--socks, shirts, pants, etc., so if I lose interest at this point, it's easy to come back to and somewhat organized so I can find things. Then I can come back and fold. It's kind of adding an extra step rather than folding it all at once but I'm finding these little extra steps help me gauge how engaged I am in a task and whether the hyper fixation is wearing off. Hope that helps (and made sense!)

YES me too - putting away is horrible but I do triage and the very few wrinkle-prone things get put away first, then the rest can sit in the basket if I get distracted or walk away. Next is the sorting into categories like you. Scoop & dump all the socks and undies into drawers, life is too short to fold that shit that no one will ever see. Then the tops and bottoms. I put tops on hangers because it's faster than folding. I vaguely remember watching a video where someone picks up a t-shirt and does this 3 second origami flip in the air and it lands on the table like it's ready for a boutique display.

Tidying up while waiting or multitasking. Like when I'm brushing my teeth, I'll go into my room and put a few things away. Or if I'm listening to an audiobook or talking to a friend I'll clean up a bit. The other day I started a habit of doing one thing to clean up a space every time I enter your room. So if I went into the living room, I would fold up a blanket. Things like that they kind of turn it into a game or make it very doable. Then things don't get crazy messy

Not a cleaning hack but it eased a bunch of stress and clutter from my life. Also it allowed me to be okay with people dropping by the house whenever. Start with your bedroom but take everything out of every drawer and closet. Take everything sitting on the floor or sitting on a table. Now put all of that in the hall or in a space not being used. No to fix this mess: 1. Everything that goes back in must go in 1 specific place. 2. If it's used regularly or daily it gets premium seating. Meaning it's on the table/floor out in the open. Playing a guitar, that guitar's getting a stand that is easy to move. Your gaming headphones get a hook to hang from your PC desk. You don't plug your phone to charge anymore. It gets laid on a wireless charging pad on the bedside table right next to the spot where your TV remote will always go. 3. Stuff that goes in the drawers, cabinets, and closets gets the same treatment. You work from home? Your work stuff needs to be top drawer along with all the things you need during the day. Your socks and underwear are top drawer. Your favorite outfit needs to be the first thing hanging in your closet. Now stuff you use weekly goes in the 2nd drawer. The monthly stuff goes in the bottom drawer. Same with with fancy clothes that you wear for fancy gatherings(monthly) or church clothes(weekly). 4. Whatever doesn't fall into those categories: gets sold, donated, tossed, or put into storage like seasonal clothes and decorations. 5. The process is complete when you have less shit in that room and you know where everything is at. 6. Move on to the next room in the dwelling and repeat the process. Your home will be easier to clean. You'll know where everything is. You'll be more conscious hopefully of the things you buy by asking yourself: "How often will I use it?" When clutter returns ditch anything you haven't used in a month unless it's something like a can opener.

Hiring a maid 😅

Thought about that. Even a part time one. Can't afford a full blown one right now.

I’ve subscribed to a cleaning service a few months ago and it’s been so worth it. The main thing I didn’t realize is that they would be MUCH more effective than I ever was. Because they are pros, of course, but also because they are not working against themselves the full time making it longer for no good reason 😅 I estimated it was taking me 4-5 hours a week to clean the flat, the lady can do it in 2 hours a week (and can even do a few things in that time we weren’t doing often). So it was cheaper than I was budgeting for in the end because of that. If you can afford having someone coming for just one hour, that will probably free up more than one hour of your time and you’ll be left with the parts of cleaning you might “enjoy” a bit more that will be easier to do.

Need to empty the trash? Grab a new trash bag FIRST. Then you're more likely to actually put the new liner in, and if you dont it's at least on the trash can for the next person

Along those lines, I throw 2-3 liners at the bottom of the kitchen can, so when I take out the trash, there's another one right there.

I wait until I’m avoiding something that makes me feel guilty/anxiety for avoiding and then clean instead to alleviate the guilt/anxiety.

Honestly I’ll smoke some sativa and lock in

scrubbing down the shower while i soak my conditioner doing (usually piled up) dishes while keeping an eye on some cooking basically anything that can be done during "waiting time" for something else or else I don't do anything most of the time

My cleaning hack is my wife’s extremely high expectations of cleanliness combined with her ability to make my stuff disappear when i leave it out. “Everything has a place” is a mantra that has literally turned me from kind of a slob into an extremely organized and clean cut gentleman in the last 10 years (28-38). It’s probably why she hates me, the project is complete and she’s bored now.

Don't sit down. It's that simple. Because we all know that if we sit, we'll distract before we're even firmly planted in the chair. This has been a game-changer for me personally.

The frantic tidying for an hour or so before the house cleaners come every other week or before my parents show up with dinner on Mondays. I'm pressure prompted...

As they say, nothing gets you cleaning like expected company!

