ADHD Home Hacks - Real-Life Solutions for a Functional Home

hey and welcome back in today's video we're going to be talking about add and adhd i'm a little nervous for today's video because i want to get honest with you i don't talk a lot about my disorder and how it really affects my life but i'm hoping you can relate whether you have a diagnosis or not sometimes when we're busy when life's feeling chaotic it can really mimic these symptoms so i want to talk about little things that i do little hacks that i've done that compensate for my brain's lack of executive function managing my life is one of my biggest struggles i'm not great at prioritizing task management i'm not good at organization and i'm certainly not good at just running my life my brain is running a mile a minute so my first and favorite hack is i always have notebooks on my desk and beside my bed i can't fall asleep at night unless i brain dump i unload all the things that are running through my mind i dump everything i'm thinking about all the things i think i have to do the next day into my notebook and then i pick the top things and i use my electronics as my memory so i'll send myself an email every night with the top to do's and i'll also set reminders with my alexa i have an amazon echo dot in alexa in every single room in my house and she is the cue cass it's time to get ready for your meeting or every time i bath the lizard i forget that she's in there i just have zero short-term memory so i set an alarmer i set timers to keep me on track and to keep me productive so a notebook a phone and an amazon alexa really do run my life cassandra here is your reminder get the lizard out of the tub if you have adhd you probably stay up too late at night so go ahead on your phone and set up screen time this will shut off the internet to your devices or apps to your devices at the same time every night so on the weekdays i have all of my devices shut off at 10 pm and 11 pm on the weekends easy peasy lemon squeezy this way i'm no longer doom-scrolling the internet without realizing it and staying up way too late if you have adhd screen time on your phone is a must i can't do an adhd video without talking about cleaning because it's boring and anytime if you have adhd or even if you're just have a lot on your mind and you have to do a boring task you're gonna get distracted you're not gonna complete anything so here are some of my absolute favorite tips the first is always staying in one room at a time so i use a tidy tote you can use a laundry hamper or a big basket and what you do as you're going through and tidying up the space if something doesn't belong like papers that should go in the office or kids toys that should go in their room or garbage we don't leave the room to put it we put it in our tidy tote to put away later the other thing that you can do is wear rubber gloves or use one of these dusting mitts from the dollar store something that's a visual reminder of what you're doing i know this seems ridiculous but if you have adhd you know what i'm talking about an apron is another great way of just giving yourself that cue i'm in cleaning mode it's time to clean one of the key components of executive function is organization not just organizing your mind and your thoughts but organizing your physical things too which is why people who suffer with adhd tend to be very messy chronically disorganized but i'm here to tell you that you can adapt systems to compensate for your lack of ability up here decluttering is the best thing that you can do having less stuff to manage both physically and mentally is going to make your life easier everything needs to have a home and it needs to be really clear because if it isn't clear we're just going to put things all over the place we're going to drop it here and there and all over the place so lots of bins and baskets and lots of labels are how you can compensate for your brain's lack of organization cooking is one of my biggest struggles the truth is i just don't enjoy it i don't love cooking i find it boring so i always wander away i tell myself i'm just gonna run down and grab something really quick from the bedroom and i completely forget that something's in the oven or on the stove i've burnt or made an entirely huge mess if you can relate i have some really quick cooking hacks that definitely help keep me focused and keep me from wandering away the first thing is storing things in my kitchen right where i use it so i don't have to move so i bake right here i store my baking supplies right above me i have the coffee and tea above the kettle and the coffee maker the least amount of walking is key here the other thing that i do that helps me stay in the kitchen while i'm preparing a meal is using my tablet and putting on a movie or a show i throw in my headphones and because i'm watching the show i'm still cooking and engaged but i'm not wandering away an adhd friendly appliances are also a must-have i love the air fryer and my instapot because i cannot burn this stuff these are definite must-haves if you're like me and you just get distracted because you don't love cooking another kitchen tip is having a meal planning binder so meal planning is key if you have adhd because we forget what we're having for dinner we forget to take things out and we have to get a lot of takeout or eat sandwiches so having a meal planning binder and an alarm in my phone every sunday to write out my meal plan it's on the side of the fridge and if i have trouble coming up with ideas i have all of the recipes and ideas in one easy to find binder and i also love this all out of pad so if we're out of milk or bread or anything else that i need i can check it off as i'm thinking about it and then just tear this away and bring this to the grocery store with me i don't have to write a second list i don't have to think so i'm no longer forgetting what we need i'd like to thank hellofresh for sponsoring today's video hellofresh just makes my life easier it simplifies meal planning it simplifies cooking and it's delicious hello fresh chefs really know how to diversify your menu with seasonal spring recipes like sweet heat shrimp tempura bowls garden spinach ricotta ravioli and one pot creamy lemon dill chicken soup this saves me so much time and effort because everything's pre-portioned so i'm not spending a lot of time in the kitchen and i can spend time outside this spring because hellofresh has 50 different dinner options it's a lot less what's for dinner this week and more what am i gonna do with all this extra time i treat myself every week to three hello fresh meals instead of running out for fast food you can go to hellofresh right now and use the coupon code clutterbug16 to get up to 16 free meals and three surprise gifts again that's hellofresh.com and use the coupon code clutterbug16. let's talk about memory for a second part of having adhd is having a really crappy working memory i forget everything all the time i forget names i could be reading an amazing book i could not tell you the title the author or the names of any characters in the book so i have to have hacks all the time to