21 ADHD Home Hacks That Will Change Your Life

in today's video I'm going to share with you 21 amazing like life and home hacks that will change your life especially if you have ADHD hi and welcome back if you're new to my channel I'm Cass from clutterbug I usually talk about organization but today I wanted to talk about ADHD I just read this amazing new study that shows that ADHD is actually a dopamine deficiency so people who have ADHD the reason we struggle to focus and get motivated actually adult you know do all the things we have to do is because we have chronically low levels of dopamine but I also discovered that you can have low dopamine when you're stressed or you're tired or have other mental health issues so it kind of mimics those ADHD behaviors like just not wanting to get off the couch and do the dishes so I'm going to share with you 21 really awesome hacks whether you have ADHD or not that's going to help you just tackle life and make amazing progress being productive is one of the biggest struggles when you have ADHD or if you're tired or if you're stressed you're just not feeling capable of getting up and doing the things we know we have to do and so here's a quick hack that I love to just make my life more productive creating a visual planning station is definitely a must because you have to see all the cool things you're going to get done I use the side of my fridge here because I don't actually want to see it to put all the things I use to be productive I have my calendar my whole family calendar here my menu planning my shopping list which I love and my daily to-do list and the part that's so cool is yes it's visual so I'm reminding myself all day every time I get a coffee or I go to the fridge which is a lot I see the stuff that I have to get done but it's also really convenient because I can just tear these away take it with me to the grocery store or start fresh so it's also really really easy I have no excuses every time I glance at this I'm like oh yeah I gotta do the thing or take out the meat to defrost or call the person I'm supposed to call and having it visual is definitely key so you you need a planning station somewhere in your house it can be in your office it can be as soon as you enter or leave your house it can be in your kitchen it can even be in your bedroom but you need it somewhere to keep you motivated and keep you getting stuff done one of my favorite hacks of all time for ADHD is brain dumping I have a really hard time sleeping at night and even if you don't have ADHD if you're stressed or you have like a lot of thoughts going through your mind it's hard to sleep it's hard to concentrate it's hard to get motivated so brain dumping is the solution I keep a notebook always here by my bedside table and I just I take a dump every night and I take a dump every morning poop jokes they never get old but seriously this works so always have a notebook beside your bed when you go to bed and I also like to have one in the kitchen and one in the office so I'm like brain dumping my little heart out writing down every thought every maybe to do every everything in my head once I get it out and on paper not only do I feel better I have peace of mind but then I'm able to get focused by circling the ones that are most important and really prioritizing those brain dumping is a must if you have ADHD or you just want to get stuff done I have a terrible memory it's like hamstrom crack kind of bad so I use Electronics all the time to remind me to do basically absolutely everything they run my life whether it's my phone in the calendar I'm putting like multiple alerts to notify me of meetings and phone calls and like appointments and things I have to do but I also I also have an Alexa in every single room and they use her all day long she's reminding me even to do basic things like Alexa set a reminder tomorrow morning to feed my stupid sourdough starter what time tomorrow morning should I remind you 9am okay I'll remind you tomorrow at 9am she's like an assistant and she keeps me productive she keeps me motivated and she keeps my brain from having to remember the things I will never remember old man here is your reminder feed my stupid sourdough starter you may be wondering why my Alexa calls me old man I don't know how to turn that off okay so I gave my stepdad a tablet so he could watch I call him old man it's a long story he loves it it's not an insult my mom does not like to be called old lady there is a difference but the point is now my Alexa calls me old man and I I kind of like it but I also don't know how to turn it off so just in case you were wondering if you're anything like me the hardest part of getting anything done is getting started like physically getting up to walk over to the thing we have to do so this is my quick hack that I absolutely love and it's this really cheap little timer alarm clock and I'll set it for maybe five ten sometimes an hour it depends on what I'm doing but you set this clock