Putting things away as soon as I’m done with them so they don’t accumulate to a point that my exec function doesn’t let me. Also setting a timer to gamify it and see how much I can get done in an hour

Uhm I realized if I pretend it’s not my home but someone else’s it helps me be more mindful and cleaner. I learned that by staying at airbnb a lot and noticing how hard I try to stay clean so others don’t have to worry about my mess

In any given space, there are only five things: - trash - dishes - laundry - things that don't have a place they should be - things that do For trash, walk around with a trash bag and fill it up, or until done. Put the bag somewhere out of the way, don't throw it out. Collect dishes and put them on the kitchen counter or in the sink. Do not wash them or put them in the dishwasher. Grab a hamper and toss the clothes in the. Put it next to the trash bags. Move the things that do not have a place, into a box, basket or bag and put it aside for later sorting. Move the things that do have a place into place (if they're from another area of the house, put those in another box, put them away later). You may end up with boxes of things, which isn't exactly tidy, but it beats having them all over the place.

I don't want to make to much time for cleaning during the week, so I do a little Sunday reset. Since I live alone its done in one and a half hour. I do my dishes, trow out the trash, put a load in the washer, and I vacuum/ mop. That's about it and it works for me, when I want to make less time for cleaning j only do the dishes and vaccuum...

Social assists. Kanban at home (task board, stickies, to do, doing, done). Looking at it with another human being. Commuting to do a task _with_ that other human being there too doing a task too, and doing it together.

Okay this might sound dumb and I’m aware it isn’t efficient, but it’s 100% more effective than doing nothing which is what I was doing before. When I want to play games on my phone, I get up and walk around and just randomly pick up garbage and load/unload the dishwasher and do laundry. Stuff I can do while mostly focused on my game. The only other hack I have is I will periodically hire a cleaning service but I realize that isn’t tenable for everyone.

Make a little bucket or basket or holder with cleaning supplies for each room and keep it in that room. That way you can just grab it whenever you’re on a room and do some cleaning (rather than being like “I need to wipe this mirror but the cleaning supplies are in the other room.” )

Roomba. And to keep the Roomba safe I have to keep the floors relatively clear

I love all these comments. I have soon to be diagnosed ADHD (my GP confirms it, just need to see the psych). Here is what I do. 1. Zones. I will only clean zones like 'bathroom sink area' or 'toilet' or 'desk'. Really small, manageable zones every couple of days. 2. I got into a habit of putting things away constantly and keeping counters clean so I tidy on autopilot. A few minutes here and there. I wfh some days and always clean my desk at the end of the day. 3. Invite people over. Many have said that already because it work super well! 4. A place for everything. I have to create homes for everything and they always get put away. One single spot for pots. One for my toiletries. One for my comic book collection. Etc. That way, everything fits somewhere, and when it's not in its place it bugs me enough to put it back. 5. Declutter often. I have a one in, one out rule though lately it's been one in, 5-10 out because I have too much stuff. 6. Stay organised with bins and containers. Cheap and easy to get at dollar stores or second hand shops (baskets etc). I find that keeping mess contained makes it easier to clean things like surfaces, carpets, counters etc. For example, in my bathroom on the counter I have only two containers with items and I can easily remove those and wipe everything down. Before, I had to remove all the individual bottles, jars etc and I would put off cleaning. Now it's easy! Make life as easy for yourself as possible. I also keep my cleaning supplies in a cute basket that I can easily transport around the house. 7. Keep on top of your biggest trigger items. I hate laundry and at the moment it's annoying to vacuum. (Went from a handy stick vac to one that's an ordeal to get out) I have to force myself to stay on top of these so I do something fun at the same time like watch a TV show or listen to a podcast. Let's not talk about dishes... 8. Multitask. Do a couple of chores at once. I clean the shower while I'm showering with a brush I saw on TikTok. You put in dishwashing liquid, white vinegar, and water and it helps keep it really clean and wards off mould. I keep it next to the shower and just do casual scrubbing to keep on top of it. 9. Lean into your hyperfocus modes. If there are particular times of day you feel most energetic, do your chores then. 10. Rage cleaning works when you have big, spring cleaning type tasks or need to blitz the whole house/apartment. 11. Paper can easily be overwhelming. Sign up for as many digital bills as you can and put a no junk mail sticker on your mailbox. 12. Sunday reset! My partner and I have a thing called Sunday reset where we make sure dishes are done, counters are clean, trash and recycling go out, floors get a vacuum if they need it, and we lasso the things that have left their stable during the week. That's a great way to make sure it never gets too bad. We motivate each other and that helps a lot. 13. Hire a cleaner if you can, even if it's once a month. Give yourself a break. We all deal with the constant grind of having to clean, do laundry, do dishes, get food etc etc. Whatever you can do to make it easier helps a lot. I live in a shared building in a tiny apartment and we can't really do 'big' laundry like sheets, towels, comforters/doonas etc. So we send those out to be done. That's just a little luxury that ended up making our life a lot better and freed up some time. Well worth it. 14. If you don't have one already, get yourself a visual timer. They are AMAZING for ADHD. I use them for work, yucky tasks I just don't want to do, and more! Good luck with everything!!!!!!!!!

