ADHD Bedroom Cleaning Checklist (Free Download)

Do you get overwhelmed with cleaning and tidying your bedroom? Download this FREE ADHD bedroom cleaning checklist and get organized!

There’s nothing like having a clean home. Unfortunately, I have all these aspirations of everything being in its place and routinely cleaned but never seem to make it happen.

When you have ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder), daily life can be hard- especially cleaning! That’s why it’s important to start small and focus on one thing at a time. Or in this case, one room.

We spend a lot of time in our bedroom sleeping, so why not make it feel peaceful and not anxiety-inducing when we walk in?

I created a free ADHD cleaning checklist for cleaning my bedroom, and it’s split up into Daily, Weekly, Monthly, and Quarterly tasks.

You can download it below, and keep reading this blog post because I’m sharing extra helpful tips I’ve learned along the way on how to set up a cleaning routine for yourself!

Why we struggle with cleaning tasks

ADHD makes life harder, in every aspect. Here are just a few examples:

• Task initiation: It’s simply just harder for us to start a task. I’ll be sitting on the couch talking myself into getting up and working, but my brain and body don’t want to move.
• Overwhelm: We look at our entire house and can’t see the small easy things we can do. It’s one big task for us: We think we have to get it all done at once and that overwhelm causes us to freeze.
• Disorganization: We have trouble finding organization systems that work for us, so we end up tossing things in a corner and let it pile up over time.
• Forgetfulness: We honestly just forget that some tasks even need doing. I wouldn’t even think to dust the baseboards if it weren’t on a list somewhere. And I have a short attention span, so I could see that the floor needs vacuumed but will forget about it as soon as I walk away.
• Time blindness: We tend to hyperfocus a lot. And while cleaning can be a great thing, if left unchecked, we can easily spend all day on a task without breaks to do something important, like eat.

Tips to help with the overwhelm

Set a timer

Trying to “gamify” tasks seems to really help me. Set a timer for 15 minutes and see how fast you can clean and organize a section of the house.

I have a hard time just getting up and cleaning something. But for some reason, knowing I don’t have much time actually makes me want to see how much I can get done during that time.

Temptation bundling

I recently heard the term “temptation bundling” and I realized I do this all the time. This is when you pair a task you don’t want to do with something you DO want to do.

This can look like:

• Listening to your favorite podcast or music while cleaning
• Watching a TV show while walking on the treadmill
• Have the TV running with your favorite show while tidying up your room

Nowadays I can’t even complete tasks like unloading the dishwasher without having something fun to listen to. But that podcast gives me instant gratification, while emptying the dishwasher gives me delayed gratification in that I won’t have to do it later.

Do a little every day

Some people can hyperfocus and get a whole room cleaned in a day. Others can only do it for 5 minutes before the dopamine runs out and they’re just done for the day.

Learn how your ADHD brain works and just go with it. If all you can do that day is throw the sheets in the washer, then let that be one of your small victories. Or maybe you can vacuum the whole house and that’s it.

Just find one little thing that will propel you forward instead of thinking you have to do one large task at once. Manageable steps are key!

Keep up the momentum

This one may conflict with the point above, but I’ve found that it helps me. I once heard that people with ADHD are like sharks: Once they stop moving, they’re done.

And oh my gosh, that’s so true. I have all the motivation in the world while I’m up and moving. But as soon as I sit down to check my phone, it’s all over. My energy’s gone and there’s no getting back to it.

If you can help it, try to keep moving. Pick up one item and move it to where it belongs. Follow that motivation as long as you can.

Use bins for a catch-all

This one’s good if you have kids! My daughter is constantly bringing toys out of her room and leaving them in random places. And that stuff can accumulate after awhile if we don’t keep on top of it.

The best way to help with this is by keeping some kind of bin in the room. Amazon storage items are really cheap and can be made to match the decor in your room so it doesn’t stand out.

Instead of walking these items to their appropriate places one by one, just throw them all in this bin. And once it fills up, you can then take that bin to each room and return those items where they belong.

The bin actually helps give me a sense of a clean house even if it’s not totally clean, if only because the old clutter is contained to that one bin.

Put reminders on calendar

Reminder systems are critical when you have ADHD!

I love pen and paper and making a to-do list. But I also need to put tasks and appointments on my calendar in order for them to get done.

For example: I know I vacuum the house every Wednesday. But I’ll honestly forget to do it unless I have a reminder.