and then here's what you do you throw it across the room throw it somewhere far away because when that annoying alarm goes off you have to get up and physically go over and shut it off and this gets you up I also do little things like maybe some jumping jacks or make movement to kind of get the blood flowing so that I'm actually feeling that motivation that little dopamine rush to do the adulting thing another incredibly effective hack for getting yourself motivated being productive is called body doubling you can do this by inviting someone over just having someone sit in the room with you while you do the boring thing that you have to do or even doing a zoom call or calling someone on the phone having somebody to just be present with you is so motivating whether you have ADHD or Not body doubling is an incredible hack for being productive healthy eating is so hard if you have ADHD or you're stressed or you're tired because you're lacking dopamine and dopamine is something we need to feel energized to feel motivated and to not feel exhausted and so I feel like we're self-medicating with sugar and carbs sugar and carbs naturally raises dopamine levels so I've been self-medicating this whole time it's not that I'm a sugar-a-holic it's because I have ADHD but we can hack our brains we can do little things to make healthy eating easier and the first thing is in your fridge just move all the healthy stuff up like take all your dairy products your cheese yogurt cottage cheese all your fruits and vegetables and move them up to eye level so it's the first thing you see when you look in the fridge is like the good stuff you usually forget about because it's in the crisper drawer and you're way more likely if something's easy to actually eat it another thing I find helpful is making a big batch of healthy things like soup or stir fry so it's always on hand for like a quick snack or a quick lunch so I'm not grabbing granola bars or Skittles it's all about convenience so cooking ahead just makes this easier I have a tendency to mindlessly eat when I'm bored which is all the time I'm always bored so I hide all the junk food because that's what I tend to grab and instead I have this little turntable that's right out in my pantry so it's the first thing I see and I fill it with sugar-free candy lollipops dried fruit and nuts so I'm grabbing healthy things or at least low calorie things anytime I'm bored I'm always going to crave sugar I want to give it up but I just love it so so much so I found a way to kind of hack it and give myself the feeling of those fun delicious snacks but with a fraction of the calories and one of my favorite go-to's is a banana split because did you know whipped cream only has 20 calories for four tablespoons that's so good if Cool Whip I don't think there's actually cream in here but who cares so instead of ice cream you just want to slice a banana put a ton of Cool Whip on it maybe sprinkle some chocolate chips and I am obsessed with this syrup it's sugar-free caramel syrup so it's made with like stuff that isn't real sugar I don't know it doesn't have a lot of calories at all but tastes like the real thing so this feels like a really I don't know like amazing luxurious snack but it's under 150 calories you can also make apple nachos by thinly slicing an apple covering it again with this sugar-free caramel sauce maybe a couple chocolate chips super good for under a hundred calories and I can't not mention sugar-free Jello I'm not a huge Jello fan but I do love these little Jello cups this has 180 calories this has five so I can have 26 of these for every one of these when I'm craving that snack and I probably shouldn't be eating a quick Jello even top it with you know some Cool Whip and for 25 calories you're gonna have a sweet treat that will satisfy you before we get into more amazing life and home hacks I have to think hello fresh for sponsoring today's video I need healthy eating to be so easy I needed to be 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boring so I've got a bunch of hacks that can really help you want to clean like get motivated to clean and the first is probably my favorite it's wireless headphones this is a must whether you have ADHD or not having wireless headphones means that you can I call it going to Zombieland basically it's distract yourself from the boring mundane tasks that we have to do so listen to an audiobook or watch a show listen to music totally turn off your brain so that you're not distracted did so that you're not bored and you're getting stuff done any type of wireless headphones are absolutely a must if you're anything like me you tend to procrastinate the jobs that suck like dishes so anytime my dishwasher is full I use a hack called the soaker sink you've probably heard this a million times but here is the real trick fill the opposite sink that you normally use for washing dishes so you can still rinse dishes if you need to and like use this sink but the opposite one is