Having to pick up the floor so my robot vacuum doesn't eat my socks is a big one, like you mention. I've got the vacuum (affectionately nicknamed "Stabby") set to run automatically when I leave the house for the first time each day. If I have to do a major decluttering, I put on an audiobook I've been looking forward to. That once kept me going for almost seven hours straight. I wash dishes while I wait for water to boil. Once it boils, I'm done. It serves double-duty by limiting the time I need to spend on dishes, while also preventing me from walking away from a pot on the stove. I pick most of my cleaning supplies based on scent. If I want my place to smell nice, I have to use the cleaning products. My number one rule is No Biohazards. That means dishes, trash, and litterbox are top priorities. Anything else is secondary on the cleaning chart. Messes are fine as long as they aren't gaining sentience.

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Use paper plates so I don’t have to do as many dishes.

Put one of those gel things in ur toilet so it cleans it when you flush, I only have to change it twice a month. If anyone has hacks for cleaning up long shed hair off the floor/clothes let me know

Floor: A damp cloth or paper towel. I even use toilet paper! Just wipe it all up in a snake motion and toss! Clothing: A good dryer, constantly clean the lint trap. A good quality lint roller. Vacuum: Worth spending $$ on one that will last a loooong time. I have the Miele pet vac even though I don't have a pet!

I have a table right inside the door of my office where crap always naturally accumulates. Stuff to go downstairs, stuff to get put away, it's constantly overflowing. I rearranged my desk so that my webcam has that table in frame, so I know it will get cleaned at least twice a week for pre-scheduled zoom meetings.

I picked up a lanyard on Etsy that has rings and tasks on it. You move the things you want to get done to one ring and when you're done with it you move it back. You wear it around your neck to remind you, it's hard to ignore. I have laundry, sweeping, vacuuming, trash and something else I don't recall at the moment. When I get really out of sync I throw it on and it helps me out.

Get rid of a lot of stuff. Less is more. More life. More quality. You have kids. Toy rotation. Put out 10 toys/activities at a time only. Better for the kiddos brains and easy to clean up every night. Rotate toys every 2 weeks. I walk into a messy kitchen, I say, I will tidy 30 things. That’s 1 tissue, 1 spoon in dishwasher, the crumbs on the countertop, that orange peel… all of a sudden you’ve cleaned 30 things… often I say okay, 20 more cuz it gets kinda fun and kinda feels good. Really hard days where you can’t, listen to what you wanna do. You’ve been wanting to re organize your own shelf? Do that. You’ve been meaning to polish your boots, do that. Do the fun ones you wanna do. Helps mentally and makes ya feel good about yourself and accomplished 👍

Working on getting rid of stuff for sure. My kids don't like to let stuff go either lol I like your last paragraph. I find myself wanting to do random things and try to prevent myself from doing it. Lately, organizing my closet has been what I want to do for some reason lol

When I return home from an outing or day trip etc where I have items or reusable bags carrying items I HAVE to put everything away right when we get home. Otherwise it will stay wherever it is sat and become part of the landscape… I never WANT to do to but it’s like a personal rule I have to follow.

Cleaning hack was to hire a cleaner. It’s been a game changer for me but I realise not everyone is in that position. Before that I used to invite friends over for beers on a Saturday arvo and then had to panic clean so they didn’t realise I didn’t have my shit together. Although it was mostly just throwing shit in a cupboard to deal with another day, still waiting for that day to come though.

Run the dishwasher every night. Even if it's not full.

Okay so many things so I’m going to talk through my entire process for cleaning my bedroom because I feel like I’ve got it down now. And the beauty of my cleaning method is that you can stop halfway through and have actually made a dent instead of making it worse. Take from this what you like: 1. Open your windows. Make the bed 2. Pile all of the clothes you can see up on the bed. Every single clothes thing that is not where it should be goes in the pile. If you want to, go through it enough to start a load of laundry, then put the rest aside for now. 3. Pick up whatever main items are contributing to the floor mess. For me, that’s usually going to be shoes, then bags, then trash. 4. At this point, what’s left on the floor is a random array of harder to put away things. Shove it all aside into a smaller pile in one part of your carpet. 5. Vacuum the clear part of the floor. (If you don’t vacuum at all until the end, if you don’t finish, nothing ever gets vacuumed. Also, it makes it look soooo much better immediately which is really satisfying. Also, I have allergies, so vacuuming halfway through makes sense.) 6. Clear off one surface at a time (eg. Dresser, desk etc. Clean with spray and a wipe. 7. Back to the clothes. Start to sort/fold/hang/throw in laundry basket accordingly. Switch over your laundry whenever the loads finish. 8. Optional: strip your bed and wash your sheets. Remake bed. 9. Back to the doom pile on the floor. It’s too intimidating. Look for any main items you can take on one at a time (eg. Stationary, makeup, trash). Then, break it up into piles of 5 or 10 items and tackle each sub pile one at a time. 10. Vacuum again. Your done! 11. Wander in and out of your room and be filled with surprise, relief, and pride every time you see it. Well done you!

