Tips for Conquering Your ADD Cleaning Habits

There are some people who were born with the ability to focus on cleaning, who never get distracted from the task at hand, and who don't need guides and tips and shortcuts to keep their houses in order. If you are one of these people, you don't need to read this article, though I invite you to do so in order to learn what the rest of us go through, just to try to keep a somewhat inhabitable home. This article is for those of us who have good intentions to get the clutter picked up, the floors vacuumed and the dishes done, but can't figure out where to start or how to finish.

I have self-diagnosed cleaning ADD. I'll start in the kitchen, and before I know it I'm cleaning the mirror in a bathroom that really needed the toilet bowl scrubbed, but I only noticed that because my mascara was on the kitchen counter. Hours later, I have a clean mirror, a sink full of dishes, and a bookshelf of alphabetized magazines because I grabbed one out of the bathroom to put away. But even this only happens when I can get motivated to start. I'll confess now, I dislike cleaning. Immensely. The rare satisfaction I get from cleaning comes when I can really see a difference in the room after I've tackled it. Unfortunately, this has led to a tendency to let things go really far before I decide to get in there and clean. By the time the house is in this state, where I know I'll really see a difference, there is just so much to do, I'm overwhelmed by all of it. You've probably heard the platitude, "How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time." I always reply to that with, "Yes, but where do I start?" I stand in my house, looking at it all, immobile. If faced with an elephant to eat, I'd go hungry from an inability to start.

After much trial and error, and with a nod to flylady.net, I have found a solution to my cleaning ADD that works for me. The first step is figuring out where to begin.

I've tried prioritizing, but if my brain worked that way, I probably wouldn't be drowning in disarray in the first place. However, if there are dishes stacking up on the counter, I will do those first. Usually because I need a clean glass to keep myself hydrated during my cleaning marathon. Step One: On slips of paper, list each room that needs cleaning. (In my case, list every room in the house.) Put them in a bowl, and pull one out. There is your priority. Whatever room you pull out, that's where you're going to focus. Step Two: Set a timer. Decide how much time you have to spend cleaning on this day, or how much energy you have. If you have five rooms to clean, and only 90 minutes, set the timer for 15 minutes. Give yourself 3 minutes of downtime between rooms. I frequently use most of Saturday for cleaning, spending an hour in each room, and a 15 minute break between rooms (but I only do this once or twice a month.) I give credit to flylady for teaching me to use a timer.

Within each room, start with basic decluttering. If something doesn't belong in that room, take it to the room it should be in, AND SET IT DOWN. This is important. Don't try to put it in the right place, don't take something out of that room, don't worry about what needs to be done in that room. Set it down, and walk away. If the selected room is in such a state that you can't figure out where to start, divide the room into four quadrants and start in the north, working your way around. You can even set a timer for this, depending on how long you intend on working in that room. After decluttering, get to the deeper cleaning. Dust, sweep, vacuum, scrub. Get as much done as you can in the allotted time. When time is up, STOP. Go take your break. I usually do something completely mind-numbing, like playing an online word or puzzle game, or surfing my regular websites, often with a cup of coffee or tea. After your break, pull another room out of the bowl, and focus there. Forget about what is left undone in the first room. Focus on what you have done, and what you will do.

The reason this approach works so well is it takes away the paralysis of not knowing where to start, and it eliminates the feeling of "I'll be cleaning this room forever!" Knowing that I have a limited amount of time gets me moving faster, allowing me to accomplish more in less time. It also keeps me focused when I become bored with the task. I can look at the timer and tell myself, only 15 minutes more. And if I finish a room with time to spare, I add that on to my break time. This method can be done in marathon weekend sessions, or split up over a week, pulling out one room a day to work on. Even if you can only dedicate 15 minutes to each room, you'll be highly focused during those few minutes, and you will be able to get a noticeable amount done.

I can't promise you will go from about-to-be-reported-to-the-Health-Department to "Model Home" status in one week. But give it a go, and see if establishing this random cleaning routine works for you like it has for me. At worst, you'll get one room in your house cleaned!

Now I really should go wash those dishes.