I could put a recurring task on my Google Calendar to pop up every Wednesday. I use an app called ToDoist that lets me put all these weekly and monthly tasks in there, and it will remind me on those specific days without me worrying about it.

This is a great visual reminder for me. If you have a physical calendar on the wall and that works better for you, add your tasks to that!

Ask for help

Seriously, ask your family members for help.

It seems so obvious. But honestly, I’d spend time freaking out because there was so much stuff to clean and declutter. And I didn’t even think to ask my husband and daughter to help.

If you can give them a specific task- like “pick up all the books from the floor” instead of “clean up the living room”- that helps you to be more clear and not disappointed when that task doesn’t get done.

Areas to clean in the bedroom

Bed and bedpost

This is your living space for (hopefully) 8 hours of your day. It can easily get cluttered and dirty, so putting new sheets on at least every week is helpful.

I also don’t think about my bedpost much, but the top of it does get dusty so I have to remember to run my duster over it every time.

Night stands

This area of your home may get easily cluttered. Your phone, books you may read, hair accessories, lotion… give it a good once-over every day for a quick task to check off your list.

Closet and/or dressers

I don’t know about you, but I tend to shove things in my dresser and not want to touch them ever again for whatever reason. And then of course, it gets too full.

I try to go through my closet and dressers about once a quarter to get rid of obviously old clothes and sort what’s left.

TV stand

This one may need a once-over every week or so to get rid of clutter. Mine just holds our Playstation 3 and some of the controllers, but you may also use yours as a catch-all for those random items.

Dirty clothes

I’m guilty of this too. Leaving dirty laundry on the floor when the hamper is like right there. Take your hamper to the laundry room a couple times a week to stay on top of things.

Vacuum carpets

Vacuuming can be an uphill battle. I want to vacuum one room; but while I have the vacuum out, I may as well do the whole house. That’s one way I can keep up my cleaning momentum. I only vacuum once a week, but you may need to do it more often.

Dust

I can dust in short bursts, depending on my mood. The obvious places like the night stand and TV stand are done right away; while the walls and corners may not be dusted for another month.

I try to dust the most-used areas once a week, with places like the walls being done about once a month.

Windows

Washing windows is a daunting task for me! I only have 4 windows in the house but it’s a hassle to get out all the cleaning supplies and move them from room to room.

Thankfully, this is one I recommend only once a quarter or so because the cleaning process just takes so long.

Mirrors

This is one of those smaller tasks I actually get done while I clean the bathrooms, since I already have the glass cleaner out. These are done once a week for me.

Ceiling fan

I don’t think about the ceiling fans much because they’re always running. But once I turn them off, the dust bunnies freak me out.

Thankfully, these only need to be done like once a month or once a quarter.

Baseboards

Who really looks at the baseboards anyway? I tend to walk past on the way to the bathroom, think to myself that they look a little dusty, and then promptly forget about it.

But when you think about it, the baseboards can catch the dust and dirt we stir up by walking around… especially in our shoes. I only wipe them down about once a month, though.

Bedroom Cleaning Tasks

Here’s a list of tasks to accomplish daily, weekly, monthly, and even quarterly. Remember, you don’t have to do everything on this list! Just use it as a guideline.

Daily Bedroom Cleaning Tasks

• Make the bed
• Put dirty clothes in hamper
• Clear out dirty cups and dishes
• Put clean clothes away
• Put objects back in their proper places

Weekly Bedroom Cleaning Tasks

• Wash the sheets
• Vacuum or sweep the floor
• Empty trash can
• Dust furniture and appliances
• Clean mirrors
• Sanitize light switches and door handles

Monthly Bedroom Cleaning Tasks

• Dust walls and baseboards
• Dust ceiling fan
• Dust air vents
• Clean bed pillows

Quarterly Bedroom Cleaning Tasks

• Get rid of old clothes
• Wash windows
• Wash comforters, mattress pads, and blankets
• Dust/clean curtains
• Shampoo carpets
• Clean under the bed/furniture

Download the ADHD Bedroom Cleaning Checklist

Get the free PDF file below! This has a section for daily tasks, weekly tasks, monthly tasks, and quarterly tasks.

Store this cleaning chart in a place you’ll always see it. Maybe on the back of your bedroom door; it makes sense to keep these visual aids in the same place you need to clean.

Other Cleaning Checklists

Looking to clean other areas of your house? Check out my other free checklists!

• ADHD House Cleaning Checklist
• Bathroom Cleaning Checklist