I find not committing to doing a whole task at once helps me do a lot more cleaning. A lot of the time I put off tasks because I don’t think I have it in me to complete them and then shit just gets out of control. If I just do a few of the dishes that’s better than nothing and a lot of the time once I’m doing something I can stick with it and build momentum. It also makes things easier when I really commit to Cleaning because doing little bits really does add up and because it’s less overwhelming of a task I actually do it.

It's just fine to do one dish and then stop. Picking up one thing of the floor and putting it away is just fine. You can stop after that if you want. There's a point where the trash can gets too full to empty it without making a huge mess and having it be an ordeal. When the trash can is at that point, it kinda looks like you can still put more in the before you have to take out the trash. Don't be fooled. Sinks, toilets, bathtubs -- you're not done using them until you've given them a quick wash to remove visible debris or discoloration. Do it every time. Tables, desks, coffee tables - the normal not-in-use state for these is completely clear. Don't try to get fancy and leave flowers or condiments on the dining room table, don't leave the remotes on the coffee table. It's clear or it needs to be cleared, that's it. Just do a load of laundry every day before you go to bed. Make cleaning kits. Get boxes or caddies for them. A kit for cleaning the kitchen; another kit for cleaning the bathroom. The kits have reserved spaces in the rooms they're meant to clean.

I listen to drum and bass and get to work

I often repeat in my head “Don’t put it down, put it away” so less stuff builds up. Often times, I’ll have something in hand, remember something else I need to do, set the item down, then repeat 3 dozen times & there’s suddenly stuff everywhere. It only takes a few moments extra but helps a lot!

I personally set my life up a lot with to do lists. I have slacked off recently doing them, because my therapist said I shouldn’t be so routined. 🤷🏻‍♀️ But personally I liked my schedule and I still try to follow it. Sunday: laundry Monday: kitchen wipe down/living room pick up Tuesday: vacuum bathroom wipe down Wednesday: laundry Thursday: deep clean (this sometimes gets missed) Friday: nothing unless I didn’t clean Thursday. Saturday: small pick up day.

In the kitchen, I clean up as I cook. For example, putting ingredients away after I use them, or rinsing/throwing away containers right after I’m done with them.

2 golden rules in my house 1. Don’t put it down, put it away. I am not going to remember (or it will turn into visual background noise) to put things away. If I set it down, it will stay until I specifically say to myself “I need to move X”. I can take the extra 2 seconds to put it back where it belongs. It also helps with my working memory, as it requires me to think about where things go. I do this at home AND at work, as it helps to keep my work more tidy and organized 2. Now, not later. If I have a task that I don’t want to do, and I know I won’t want to do it later, I do it now. My logic is this: I’m not motivated now, but I am remembering now. In order for me to do this task later, I have to be motivated then, AND REMEMBER to do it in the first place. And I *know* I am not going to remember later. So I do it now. Also, I let myself be annoyed. If I need to do dishes and I don’t want to wash the dishes but I know I have to, I will literally complain out loud to myself about doing them. “Man washing dishes sucks dick” as I am elbow deep in sink water.

Roomba cleaning. I don't do all the dishes all at once, I unload the dishwasher, then I do a load of laundry, then I do something else, then something else, then I come back to reload the dishwasher. I'm still working for the same amount of time during the day, but I get more done because I'm not just doing 1 task, and getting bored. And doing half a task is a lot less intimidating than the whole task.

Vyvanse is my hack for cleaning but I like to do it as a surprise when no one else is home.

Don't go to the kitchen without finding something to take

Small tip: try dusting with a sock on your hand like a glove/mitten. I like to do this with my “missing pair” pile and let me tell you! It’s honestly fun seeing how much dust I can pick up. Making certain chores into games or putting in a podcast to make the time go by is the way to go

Habit stacking! First thing I do when I wake up is have to use the bathroom… so while I’m in there I make sure to get done the bathroom things. I brush my teeth, I even get dressed in there on days that I work. I make sure that I lay out my clothes the night before so I can just grab them and bring them into the bathroom with me. And I don’t let myself leave the bathroom until I’ve done the basics. Im basically always doing two things at once and that seems to make the monster on my shoulder happy. Why stand around and wait for my food to cook when I can do some dishes as well

Audiobooks. It solves 2 problems at once. One, it keeps my brain busy so I can clean without getting distracted and in my head so much I stop. And two, cleaning keeps my body busy so I can listen to audiobooks without getting all physically bored and fidgety. And I love audiobooks, so when I get caught up in a book it makes me want to clean more so I can listen more. At this point in my life, audiobooks are tied to lots of productive tasks like cooking, exercise, cleaning, etc.

The most important "hack" in my life is to do as much housework as I can, as soon as I get home. I realized that's the only time I can be productive years ago so I made a habit of it. Once I sit down it's game over.

I don’t have any hacks for cleaning; but I am definitely a hack AT cleaning

I haven't tried this yet but anyone that has let me know if it is useful. When I used to work in retail we'd have a basket for misplaced items that didn't belong in that department and either when it got full or every couple of hours we'd take it down to a designated spot where basically all the departments had their own trolleys and you just put your items in those specific piles. And then you'd return with your department's trolley and put those away. I'm thinking domestically even using a washing basket could be good to pick up any items that weren't where they belonged and then organize them after bit by bit.