your Soaker sink put anything big or things that you just don't want to wash right now in your Soaker sink you'll still be able to use your normal sink but this stuff's kind of cleaning while it's soaking in there and because clutter attracts clutter when you have less dirty dishes that you're seeing visually you're less likely to add to the mess in your kitchen I know I've talked about this a thousand bazillion times but that's because it's amazing and it works you want to dress for success you want to actually put on an apron or wear running shoes put on rubber gloves remind your body that it's go time and that you're actually in the mood to do the thing that you don't really want to you're tricking yourself but it works so I know I've said this a million times seriously slap on an apron you guys please give this a try you will be a cleaning boss confession time I'm a slob I know I say this all the time but I don't think you understand how messy I actually am so I use something called clutter catchers and I'm telling you it's pretty freaking life-changing anytime that I have areas in my home like this tiny bathroom where I leave a mess everywhere I use a tray or like a shallow basket and I use the stuff that I usually leave out and I put it in a basket so I'm getting ready in the morning I'm like doing my thing whatever instead of leaving it down I'm just I'm tossing everything back into here and then when I'm done I can put this in a cabinet or like back on a shelf and I don't actually have to tidy anything up the Clutter catcher catches the Clutter for me so look around your own home is it on your kitchen counter where do you usually pile put a clutter catcher there and you're gonna be pretty amazed at how it helps it keep tidy if you want a clean house you have to declutter that's just the unfortunate true truth and it can feel really overwhelming especially if you have ADHD you don't know where to start it can seem like it's going to take forever so we procrastinate but a 21 item toss is the perfect little trick and hack to really make it fun and fast so grab a bag or a box and run around your house and look for 21 things that can go 21 things is the magic number because it's big enough that it pushes you out of your comfort zone but it's a small enough number that it would only take you five minutes maybe ten it's not gonna feel overwhelming and I tell you if you do a 21 item toss every single week your house is going to stay in control another hack that I do that definitely keeps my house tidy is every day three times a day I have alarms that go off for quick tidy up times so they're on my phone like beeps at the same times every day and I know that I have to set a timer for five minutes and put stuff back I love this because is not only am I picking things up but it's training my brain to be a tidier person like I don't always need the alarm I'm putting things away and trust me as a naturally messy person this is pretty life-changing and I know a ton of adhders who also do this five minute tidy up time they use their phone to remind them and it's keeping their house way cleaner I have an entire video dedicated just to cleaning shortcuts that work especially for people who have ADHD so I'm going to put that in the description below make sure that you check that video out do you know what chore I hate more than laundry nothing absolutely nothing it's the worst it never ends but we gotta do it so I have some really quick hacks that are going to just make this easier my first laundry hack it might seem pretty obvious but I'm so surprised how many people don't have hooks somewhere in their bedroom for those clothes that aren't dirty enough to wash but too dirty to maybe put back in your closet so blue jeans hoodies oh my skanky bathrobes I love having hooks it's kind of behind the door but on the wall so it it's super in studs I load this sucker up but it's keeping all those clothes off my floor off the chair off the bed and it's keeping my bedroom tidy you need some hooks on the wall for me the worst part about laundry is obviously the putting away part and I'm not a big folder and that's okay we don't have to feel bad having quick baskets for things that people aren't going to see you in like pajamas or camisoles bathing suits or things that it doesn't matter if they're wrinkly like workout gear don't worry about folding don't worry about folding underwear or socks just toss them in baskets or toss them in a drawer You're Gonna Save so much time and it's really gonna make putting away laundry so easy another quick hack that makes putting away laundry so much faster is to always group your hangers together in the closet so whenever I take something off to wear it I take the hanger down down and I put it right here in my closet in the same spot every time so when I'm putting away clothes I grab all the hangers and take it to wherever my basket is even if you like to put away laundry in front of the TV if you have something that hangs