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ADHD Mom Hacks

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Updated 08/17/22

Do you ever come across an ADHD tip you want to try, and then it just goes into the blackhole to disappear and maybe one day you’ll come across it again and think, “Oh yeah, I was going to try that!” To help combat that, I’ve tried a few different things like bookmarks, lists, and emailing myself with inconsistent success. Here’s my latest attempt to collect and maintain all the ADHD Mom Hacks I come across.

As I experiment with these ADHD Strategies, I’ll do my best to post an update about how it went! For now, it’s anything and everything I come across that I’m interested in — ADHD hacks for moms, ADHD tips for working, ADHD tips for parenting, etc.

ADHD Mom Strategy: Do Nothing Sunday

  • Requirements:
    • Only do things on Sunday that I WANT to do and then write everything else on a To List for the week
    • Use MONDAY to get through as much of the To Do list as possible
  • Initial thoughts: Could I make this one work with kids? Do just give myself grace on not doing a bunch of activities (that are essentially work for me) with the kids and encourage them to do non-parent activities?
  • Status: Try in the future

ADHD Laundry Strategy: Laundry Basket for each kid

  • Updated: 10/17/22
  • ADHD Struggle: The task of separating out laundry for 4 little kids at any stage of the laundry process is awful. It takes so much time and is irritating. Half the time I have to look at the tag to see what size it is because my kids are just close enough in size for it to not be obvious.
  • Why or how this ADHD strategy might help: If each kid puts their own clothes in their own laundry basket, the task of separating it is eliminated (for the most part).
  • ADHD Strategy Description & Requirements:
    • Provide each kid with a laundry basket clearly marked as theirs
    • Train them on how to use
  • Initial thoughts: It may seem obvious, but getting them to actually put their clothes in their own laundry basket may be the hardest part of this strategy.
  • Status: Half-implementing. My girls each have their own laundry baskets, but my boys do not.
  • Completed Steps
    • Get the boys their own laundry baskets
  • Next Steps:
    • Clearly label each laundry basket with their name and their “day of the week” for laundry (add this idea to the list!)
    • Training: Show and tell
    • Practice: Give reminders at night to get dirty clothes in their basket, Remind them on their day of the week to put their laundry basket in the laundry room

ADHD Laundry Strategy: Stop folding clothes

  • ADHD Struggle: Washing is so easy. Moving it from the washer to the dryer, much harder. Moving it from the dryer to folding it to putting away, extremely difficult.
  • Why or how this ADHD strategy might help:
    • Eliminate the task of folding and make completing the final steps of “laundry” a lot easier.
    • The kids pick out their own clothes, so their drawers end up getting messed up anyway
    • I don’t have the energy to keep folding and re-folding
  • ADHD Strategy Description & Requirements: Stop folding clothes!
    • Gently lay them in a not over-stuffed drawer so they won’t wrinkle.
  • Initial thoughts: share initial thoughts or predictions of how well it might help
  • Status: Try in the Future
  • Credit to: TikTok creator heartmindedmama