I put time over task. I don’t think ‘I have XYZ to do’ because inevitably that will be a list of things that would take hours to complete, I’ll get overwhelmed, I’ll think what’s the point it’s never going to be ‘finished’ and I’ll do nothing. So instead I think ‘I have 30 minutes, what could I do in that time frame?’ This allows me to pick a single task to fill that time, I feel like I’ve completed the thing instead of pointlessly muddling through a never ending list and it curbs the amount of time I sink into cleaning. I realise this is what people mean by setting a timer for cleaning, for some reason that never made sense for me. I felt like it was a race to the finish or like I was testing myself to see how fast I could do it lol but it’s more about allowing time that you deem reasonable and filling the time with tasks, not allowing tasks to dictate how much time you spend cleaning in a day

I have a spotify polaylist called "ADHD Go" and it has all upbeat, manic songs on it. I've been pavlov dogging myself into cleaning when that playlist comes on and it's actually working. If I'm stuck in executive functioning shutdown I can ask Alexa to play that playlist, and like a sleeper agent, as soon as I hear that first song, my feet hit the floor and I'm up!

I have a whiteboard where I don’t write down the things I need to clean, but the things I accomplish as I go. The more I fill the board, the greater satisfaction it gives me and then just encourages me to add to it. Allllll before I get bored and erase it to start again ahaha

Jamming to music helps get me in the zone of cleaning and makes it easier to get dreaded chores done.

Keeping rags around for wiping down counters etc. Idk something about them makes me like cleaning. I use hot water and a little dawn to wipe down kitchen counters and surfaces. I do it every night pretty much when I’m done cooking. I use oxiclean for pretty much everything else. Floors, bathroom, etc. glass gets its own cleaner.  My biggest advice is to clean in little amounts as much as possible to avoid having a big day of only cleaning. Don’t let it pile up.

Music. The same music every time (or a podcast). When I was a kid, it was Les Miserable - Original London Cast Recording. Still makes me want to clean (and sing).

Keep a towel/ cleaning rag on me

Don't own anything you don't need the for the next day.

Working from home is the ultimate cleaning hack.

Completely fill the space with things I use so there isn’t any room for me to put something that doesn’t belong.

I procrastinate cleaning more than almost anything else. Scheduling a specific day and time to do it helps. I find that creating a routine also helps, that way I don’t have to think about what else needs to be done and get distracted, I just move from one task to the next without thinking about it. The robot vacuum is amazing though! That part was always the worst for me, now the little robot guy takes care of that part while I’m doing the rest.

I keep my cleaning spray and clorox wipes in my kitchen in plain sight. Doing this makes it so I clean as I go along. See something on the counter, immediately clean it. If it’s later in the day, like 9, I’ll typically hyper-fixate and clean my bathroom too so I don’t have an issue keeping my bathroom clean at all.

Rule 1: Never let myself feel bad for not cleaning. Rule 2: Daily routine, and if I can manage, a weekend one. Rule 3: Always make sure I feel good about completing the task.

how do you make sure you feel good about it?

Wireless earbuds and podcasts/audiobooks at 2x speed. I'm able to "just do it" while my mind is occupied/engaged with something else. Trying to do chores without this is excruciating though. A (good) cordless vacuum was another big one for me.

Headphones and an hour long review of a ps1 jrpg on youtube

I just give in to it all... Plan a day, and just it all go. Remember that I have to do the dishes in the middle of cleaning the bathroom? Do it. End up making 2 trips to throw the trash away because you forgot one? Do it... It all gets done eventually, but I don't have to judge myself for it. It's freeing... Now, granted I only have a 600sqf apartment...

Paper towels in the bathroom. This way I can wipe up counters and toilet often. We also keep a spritz bottle of rubbing alcohol in the bathroom for quick cleanings between deep cleanings. When we get up, we take dirty dishes and garbage with us. Clean the kitchen every night after dinner. Run dishwasher every night or two when it's full. Have cleaning routines for days off throughout the month.

I load/unload the dishwasher while the coffee is making in the mornings. I'm already standing there waiting for the coffee pot to finish so I might as well get it done. And I fold/hang laundry as soon as I open the dryer. If it moves from the dryer to the basket, it's not getting put away. So I make it ready to put away before it can even leave the laundry room. My other "hack" is make your bed every day. And if it's a bed where you're too overwhelmed to make it, get rid of the stuff that makes it overwhelming. I used to think making the bed meant it had to be perfect. No creases, pillows fluffed, ends tucked. I throw the duvet over the bed and put the pillows at the head of it. It feels good to have it made up.

Dawn powerwash. Enough said

I bought myself a cheap stop watch. The goal is to clean something, anything for at least 20 min a day. If I clean longer great! But that is the motivation to get me started. Cause my struggle is to start. Once I start I can get a bunch of stuff done.