remember things and one of my favorite things is having a phone case that has a wallet in it i have to find my phone app so if i lose my phone i can quickly call it my alexa can call it joe can call it because i lose my phone all the time but i am one of those people if i have a purse and i'm in public i will set my purse down somewhere and forget about it so having my wallet and phone in one means i only have one thing i have to carry and keep track of i can put it in my pocket i always know where it is and if i do lose it which i do i can have a lot of different devices call it for me the other thing i lose all the time and forget where i put down is my keys i leave these in my pocket of my coat or in pants or a jean jacket or sometimes i'll set it down on a hook or here there and everywhere so just getting a little inexpensive tile means that i can call my keys this is helpful i've set my keys down in stores quite a few often like on a shelf but i can quickly call it it makes an alarm and it has a gps tracker so i always know exactly where my keys are let's talk about pills and vitamins for a second i have hashimoto's if i don't take pills every day i get really sick but that doesn't mean i'll remember i love a pill sorter but it has to be a 30 day i can't just have a seven day pill sorter because at the end of every seven days it's such a pain to fill it that i just wouldn't but 30 days means once a month i spent 10 minutes and i leave this out on the counter i also have an alarm that reminds me every night to take my pills so there's no way that i won't take them this sets me up for success and if you forget to take vitamins and pills you've got to get one of these another quick tip that i do to remember people's names which i'm really really bad at is i've tried repeating their name over and over and over again in my mind but even then it still slips out i mean i've known people for years and not know their name but if i tie it to a story i'm able to remember their name so if i meet someone named chris i'm like chris the boy you're in love with across the street your entire childhood he isn't that chris but he's a chris so i look at him and i'm like the boy you were in love with and now every time i look at that chris that is the story i remember or janet i just met someone named janet and i'm like i will totally forget your name janet jackson boob fell out at the super bowl your boob fall out of the super bowl and then when i see her you know what i think i think the chick whose boot fell out at the super bowl that's janet i know this is weird i know it's weird but it works for remembering names i think of a story right that i can tie to that name so when i look at that person i can't remember the name but i can recall the story and then find the name that way it's a weird little hack that i do but it definitely works so thank you so much for watching whether you have add or adhd or not i'm hoping you're finding some of these tips really helpful to keep you focused in life to keep you more productive and so that you have more time in your day for the things that matter thanks so much make sure you like this video and subscribe and i'll see you next time thank you guys so much for those of you who have stayed to the end so my adhd is quite severe and i wasn't diagnosed until i was a lot older but it's really obvious and because i rely so heavily on sort of technology to fill the gaps where my brains have giant swiss cheese holes without that technology i really suffer so here's an example last week i'm really embarrassed i'm going to tell you last week i was going to the border because i was flying out the next morning to go to baltimore for their conference and i always use google maps because i suck at directions i forget where to go and and even a paper like i'm not good with written instructions i need something to say turn left 20 meters from now like step by step instructions while i'm driving but my google maps wasn't working it's only 20 minutes from my house to the bridge i got lost four times on the way four times on the way i'm driving down the expressway and i'm repeating here on church cast just get off on your own church get off on huron church and before you know it i'm listening to eminem i'm rocking out and i'm on dougal i'm on dougal why did i because i'm in the habit of getting off on dougal so i had to like turn around to get back on the expressway except i missed the ramp and i had to turn around again and by this time i need a drink so i stop at starbucks because i'm very thirsty from getting lost and then i'm back on the expressway and i'm like here on church here on church here on church a new song comes on as dmx oh rest in peace dmx i'm like where the hood at where the hood where the hood where the hood at and i look at a sign god only knows how like 20 minutes later and i'm on my way to amesburg which is another city i've missed my exit by 20 minutes at this point so i called joe and i'm panicking i'm never gonna make it i'm never gonna make it there joe because i can't use my phone why is my phone not working i i was hysterical if i'm being honest not having the technology to rely on having to rely on my brain to get me somewhere is a recipe for disaster so he's walking me through it on the phone so sweet he's on like the phone with me we get back i get off on your insurance it's a crazy long line i have to turn the radio off so i can focus on what i'm doing i'm waiting in line i'm just going crazy i'm super impatient i see a mcdonald's i feel hungry i get off and i have dinner and i'm looking at tick-tock and i'm forgetting where i am and where i'm going and i'm enjoying my bad self i get back in the van and it's like castro's supposed to be at the border to cross the border it was almost three hours to drive what should have been 20 minutes and this is normal for me if i'm going to the grocery store and i don't have a list it's very likely i'll get distracted by the dollar store and i'll go there first and i'll be like i'll just run in and get some things look at all this cool stuff the dollar store has and i'm taking pictures and i'm shopping and then i come home with all my purchases and joe's like where's the milk cass and i totally forgot to go to the grocery store and that's just part of living with severe adhd but it also can be pretty cool too i have the ability to hyper focus on things that i love so i might not be able to follow a map or find my way somewhere by myself but if i love something like organizing i can do it for 12 hours straight with a smile on my face so it isn't all bad i'm i want to talk more about this because if you can relate to the inability to focus to get started to prioritize i want you to know that you're not alone talk to your doctor i wasn't diagnosed until i was 40 years old but just getting that diagnosis makes me feel so much better about myself i'm not a complete i just have adhd thanks so much for watching and i'll see you next time

Channel: Clutterbug

Views: 534,913

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

Id: 5M5IKj2WYWQ

Length: 14min 40sec (880 seconds)

Published: Mon May 16 2022