how-to-life-skills

[how-to-life-skills]

Do you have advice on cleaning for people who potentially have adhd and autism? I really struggle with cleaning and would like some advice on it.

Hi there,

I found some sites that could possibly help:

Hopefully these provide some helpful tips. Thank you for the inbox. I hope you have a wonderful day/night. ♥️

[how-to-life-skills]

i don’t know which autistic/adhd/any kind of neurodivergent person needs to hear this but: make a “just in case” bag

this is a pic of mine. it contains:

loop earplugs on the zipper

prescription glasses with a clip on sunglasses attachment

my public transport discount card

a pen

a glasses cloth + wet glasses wipes (which can also be used to clean my hands if needed!

wireless earbuds in case my headphones give out

tips for my apple pencil + silicon covers if i need a different texture/the sound is too loud

a sanitary pad (not for me, as i had a hysterectomy, but i like carrying one around for my menstruating friends)

a pouch with hair ties for when my hair bothers me

autism lanyard (not pictured, as i put it in after i took it)

will i use these every day? not necessarily. but it’s good to have these all in one place in a little pouch so it’s easy to throw into my bag as i use different ones for different occasions. that way i don’t have to think about all these things individually.

it might seem like common sense for some people, but i didn’t think of this until recently. so i wanted to share this in case it could be handy for other people. some more ideas for what to put in your bag under the break. you can make this as big or as small as you like so some ideas may seem a bit big

powerbank + cables (preferably a powerbank that has a LOT of charge)

snacks (do keep an eye on the expiration date)

painkillers/emergency meds (same thing about the expiration date)

sewing kit

deodorant/perfume

mini fan

hand warmers

scissors/nail clippers (for when tags/threads/your nails are bothering you)

tweezers

lucky charm (i have my lucky cat keychain. it just calms me to have)

plushie/stress ball/fidget toy

mints/a mini toothbrush and toothpaste

extra pair of underwear (for if you suddenly need to stay somewhere overnight or if an accident happens)

comb

band-aids + disinfectant

hand cream/soothing cream

soap/soap leaves

similarly, some mini shampoo or mini body wash (again for if you suddenly need to stay the night. there’s probably already some wherever you’re staying but again. this is a just in case bag)

q-tips

chapstick

makeup remover wipes

razors

hand sanitizer/general sanitizer

wet wipes/tissues

foldable bag

ruler/tape measure

this is a lot but keep in mind, these are just ideas. you don’t have to use everything, just pick out which things you think would be handy for you and make your bag accordingly. do feel free to add onto the list if you have any other ideas.

[how-to-life-skills]

Hey there! I’ve just finished collecting my diary entries from the past four days and I wanted to share them with you. As some of you may know, I have ADHD and Autism sensory issues, and cleaning has been a challenge for me. But I’m happy to say that I’ve been making progress!

In this collection of diary entries, you’ll find my thoughts, struggles, and small victories as I tackle the daunting task of cleaning my space. From dealing with sensory overload to discovering new cleaning hacks, it’s been a journey full of ups and downs. But I’m determined to stick with it!

I hope my experiences can help others who are also struggling with cleaning and organization. And if you have any tips or tricks that have worked for you, please share them in the comments! Let’s support each other on this cleaning journey.

Thanks for reading, and stay tuned for more updates on my life adventures!

[how-to-life-skills]

Okay so here's what I've noticed helps me, a comorbid depressed/anxious/ADHD/Autistic person who has severe lifelong trauma from cleaning (ask at your own risk). This may or may not help you too, but it may help you develop techniques of your own.

Set a timer. Like deadass I start small, I clean for 15 minutes, I break for 15 minutes, I work for 30 minutes, I break for 15, I work for 45, I break for 15, and then I repeat the 45/15 minute alarms until I feel I can stop. I don't go above that because I want to 1, give my brain and body regular breaks and 2, I found working for an hour and breaking for 15 wasnt working for me. It was too long a block of time cleaning.

I tend to try and work section by section, but not in the way you'd think. I'll either work by piece of furniture or I'll clean in an immediate area. I won't do it by chore because I hate thinking I got all the laundry or all the dishes or all the garbage and then finding more. That's frustrating to me, which is why I'll break it down by furniture or section of floor.

I organize as I go along. Don't make organizing it's own chore, it'll make things so much more difficult in the long run. As I'm cleaning, I'll put all my books on or near my shelf, even if I'm not putting them away yet, I'll make sure things are close to where they're supposed to be in bags separated by the "interest" or "craft". Then I can put things away from there. It allows me to stay more in one place for the time being which keeps me more focused and also have less back pain from moving constantly.

Have multiple trash bags open. I don't know why this works but it does. I'll have four or five trash bags around my room, none of them will be close to full, and there's definitely no sorting of the trash.

Music for background noise, especially something with an energizing beat, to keep you going. Don't fall into the trap I did and put the tv on in the background because "it's a show I've watched several times now, I'll be able to tune it out" LIES! you will not be able to tune it out, you will get invested, and you will die (said the gym coach from Mean Girls [2004])

For the love of god do NOT use your bed as a flat surface to collect things. I have done this so many times. You need to have a safe island free from crap so that you can actually rest on your breaks. That is key to this whole thing, actually take and rest on your breaks.

I'm sure more will come to mind as I keep cleaning. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[how-to-life-skills]

Brilliant

Uhm so i just wanted to share this really fun way I made it easier for me to clean my room so i wanted to share that for anyone who might be struggling.

All you need for this is a d20 (optionally also other dice), a piece of paper and a pen.

Sit down somewhere comfortable and write 20 small tasks on the piece of paper. Make sure that these are actually small task like: picking up 20 pieces of rubbish or cleaning up the surface of your small side table. Make these small, easily accomplishable task. When you are done, you roll a d20 and complete the task you have written down for that point. Every time you complete a task, you roll again until you have made it true your list.

This way of cleaning made it so much easier for me since my ADHD brain was always overwhelmed with where to start cleaning, so sitting down and creating small task that get chosen randomly made it a lot easier for me.

If you struggle with the energy to clean for long amounts of time, you can also remind yourself that you can complete the list in multiple days and that it is fine to take breaks. If you want to make that into a game as well, you can take other dice like a d6 or a d12 or whatever and ask yourself wich of those is the max amount of tasks you can get done with the energy you have today. When you decided, you take the corresponding dice and complete as many tasks that day as you have rolled. For example if you rolled a d 12 and got a 9 you complete 9 task that day and sit back down the next day to do some more.

I hope this helps anyone. i saw someone do this on tik tok and adjusted the method to help my needs.

[how-to-life-skills]

I am autistic. I frequently make 'how-to' sheets for many daily tasks but also frequently lose said sheets due to ADHD ; so I decided to make a blog that I will post my 'how-to' sheets in case anyone else finds it helpful and also so I can find it easier, there will be general tags like

laundry

food

cooking

out in public

etc

if you have how-tos you think are helpful please share ☺️ if not, I hope you find this blog helpful, you can also submit things you want how-tos for