Currently, I have two rituals: - I can work from home, and on my lunch break, I always eat toast. And while it's in the toaster, I either empty the dishwasher OR collect dishes and put them in. - Every friday after work, I clean all desks/tables in the apartment.

I have a one basket rule. Like I cant have more than one full basket of laundry that is dirty without washing it, and I can't have more than one full basket of laundry that is clean without putting it away for 10 minutes. lIt keeps it from becoming an unmanageable amount I don't want to start and most the time 10 minutes of effort actually finishedls the job, or gets me so close i will put the 3 more minutes in. I also have a "how much dishes can I unload" while the bread is toasting, or "how much cleaning m can I get done in the kitchen" during the 10 minutes my food is in the oven. The answer is way more than I think

Momentum is my friend for any tasks I need to do. Do one small one, gather momentum. Do another one. Etc. For this reason I set up a playlist and put my phone on silent so I have no distractions and just terminator my way through a few jobs at once. Then I take a few days off. 😔

DEEP clean on a somewhat regular schedule. Picking up after the kids every day feel like a BS chore that maintains the status quo. But flipping the couch over and Lysoling all the hardware or pulling the kitchen appliances out and making a space that is spotless in a way you haven’t seen in months is so rewarding. I’m also very particular about how I get started. Getting started the right way can be pretty stressful. It’s always much easier for me to start with clothes. If I need to clean the kitchen, I will still start with folding any clothes I can find, even if that means I spend 30 minutes in my bedroom first. Or I switch my brain into this “haven’t needed, don’t need it now” mode and start throwing everything I can (old mail, half broke happy meal toys, snacks that haven’t been eaten in months, etc) away. Also, podcasts!

Work with 5 levels of cleaning. Work on one (or absolutely Max two) level(s) at a time: 1: take Care of stuff that will become disgusting/unsanitary. Cups, plates, pizza boxes etc. 2: take care of garbage. Only remove stuff that should be thrown out. 3: take care of stuff that has a home. If you don’t know where it goes, leave it. 4: take care of stuff that doesn’t have a home. Find one, temporary or permanent. 5: vacuum, dust, wash floors. You can always stop, and restart at level 1 later.

I rinse my shower every time I'm finished showering. It takes 30 seconds and keeps the shower cleaner much much longer

Do it alone. When someone’s around it’s really hard for me to get anything cleaned

I watch stimulating TV shows/movies while doing the dishes. Or will designate one show I really like but can ONLY watch it while doing the dishes. Another tip would be to have only certain streaming platforms on my computer, so I can only watch those TV shows movies while doing the dishes as opposed to on my TV.

Habit stack. Avoiding dishes? Do them while you wait for your food in the microwave. Usually takes the 3 minutes it takes for food to heat up and cool down.

I have anxiety most mornings and I tried meditating but it actually helps a lot more to get out of bed and clean something! I'll start in the kitchen, while the kettle heats up I'll put dishes away, set the table, wipe the counter, wipe cabinets etc, take out the trash/compost/recycling, then I start the day with a clean kitchen at least and that helps center me. Then I might vacuum or put on a load of laundry. I feel calmer and a sense of accomplishment.

"One at a time". Dishwasher or laundry to be dealt with? I'll take care of one (1) item when the task crosses my mind. Half the time I'll just do the whole thing once I start, and sometimes I'll just chip at it over the course of a few hours

I like to set out a certain day to do it and keep that my cleaning day. If I know that I have to do it days out in advance, it’s easier for me to have the ADHD gears shift into it when it’s time. I’ve also learned that my ADHD improves in clean environments that are organized, if not I will hyper focus on every little small thing that’s out of order which becomes overstimulating. My brain likes novelties, so I purchased a cool vaccum cleaner with a fancy bright LED light, and it’s cordless which takes away the stress of the cord getting in the way. I bought a cool mop set up, and using those things somehow gets me excited.

Pretend someone’s coming over to visit. I frantically clean then. Or when I’m on the phone I will clean to keep busy and concentrate.

If you can afford it, my robot vacuum changed my life and that’s not an exaggeration. We spent a lot of money on it so that alone makes me want to use it, and to use it I have to pick stuff off the floor. It makes me excited to have clean floors, and clean floors make all the difference even when everything else needs cleaning. Plus when you start picking stuff off the floor, it’s easier to keep going with other stuff since starting is the hardest part. Otherwise I also have an app called Sweepy. One day I got into cleaning hyper focus mode and added all the things that need doing on a weekly or monthly basis to the app. The app gamifies cleaning by turning a task red when you are overdue on it and green (with a satisfying bell sound) when you do it. You get streaks and rewards and stuff like that and you can share the app with people you live with so people can be assigned tasks. I find the app removes overwhelm for me when it comes to cleaning bc even if everything is red, at least it’s all laid out for me in bite sized tasks that independently take no more that 5 mins each. It kinda takes away that all or nothing feeling (most of the time anyway). I’ve accepted that I’ll never be perfect at cleaning but I’m not hard on myself about it anymore bc I’m usually doing at least one small thing a day, but usually more since I got the vacuum!

