♪♪
Hello!
No, this is not an art gallery.
Hello Brains!
I live here?
♪ [ intro music ] ♪
Hello Brains!
Welcome to my ADHD friendly home.
I've kind of obsessively been trying to...
...make my home deliberately ADHD friendly.
Which means deliberately Executive Function friendly, really.
There's a lot of stuff that I've learned...
...strategies that I've used
I've learned how to function in a neurotypical world.
But in my own home I can make my world ADHD friendly.
And that's what I've been trying to do.
It's a work in progress.
♪♪
So you know how we all have ADHD...
...and have a hard time feeding ourselves sometimes?
So this is really easy because...
...it's basically a slowcooker that cooks faster.
So it's really ADHD friendly.
I forgot to make dinner...,
...I don't know what I'm doing for dinner...
...I have a bunch of stuff I can just throw it in a pot.
And like start it...
...and then I can go do other things.
Like, I can go do whatever else I need to do...
...while dinner is cooking.
And I don't have to worry about burning my house down.
Super ADHD friendly!
The other thing I do is...
...try to have everything at point of performance.
This was really helpful for me when I was a server.
And it's really helpful for me with ADHD.
Where you have everything that you need to perform a task...
...within arm's reach of that task.
And so for this, that means I need to get a cup.
So I get a cup.
I need water, so I fill the cup with water.
The water's right here, dump it in there.
And then everything that I need to make coffee is in here.
So I have coffee filters, I have the coffee itself...
...I have things to eat with the coffee.
Everything is right here.
And that does a couple of things.
It makes it easier and faster for me to make it...
...it also means that I don't have to be like...
..."oh right, shoot, I need coffee filters".
And wander over to the fridge looking for coffee filters...
...in here, where did I put them?
And then like, "oh right, the fridge, I needed to take that chicken out...
...because that's probably not good anymore".
"Oh right chicken, my dog probably needs to go outside".
So now I'm taking my dog for a walk...
...holding a coffee mug.
THIS is the most ADHD friendly replacement...
...to this thing EVER.
I plug it in, and....
...it's an electric tea kettle, which is great.
You can choose exactly what temperature...
...you want the water to get up to...
...based on the tea you want to make.
It starts out blue if you're not doing anything with it.
You put the tea in the middle...
And then you start, and it turns red.
And when it's done it turns green. Which means it's
And so all the way across the room...
...I don't have to get up and check on it.
I can just see that it's green...
...and that means my tea is ready.
I have a basket.
The basket helps me contain the clutter.
If there's clutter on the counter...
...I can easily throw it in the basket.
If there's too much clutter...
...then it probably needs to go in another basket.
Which means it needs to go upstairs.
But one of the things I put in my basket...
...is the Time timer.
This thing is amazing...
...because it shows time visually.
I can see how close I am to done.
I can just glance across...
...instead of waiting for a timer to go off.
Which is really nice.
Pens. I just... this is clutter.
I don't need pens in my kitchen...
...but they're there.
Oh! Great! My friend got me clips.
Chips clips. Super super important.
If I'm cooking...
...I like to have all my options out in front of me...
...where I can easily see it.
So that I'm more likely -- not always! --
But more likely to choose the right thing to cook with.
If I had to go looking for each individual piece I probably...
...would just grab whatever I could find.
This way I can see what all of my options are.
So that I can choose the best one to cook with.
And the other thing is...
...I used to have a spoon rest.
...but then if it was dirty I wouldn't want to wash it.
'Cause I might need it again.
Or like, it just wouldn't get washed.
And so now instead of a spoon rest...
...I just use plates.
Because now like, OK, I rest it on a plate...
...and that plate is gonna get washed.
And then I just have another plate I can use...
...if I need something before it actually gets washed.
Using a plate instead of a spoon rest has been...
...really ADHD friendly for me.
I'm short...
...in order to not climb on countertops...
...I have a stool.
It's this little thing, and it tucks into a corner.
And I can drag it wherever I need to.
I would say this one is ADHD friendly because...
