Don’t trick yourself into having less than you need. It won’t make you do the thing.

This isn’t going to apply to all of you, but I saw something I have to address. I was poking around on one of the other ADHD forums and saw more than one person express this sentiment:

I have exactly as many socks/dishes/silverware/pairs of underwear/etc. as I need so I will be forced to do the dishes/laundry/etc.

The thing is, having exactly as many of those things as you use normally is less than you actually need. Keeping clutter to a minimum is a noble goal, but you need to have a few extras of the things you use daily to feed yourself and keep yourself clean and comfortable.

You need the choice to throw some clothes in a bag and get out of town at the last second for fun or business. You need spare dishes in case you catch the flu and unloading the dishwasher becomes physically painful. You need extra socks in case yours get wet or your washing machine breaks. You need backups of certain things in case you lose some unexpectedly.

I just lost 50% of the cups in our house when a shelf collapsed, but since the other 50% were in rotation, it was not a huge loss. I didn’t have to scramble to replace them or forego drinking water until I did. I just cleaned up the mess, added “a few more cups” to the shopping list for next time and kept on with my day.

You might need extra pressure around certain tasks to get them done in a timely manner, but there’s better ways! You could:

• Set up a weekly phonecall with a friend so you can fold laundry together while you talk.
• Buy the extra socks and underpants and stick them in the back of the drawer in their package as a “tear open in case of emergency” type thing
• Become a mild prepper and keep the spares in a bugout bag for evacuations
• Keep some paper plates somewhere so you have something to eat off when you can’t use your normal plates

By tricking yourself into having less than you actually need, you’re ultimately cheating yourself out of being clean(er) and comfy in your own home, and that can be contributing to burnout and general stress.

Are there weeks where I put off laundry a little longer than I really should? Absolutely. But I’m never in a position where I don’t have access to something clean to wear/eat off of. Are there days where I change into clean clothes without a shower? Yeah, absolutely! If that’s what I need to feel comfortable, that’s what I do.

We have to make so many unfun, uncomfortable concessions to our disorder every day, so why not jump at the chance to make kind, compassionate concessions instead?