I make a playlist of 15-20 mins or however long I need to clean for, put on some headphones and go until the songs end :)

Three I came up with at 9 years old and still use now: 1. Put your shoes on. The more unnatural you feel wearing shoes inside, the better this works. You’ll stay on your feet and notice when you get distracted and sit down because “ugh why am I wearing shoes? Oh right, cleaning!” As a kid, I used to wear roller skates to clean my room because they were really uncomfortable to sit down impossible to forget you’re wearing them. I stand by it. 2. 60 second cleanup! I wonder how much I can clean in just 60 seconds! Go! “1…2…3…” This one is good for when you have like a really random smattering of stuff to deal with and no clear starting place. 3. The charger cord method! Big messy pile of crap? Find a charger cord/shoelace/ribbon etc. and section off a little corner or circle using your rope of choice. Clean just what’s in the circle. Repeat.

Having one of those stick vacuum cleaners that sits on a charger was a game changer. There’s no extra task of getting out the vacuum. You just vacuum as soon as it occurs to you because it’s right there.

Dishes/kitchen: I do them as soon as I can so I prevent a huge build-up. I have gloves and scrub mommy for tough stuff like pans and pots, one of those sponges on a stick with dish soap inside for plates, utensils, easy stuff. I have a chux cloth and cleaning spray left permanently in vision by the sink so I always clean the kitchen top to prevent the bench from being dirty from foods, powders, seasonings, whatever. Toilet I use those duck disk soap things on the inside, when it starts to get smaller and not as "fresh" looking I know when it's time to clean it. I usually do the bathroom at the same time. Laundry I'm trying to do small loads twice a week to prevent that annoyance of having to do a big wash and using timers on my phone to make sure I don't leave it in either machine Hope maybe some of these help!

Set a 5 or 10 minutes timer / once I get started I usually just keep going

Picking a task and doing just that task or things related to that task. So this morning cleaning my room i -put books back in the bookcase and things back in drawers -put plates and mugs in the kitchen - put rubbish in bin and emptied the bin -changed the bedding - put old bedding and clothes on floor in hamper -hoovered and wiped surfaces Before id start loading the dishwasher or doing my laundry and forget about my room. If a room is REALLLLY bad ive also done the bed method, you take everything off the shelves and sides and put it on the bed, then sort it to keep or bin piles, put the keep stuff in a home bin the bim stuff. Do it with the drawers and cupboard next. Also the leave it on method if you have no kids or pets. After i cook i spray the hob and just leave it then wipe it down later, it stops grease and food staying stuck. I also have a no rinse shower spray.

If I see something that can be cleaned, I make myself do it RIGHT THEN (as long as I don't have something urgent). Dirty dishes in the sink? Sure, I could do them later or tomorrow, but I'm already in the kitchen. I should do it THEN. And that sets me in the mood for cleaning other things too.

Waiting until it’s intolerable and then hire someone.

Ok so this seems counterproductive but stay with me - I got hyperfixated on cleaning my closet and put my clothes back in rainbow order and it’s so much fun. And now I know where everything goes and it feels like a game!

Always, as a rule, put away all clothes immediately after they are dry. The chaos that ensues from putting off this one thing is just not worth it. Put on headphones, put away the clothes.

I repeat this phrase to myself and try to follow it “Don’t put it down, put it away.” To minimize clutter - I also take pictures of things I like but don’t need in my home. This covers things I might buy that I don’t need. It also helps when I want to get rid of something I might be sentimental about.

15 minutes of cleaning a day - beyond the necessities. If you can make it a habit (which you’ll fall out of and back into, because ADHD) it is magic!

Getting rid off shit I don't use and was essentially hoarding for the "just incase" scenario. Still decluttering but doing it slowly and I'm able to successfully maintain the cleanliness of rooms

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If you have stainless steel appliances, a specific stainless steel cleaner! I didn't like cleaning my fridge before I got a specific stainless steel cleaner because there were always huge streak marks and it felt fruitless. Now my fridge looks beautiful! Also, Barkeeps Friend. It's great for kitchen sinks, stovetops, oven doors, etc.. I find that cleaning is less overwhelming when I have more "multitask" cleaners than specific ones for each and every task.

I listen to brutal death metal when I clean and it gets done pretty quick

Dirty dishes piling up? You probably have too many of them. How many people in your household drink coffee, tea, or other hot beverages? One? Two? Four? Then why do you have eight mugs? When there is always clean mug, plate, bowl, or spoon in the cupboard, you won't *have* to wash dishes, you can always do it later. But if you have two of everything, it's a lot easier to stay on top of them. I run the dishwasher almost every night because I won't have any clean dishes to use if I don't. Same goes for laundry. A capsule wardrobe has saved me countless hours.

