(4 minutes read time)

“WHY????!!! Not again? FFS!!! I swear I just checked a minute ago and it was still on the rinse cycle!” I shouted into the abyss while staring at the pile of my wet clothes ruthlessly tossed on the floor of my apartment building’s laundry room.

The Laundry Witches struck again! 

To be honest, I’m not sure how much time passed since I checked. It may have been 5 minutes or it may have been an hour. Who knows. Whatever it was, it was “too long” according to The Laundry Witches and they were pissed off enough to take my clean clothes out of the machine and drop them on the nasty floor. 

Great. Now I have to find 8 more quarters to put in the damn coin operated machine and rewash them. 

The apartment building laundry room drama was R.E.A.L. and I’d avoid it like the plague. 

Sooo, this is why I began making a bi-weekly pilgrimage to my parent’s house to spend the entire day doing laundry. 

It was easier for me to make the 2-hour trek to their house and spend an entire day washing and folding my clothes than it was to face the apartment laundry witches.

If I could go back in time, what would I tell my 22-year-old self now that I’m a professional organizer specializing in ADHD? How would I coach her with her laundry woes? 

I now recognize that my problems were muti-faceted: 

Body Doubling – I see it now so clearly, the reason why going to my parents house is (not because I could do my laundry without needing a pound of coins), but because they were there. They were my body doubles. Simply being present made all the difference in the world. That and my mom would help me fold (probably in hopes of getting me out the door all the faster).

Time Blindness – not realizing how much time had gone by. I’d tell her to set a timer. (This was like 1997 so there were no smart watches and cell phones were literally just phones and nothing more.)

Rejection Sensitivity Dysphoria – The laundry witches are terrifying. Just simply knowing that I’m not “too sensitive” or thin-skinned would have been really helpful to me back then. My parents and my boyfriend just didn’t understand how upsetting the Laundry Witches were to me. It sent me into a fear and avoidance spiral then to have it be minimalized by those I love the most made it all the worse.

ADHD Decluttering Tip for Real Life

Laundry Tip Buffet

If laundry sucks the life out of you, here are a few tips you can pick and choose from. Think of it as a buffet – take what you like and leave the rest. 

• Hampers in every room where clothes come off (bedroom, bathroom, even kitchen)
• Use laundry bags go straight from hamper and into the dryer (no baskets required)
• Time yourself – laundry tasks usually take less time than your brain predicts
• Use songs as timers (1–3 songs = done)
• Opt for no-fold storage like bins or hooks or use a hamper for clean clothes
• If you want to fold try folding straight from the dryer
• Link laundry to an existing routine (morning meds, bedtime routine)
• Use your smart speaker or watch to remind you when it’s time to switch loads
• Give each person a zipper laundry bag for socks and underwear
• Stick to one brand of socks so you don’t have worry about matching
• Wash smaller loads so it’s not so much to fold or put away later
• Assign laundry to specific days
• Don’t worry about sorting unless it is brand new dark article of clothing, but after it’s been washed a few times, it’s probably fine
• Body doubling (virtual or in-person) helps
• Celebrate visible wins, not completion

Most importantly – Laundry struggles does not equal laziness. Be gentle with yourself – if self-criticism worked, it would have done so already.

P.S. You are worthy and you deserve it!