...I don't have to go get a bigger step-stool...
...out of a closet somewhere.
It can just exist right here and it's fine.
It doesn't get in my way.
It's small and it's easy to move around.
Basically when you have ADHD...
...the fewer steps involved to what you're trying to do, the better.
So if I'm trying to reach that thing...
and I need to go to a closet to get a stepstool out...
...and bring it back...
...that's not happening. I'm climbing on the counter.
So having the stepstool right there...
...makes it more likely that I will actually use it.
Can we talk about dishes for a second?
The bane of everybody with ADHD in existence.
It's a tedious chore, it's something that has to be done all the time.
And we have a hard enough time feeding ourselves....
...without not having clean stuff to do it with.
I kind of have a rule...
..that other than nice knives and my non-stick pans...
...if it can't survive the dishwasher I should not own it.
Because I do not like washing things by hand.
When I do wash things by hand...
...gloves.
The sensory thing of, like, the water's too cold or it's too hot...
...or things feel gross and slimey.
It's enough of a barrier that it'll keep me from wanting to do the dishes.
So I have gloves that I will put on and wear...
...and then put back.
So that I don't have to touch the gross.
♪ ♪
Welcome to the living room!
Sensory things are big for me.
So this carpet is really plush.
It feels good to stand on.
I also don't like sitting on chairs or couches all the time.
Sometimes I want to sit on the floor.
So it's nice to sit on.
I can be anywhere in the world and I can be comfortable...
...if I have a soft blanket over me.
I don't know what it is.
But it's a big thing.
So I have extra blankets over there...
Chloe loves soft blankets too.
So Chloe has her own giant blanket right now.
I just have a lot of extra blankets.
Soft blankets everywhere in my house...
...especially here.
I was thinking about getting a coffee table...
...but I tend to run into them.
So I wanted something that I could move easily.
If I do have some drinks or food or whatever that I'm eating at the couch...
...I can just pick the whole thing up...
...and take it to the kitchen.
So I'm much more likely to actually clean up everything.
'Cause otherwise I might pick up one or two things...
...and bring it to the kitchen...
...and leave the rest there.
By the way, this is also my ADHD friendly gym....
...thanks to CoPilot.
If you're interested in taking care of yourself...
...in a way that's ADHD friendly...
...one of the most ADHD friendly supports I found for that...
...is CoPilot.
CoPilot is a one-on-one coaching service...
...where you connect with a personal trainer...
...who then designs workouts that work for you.
Based on whatever equipment you have available...
...and however long or wherever...
...you want to work out.
I talk more about it in
...but I'm still using it and I still love it.
I even created a leaderboard called ADHD Accountabilibuddies...
...and a bunch of people've joined.
The trainer I was working with went to pursue her dance career...
...but I've worked with a couple trainers since...
...and they were both fantastic.
One of them helped me recognize the progress I've made.
[Strength training mixed with a little bit of core and cardio...]
[...and then stretching in the cooldown. Yeah...]
[...You're getting stronger if we're going up there ...]
Apparently the app automatically tracks resting heart rate...
...and mine has decreased 20 points...
...since I started working out a few months ago.
[Can you see that?]
Resting heart rate on different days. That's really friggin' cool.
And I'm strong enough now that he suggested...
...that I get new, heavier weights to play with.
I got new weights, I wanna use them.
I'm gonna move to the heavier ones.
And Darian, who I just started working with...
...has been incredibly supportive and motivating.
[You get to listen to what your body is telling you and trust that.]
[There does not have to be a goal...]
[...other than "I wanna move my body".]
And it really feels like every workout is tailored to where I'm at...
...and what I want to work on.
Which right now is just enjoying working out.
[Can I give you a little balance-challenge?]
[Just like a fun little thing]
I love that!
[OK. Perfect!]
I'm still doing my regular workouts twice a week...
...but she added 5-minute workouts...
...that are just to help me have fun...
...and feel good at the beginning of my day.
I love how flexible and responsive the coaches are.
I've tried a lot of things to get myself to work out consistently...