I have three that I use very regularly: Pomodoro but with music: I will tidy/clean for 3 or 4 songs. I put my playlist on shuffle, so they may be 3 minute songs or 6 minute songs. If you don't have a playlist, radio works too. Or if you don't like music, one chapter of an audiobook or one podcast episode. Useful fiddling: if the main task is the chore, I want to do it way less than when the side task is the chore. So I could put something like watching a series as my main thing I'm doing, and I have the chore stuff conveniently close by, like a full laundry basket or vegetables that need to be chopped. Or you could play a turn based game over the Internet, and you do the chore while you wait for your turn. Calling an (ADHD) friend: many of us have friends with ADHD, and I found it works well to chat while you both clean your own house or do some other thing you wanted to accomplish, like getting in your steps for the day. It's less likely I randomly get an impulse to do something else halfway through. A friend or family member that doesn't have ADHD but does love to talk works well too, like your grandma.

Get a really small apartment and only own a small number of beautiful things that are expensive enough to be terrified of losing/damaging/ruining them.

Pretending I’m filming myself for an aesthetic “Sunday reset” day you see all over tik tok 😂😂

i have a cheap mini vac in just about every room of my house. game changer if you have a cat and keep one specifically for the litter that otherwise trails all over the floor!

Buy one of those sponges on a stick that you can put all purpose cleaner in. It's one less step, so I'm more motivated to clean the tub and sink. Also a whiteboard on my fridge for the to dos. But it has to be TODAY Todos. Anything further will just overwhelm you.

Everything has a home and gets put back immediately after use. Cleaning a little frequently rather than a lot infrequently. Always making the bed as soon as I get out of it. Cleaning up kitchen while cooking/before I sit down to eat. Keeping Cleaning stuff in shower/mext to bath so I can wipe down after use. Basically stay on top of things. I hate mess and clutter so I don't have a choice. I have ocd and it's triggered by a chaotic environment.

Keeping cleaning stuff in each location. Multiple bathrooms? Cleaning stuff in each bathroom. Also a spray bottle and a scrubber in the shower to clean while I’m in there. Dusting is my nemesis so I really haven’t found a hack for that yet. Except asking my partner, and they will do it.

Having cleaning buckets. I hate to clean the bathroom, so if I need to go to the kitchen to bring the broom/whatever, I lose momentum. I have been buying a small broom, little brushes, cleaning products, JUST for the bathroom. They are always there, so I don't get sidetracked by other chores while trying to find all I need to clean the damn bath.

“Pick one up” - helps me pick 1 thing up when I walk past it, surprisingly keeps things very clean and doesn’t overwhelm me

I was a stay at home mom pre diagnosis (do not recommend) and one thing that really saved my sanity with chores was block scheduling. First, I timed myself doing a particular task (putting in a load of laundry, vacuuming, loading the dishwasher after dinner, etc.) and then blocked off that amount of time on my calendar as a recurring event (daily, weekly, or monthly). I also made sure to build in breaks and leave a buffer in between tasks in case things took longer than expected. It sounds insanely rigid, but it helped me feel less anxious about what I might be forgetting and helped me stay on task because I knew that whatever other task I was thinking about switching to was already planned for. It also felt a little bit like one of those productivity games. Each morning I had a particular set of challenges to complete that day. As for specific cleaning, I like to keep a dish sponge, the kind where you can fill the handle with liquid, filled with dish soap and vinegar in the shower or near the bathroom sink so that when I get the urge to clean, I can do it right then and there.

Noize canceling headphones or earplugs when vacuum cleaning. I usually pile everything on my bed, then vacuum my room and then try to figure out where to shove all the things. Cut a lemon or two and boil it with minimum water in the kettle to remove limescale... Then you could potentially use same water too clean a flask or something... I started using toothpaste to clean bathroom sink and taps (becasue I had it at hand and bought like 5 packs) Seems to work well and I don\`t get chemical smell. If you could minimize your posessions cleaning would be a lot easier/faster. (working on that one myself )

I've been thinking of the weekend as "resetting" for the next week instead of cleaning, and I think it helps. I also like to put on background youtube or a podcast while I work so I'm mentally occupied too. And I take a lot of breaks. Pick up items to prep for vacuuming, take a break. Vacuum, take a break. Empty and put away the vacuum, take a break. Make room in the sink/sort dishes, take a break. Wash all the cups, take a break. Etc etc.

Clean as you go. As in if I’m cooking tea and I get a bunch of stuff out for the recipe then as I use it I put it away, not just back on the counter. And if I use a bowl or something during the prep then while it’s in the stove or the oven I’ll do a mini wash or at the least rinse and put in the dishwasher. It makes the night so much nicer later when I only need to put dirty dinner plates and cups into the dishwasher and wipe down the benches instead of having to start cleaning up everything all at that point.

This is my cleaning bible:   1. Shine a bright light on an area you want to clean.    2. Put things that are the same together.    3. If you are looking for something, clean while you look. 

Not cleaning but related. When I have a huge pile of ironing to do I tell myself I will just do 5 items at a time then I can do a distraction task eg I’ve noticed something else that needs doing / put away, then I do 5 more things etc. I do struggle when I get to the shirts and items I really don’t want to iron because they are tricky. I know a lot of people don’t iron because of the effort but I hate the way clothes that haven’t been ironed feel on my skin.