ADHD Clothes Hack: Alternative to dropping on the floor or hanging on a chair

  • ADHD Mom Struggle: When I take off clothes, I typically just drop them wherever I’m standing. If I’m feeling organized, I might toss the clothes into a pile. Then the pile morphs into a “dirty dirty” pile and a “could wear again dirty” pile. If I’m feeling incredibly fancy, I’ll hang my “could wear again dirty” clothes onto the back of a chair. I’ve observed this same behavior with my partner and my four kids. Do my kids do this because I’ve modeled it, or because it’s easy and what comes naturally? Who knows. I’ll share that my parents growing up did NOT struggle with this (from my kid perspective) and yet here I am.
  • Problems this causes me:ADHD Stress: Visually, the clothes on the floor are messy. And that messy clutter adds to my stress.
    • ADHD Effort Punishment: My “could wear again dirty” clothes get mixed up with my “dirty dirty” clothes, and I end up washing my clothes more than is necessary
    • ADHD Tax $$: Extra loads of laundry cost more money. Over-washing clothes wears them out faster.
    • ADHD Time & Energy Consequence: When it’s time to do laundry, I have to spend several minutes finding all the piles and collecting all the clothes
  • ADHD Strategy Description & Requirements:
    • Step 1: Get 2 laundry baskets for 1 person
    • Step 2: Put “dirty dirty” laundry in one basket
    • Step 3: Put “wear again dirty” clothes in the other basket
  • Why or how this ADHD strategy might help:
    • Create more energy by reducing decision fatigue: With a dedicated spot, my dirty clothes will have a “home” and thus reduce the potential for me to make any decision (drop it here or flop it over there?).
    • Create more calm by reducing the stress of the mess.
    • I will free up some time and energy by eliminating unnecessary loads of laundry.
    • I will save money by reducing the loads of laundry I do and extending the life of my clothes.
  • Initial thoughts:
    • I don’t want to buy new laundry baskets. Is there something I can re-purpose, like a box?
    • Do I have space in my tiny closet for 2 laundry boxes?
    • How can I break the habit of dropping the clothes and actually use the 2 laundry box ADHD strategy?
  • Status: Try in the future. Added 8/17/2022

ADHD Laundry Hack: Days of the Week

  • ADHD Struggle: It’s really challenging to stay caught up with the laundry in our family of six. Despite it feeling like I’m doing laundry every single day, if 2-3 weeks pass without doing laundry for someone (or all the someones), then the sheer volume becomes overwhelming.
  • Why or how this ADHD strategy might help:
    • Remove the decision-making process of “who’s laundry to do next?”
    • By washing laundry each week, the loads will be smaller, which makes the entire process easier to manage
    • Shift some responsibility to each individual to help with the process, and then as each kid is developmentally ready, they can start completing more and more of the task until they can do the entire task themselves.
    • Build a “laundry muscle” of routine for myself and the kids, which will helpfully follow them into adulthood
  • ADHD Strategy Description & Requirements:
  1. Assign each family member a designated day of the week for their laundry
  2. Label each laundry basket with a visible sign or label with the day of the week
  3. Define the expectations
  4. Communicate the expectations at a family meeting
  5. Provide reminders for the first few weeks
  • Initial thoughts: In theory, I like this idea. One concern is that I’m just adding another task for myself to remember to remind them, so I think it’ll be important for each individual to create the way they’re going to remember, or do I not require them to do anything and I just go get their laundry basket on their day?
  • Status: Try in the Future (added 10/17/22)

ADHD Planning Strategy: Menus

  • ADHD Struggle: Routines that are expected to be completed in full on a daily or weekly basis are incredibly challenging to stick to and usually end up just making me feel overwhelmed and then guilty when I inevitably don’t stick to it.
  • Why or how this ADHD strategy might help: A menu of options will keep things fresh without the pressure to complete everything, because I’m not meant to complete everything on the list – it’s just a Menu.
  • ADHD Strategy Description & Requirements: Create a list of things that would benefit future you if you did them right now.
    • Example: Sunday Menu –
      • Food prep
      • water plants
      • extravagant shower
      • rearrange / clean out / un-doombox a room
      • go for a long hike
      • lay down in the day time
      • plan week
      • do an hour of Monday’s work
      • budget
      • spend time with family
      • spend time away from family
      • read
      • binge watch something
      • facetime while cleaning
  • Initial thoughts: share initial thoughts or predictions of how well it might help
  • Status: Try in the Future, Tried It, Using it NOW
  • Credit to: TikTok Creator general.caronobi

ADHD Strategy Template

  • ADHD Struggle: describe the struggle this ADHD strategy is supposed to help with
  • Why or how this ADHD strategy might help: describe why the ADHD strategy might help
  • ADHD Strategy Description & Requirements: list what the steps are
  • Initial thoughts: share initial thoughts or predictions of how well it might help
  • Status: Try in the Future, Tried It, Using it NOW
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