ADHD and messiness
By Gail Belsky
Expert reviewed by Stephanie Moulton Sarkis, PhD, NCC, DCMHS, LMHC
Quick tips for dealing with ADHD and messiness
- Quick tip 1Break down the task.
Break down the task.People with ADHD can struggle with following the steps in a task. Break cleanup jobs into smaller chunks. Checklists and picture schedules are great tools to help with this.
Some people are naturally neat. They keep their things fairly organized and try to avoid making a mess. But many kids and adults with ADHD are the opposite — they’re messy most of the time. And it can cause problems at home, school, and work.
For example, kids might miss a field trip because the permission slip got lost in their overflowing backpack. Adults may misplace their keys on a messy dresser and end up being late for an appointment. You may wonder: Why don’t they just keep things neat to avoid consequences?
People with ADHD who have a hard time keeping things tidy usually aren’t being lazy or thoughtless. They have trouble with a group of skills needed to tackle cleanup tasks and stay organized. These skills are known as executive function.
The constant messiness can be annoying for others and embarrassing for the mess maker. But knowing what’s causing this behavior can help you approach the situation with empathy — whether you’re the one who’s messy, or if it’s someone else — and find ways to stay neater.
Dive deeper
The challenges behind messiness
Next steps