you just like you know Lay It beside you on the hanger super easy taking the hangers and grouping them together instead of looking for them in your closet is seriously a huge Time Saver and you have to try this hack because it's pretty life-changing when I was a kid my mom used to do laundry like this she would take all the clothes and she would sort them into lights darks colors maybe delicates maybe there's some towels over here and then wash everything and then Resort it by person or room we did a lot of sorting of clothes so of course the idea of laundry seemed horrible here's what I do instead I have one laundry hamper per room like per person and we throw all the clothes into here we take this downstairs we wash it per person or per room put it in the dryer we don't sort we wash everything on cold it's fine and then you just take the entire clean clothes back up to the one room and put it away no sorting no whose pants are these let's make a pile for Milo and Izzy you don't have to do that you save so much time when you have one basket per room confession time this is gross but I used to rarely wash my sheets it's not that I don't think it's important it's that I would forget to remember to wash my sheets I know you're supposed to do it weekly but who the heck would remember to do that and I'm not a ever Sunday I do my thing except now now I am that person because I set an alarm in my phone every Sunday morning to strip the bed and wash all the sheets and without that reminder without that alarm honestly I wouldn't do it so if you're like me and you forget those important things that aren't super obvious set an alarm in your phone for cheat washing day my last laundry tip is to make sure that you're using the delay wash on your washing machine if you're tired of like skunky clothes that you've left in overnight and now you have to rewash over and over again use the delay wash so I started either every night before bed to start the next morning or in the morning to be done when I'm done work so this way I can like set it and forget it and as soon as I'm ready and prepared to switch it over to the dryer magically it's only been done for a few minutes the delay wash is a life changer thank you guys so much for watching make sure you hit that subscribe button if you want to if you feel like it no pressure or whatever but it makes me very happy and like this video and I'm going to put a link down below to more ADHD videos if you're feeling interested thanks so much for watching I'll see you guys next time thank you guys so much for those of you who have stayed to the end warning this is maybe TMI it's kind of gross but I'll have to I feel like I have to share it with you after this whole video thing especially the healthy eating part so you know my biggest struggle is my weight and healthy eating and I'm always trying to hack it because I'm not going to eat healthy and exercise on a regular basis consistency is not my jam and so I'm always looking for a way out so I've been having a lot of sugar-free candy I got sugar-free gum I got all those gummy bears that I read the reviews on Amazon and everyone's like your butt will be a lava pit and I was like it's gonna be fine so funny um yeah the thing is a lot of these sugar-free candies have something called malital in them or sorbitol which is an extreme laxative I knew this about the Gummy Bears I rolled the dice I failed bleep the s word but it did it kind of really messy and my stomach was killing me so then I was like fine the gummy bears are a no the suckers are fine though or the hard candies and they are as long as you don't over indulge I feel like this is almost exposure therapy to get me to eat less because I know if I have too many I will have a rough night I'm just saying it's the ring of fire down there it's I don't know how to say explosive diarrhea without saying explosive diarrhea I'm trying to think I'm not smart enough to come up with puns gives you explosive diarrhea okay but seriously so after spending my entire night on the can I stepped on the scale thinking that like this you know models they say that they do that they have a lot of laxatives and I was like I am going to be skinny now uh there was Zero change so don't use laxatives as a weight loss thing but maybe do have the sugar-free candy in moderation moderation means like five or less okay see you guys next time

Channel: Clutterbug

Views: 549,835

Keywords: attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, attention deficit disorder, how to adhd, mental health, adult adhd, adhd hacks, adhd life hacks, adhd tips, how to organize, clutterbug, ideas, home organization, organize, adhd home hacks, adhd home organization, adhd home organization tips, adhd home organization hacks, adhd home, life hacks, adhd organization tips, top 10 adhd tips, strategies for adhd, adhd organization, adhd in adults, adult adhd tips, jessica mccabe

Id: _I9gcgR2PZc

Length: 22min 4sec (1324 seconds)

Published: Tue Mar 07 2023