ADHD Accommodations from Inside a Coach’s House

Instead of making big sweeping changes, here are some smaller ones that help! If you were to look inside my home, here are the physical accommodations you’d see that help me manage my ADHD. 

1. Clocks everywhere.

It’s not unusual for me to have multiple clocks in a room. I want to be able to look up and see the time from whatever angle I’m standing/sitting in the room. I know myself, and if I’m caught up in something, I’m not going to get up and look around the corner to check the time. It literally has to be as easy as turning my head, or it won’t work for me. As I’m typing this from my office, I can count 5 clocks from where I’m sitting (😆). There’s no such thing as “too many” if it works for you!

2. Whiteboard in the kitchen.

This has multiple functions! The kitchen is a central place for our household, so it makes sense to keep a whiteboard of important information here. Right now, it holds the grocery list, the week’s schedule (plus any prep needed for those events, e.g., “Need a gift!” or “Remember to dress up!”), and a list of mutual house projects so we keep them top of mind.

3. Dump spot near the door I enter and exit.

I used to drive my husband crazy (I’ve written about this here) by splaying my purse/anything else in my hands on the kitchen counter after I walked in the door. But he very smartly realized that I was doing that because it was the first flat surface I encountered! And instead of trying to make me a person I’m not (a person who doesn’t need a dump spot), he moved a spare table to the back door with room for me to dump, and immediately, problem solved!

4. Spare paper or post-its + pens everywhere.

Since ADHDers have trouble thinking through things in their heads, it’s crucial that we have accommodations to get those thoughts/reminders out! Notice where you often think through things, where reminders pop into your head, and where you do your scheduling. I’ve got 4 stations in my not-very-big-house! My office has plenty, but I also have small notebooks/post-its next to my bed, on the kitchen counter, and on the living room coffee table. (I’m realizing now that I also have phone chargers in every one of those locations too). Bonus: I’ve got a dry-erase marker to write on my bathroom mirror for my shower thoughts. 🙂 

5. Unfolded clothes.

I do not fold my clothes. I squeeze them out the long way and gently set them into my drawers. If they aren’t in my drawers, they are hanging over the side of the tall laundry basket or hanging on the drying rack next to my dresser. (And yes, some of them do live on the floor). I’ve had clients who have pulled out their dresser drawers and set them on the floor against the wall, others who have embraced a baskets-only organizational system, and still others who have invested in hooks or coat racks so that “putting clothes away” is as easy as one swift movement. If you’ve struggled with folding clothes, have you tried… not doing it? And if they get wrinkly… can you handle that? What if you took it one step further and wore only wrinkle-resistant clothes?

All of these changes I made/embraced once I became a coach and got coaching myself! If you notice, none of them are asking me to be a different person than I usually am. All of them are supporting me at my point of performance and helping me let go of what a neurotypical society expects of a home. My home works for me, and I am more productive this way! 

What unrealistic expectations can you let go of right now? How can you embrace yourself exactly as you are in your home? If you need help answering these questions, feel free to set up a meeting with any of our trained ADHD Coaches!