...and this is honestly the first thing...
...that's worked for me.
I'm gonna keep going with it...
...because this personal training I can actually afford.
And I'll let you know how it goes.
But in the meantime, if you wanna join me...
...click my link: mycopilot.me/howtoadhd
And get your own CoPilot for $ 96 a month forever...
...and a 14 day free trial.
I don't always meditate. I forget to meditate...
...and having a physical cue to meditate is really helpful.
So it's not even necessarily that...
...I always use the meditation cushion when I meditate...
...but it's a reminder.
Looking around and being able to see a meditation pillow on the floor...
...will remind me: "Right! Meditate!"
Big bins. Are really important.
All the tech clutter goes in this bin.
It's not organized at all. It's just in a bin.
It's a pile...
...but it's a pile in a bin.
So it looks organized.
It's my best hack ever.
Chargers everywhere. Chargers in every room.
Game controllers, Switch...
...fitbit. Oh, I have a PS4 in here. I didn't even know that.
I didn't even know my PS4 was in there.
[ giggles ]
But otherwise, yeah, I mean. This just goes everywhere...
...and like takes over the friggin' room.
I'm just gonna put that back.
When I wrote 'Green Time'...
...it inspired this entire room.
This entire room is about things that inspire fascination.
So that my deliberate focus-brain can rest...
...and I can just chill.
So I've got the trees. I've got the hammock...
...and the textures of the hammock.
I've also got the fireplace and the flames flickering...
...that I can stare at.
I've got art work on the wall...
...that I can look at.
And just kind of not
...and let my brain wander. Let my brain focus effortlessly.
Instead of having to make it focus...
...on what I'm trying to make it do.
♪♪
Welcome to my bedroom!
This room isn't finished yet.
But I do have some organizational strategies...
...that are a leftover from my old place.
That I still use.
One is color-coded laundry baskets.
I have a gray one for anything that...
...can just be thrown in the wash and thrown in the dryer...
...and I don't have to worry about.
The pink one is things that need a little more care.
That way I don't have to think about it later.
I just have to think about it one article of clothing at a time.
When I take off a piece of clothing, which bin does it go in?
Cool. Now I don't have to think about it later.
So this is another point of performance thing.
I have a big fuzzy blanket right on my bed.
And then right here, my books that I wanna read.
I do have a bookcase over there...
...but if I keep my books on the bookcase...
...I will not go get the book to read.
So I keep them right next to it.
These are the ones I'm actively reading.
Another point of performance thing...
...when do I take my meds? Right when I wake up.
So where are my meds? Right by where I wake up.
So my meds are here. Easy to take them.
Set an alarm for 15 minutes or half an hour, whatever.
Go back to sleep, wait for the meds to kick in.
And chargers for anything that I need to charge.
My phone charger, my watch...
...I learned to put my watch charger up here as well.
This is one of the very, very few strategies...
...that I have used for years consistently...
...is the Marie Kondo method of folding my clothes.
It's really helpful because I used to have my clothes in dressers...
...stacked like this.
And I would have to dig though to find the shirt I wanted.
A big part of ADHD organizing is being able to
And whether that's clear containers...
...or having things vertically so that you can actually see them all at once...
...that's really helpful in staying organized.
My bathroom is currently pretty messy.
But there is one organizational strategy I do use.
Hang on.
This is for my make up. It's a travel bag for make up.
I keep my make up in there even when I'm not traveling...
...because it makes it easier to contain.
It's another way of containing my piles.
So I have all my make up in here...
...I'll use it straight out of the bag...
...and then put it back in the bag.
And then as a bonus...
...if I have to go somewhere in a hurry...
...I don't have to pack up all my make up.
It's already packed for me.
I love this thing.
♪♪
I really hope you liked this video.
Let me know if there are any particular tips or tricks that you found useful.
And share your own tips in the description below.
What's ADHD friendly for me...
...might not be ADHD friendly for somebody else.
Like, subscribe, click all the things.
And I will see you next video.
Bye Brains.
I'm gonna enjoy my house.