XP TRACKERHow to keep up with dishes and laundry
Dishes and laundry never stay done. If starting is the hard part for you, make the start tiny, give each chore a fixed moment, and let good enough count. That works whether or not you have ADHD.
Why it's harder than it sounds
Washing a plate takes thirty seconds. Keeping up with dishes and laundry week after week is a different job, and it's harder for some brains than others. Three things usually get in the way:
- There's no finish line. You clear the sink and it fills again by lunch. Chores that reset every day give you very little sense of being done.
- Starting is the hard part. The chore looks bigger the longer you wait, so you wait, so it grows. If you have ADHD, that freeze at the start is often the whole problem.
- Laundry has gaps. Wash, wait, dry, wait, fold, put away. Every wait is a chance to forget, which is how a load sits wet in the machine overnight.
Start smaller than you think
For dishes, your starter habit is a clear sink before bed. If that's too much on a hard night, wash five things or load only the cutlery. The cue is finishing dinner: do it before you sit down, while you're still on your feet.
For laundry, pick one laundry day a week and do one load start to finish. Set a phone timer for the cycle length as soon as you press start. When it goes off, move the load before anything else.
Small starts count. Once your hands are wet, you'll often keep going. When you don't, five clean plates still beat none.
A 4-week starter plan
Laundry runs weekly and dishes run daily, so this plan goes week by week. If a week was hard, repeat it.
- Week 1: clear sink and one laundry dayClear the sink before bed, or at least wash five things. Do one load of laundry on your chosen day with a timer for each step.
- Week 2: clean as you goWash or load what you used while the food cooks. Set up no-fold bins for socks, underwear and gym clothes.
- Week 3: put away within a dayClean laundry goes into drawers or bins within 24 hours, so it never turns into a chair mountain. Add a second small load if you need one.
- Week 4: a 10-minute evening resetOne song or a 10-minute timer: dishes, counter wipe, laundry basket to the machine if it's full. Stop when the timer stops.
Tricks for brains that hate starting
- Body doubling. Call a friend or sit on a video call while you work. Another person in the room makes starting easier for many people with ADHD.
- Use songs as timers. Three songs is about ten minutes, and you can hear when you're nearly done.
- Own fewer dishes in rotation. One mug, one plate and one glass each. A smaller pile is a smaller job.
- Put baskets where clothes come off. If dirty clothes land on the bedroom floor, the basket goes in the bedroom.
Common mistakes
- Waiting until you feel like it. You won't. Tie the chore to a moment, like after dinner, and start before the feeling arrives.
- Saving it for a big clean-up day. A Saturday marathon is easy to skip and leaves the week in chaos.
- Perfect standards. Clean and put away is enough. Folding everything neatly is optional.
What to do after a missed day
A full sink in the morning is normal life. Don't try to clear the whole backlog in one go. Wash what you need for today, soak the pans, and do the rest in a 10-minute burst that evening.
Missed your laundry day? Wash only what you need for the next three days and pick the full load up again next week. If you've drifted for weeks, go back to week 1 of the plan. Our guide to getting back on track covers restarts in more detail.
Look for the pattern without judging it. If late nights always sink the dishes, move them to right after dinner. If laundry day keeps clashing with plans, pick a quieter day.
Dishes and laundry as quests in XP Tracker
In XP Tracker, Do the dishes and Laundry are optional quests you can add from the library of about 60 (tap + Add a quest). Both are simple check-offs. Do the dishes runs daily by default and can be set to certain days of the week. Laundry runs weekly by default. Each keeps its own streak, and skipping one only costs the XP you didn't earn.
Ticking a chore earns XP for your hero and damage on the current boss, which gives a resetting chore something that stays. For more ideas to pair with these, see our list of real-life daily quests, or meet the Necromancer, the class about facing what you would rather avoid. The art at the top is the Necromancer's.
Questions people ask
How do I start doing dishes when I can't make myself?
Make the first step tiny: wash five things, or load only the cutlery. Put on one song and stop when it ends if you want to. Most of the time you'll keep going once your hands are wet.
How often should I do laundry?
For most single people or couples, one full laundry day a week is enough, with a second small load if you need it. Families often need a short load most days instead of one big day.
What is body doubling?
Doing a task while someone else is present, in person or on a video call. Many people with ADHD find it much easier to start and finish chores when another person is around, even if that person is doing something else.
How do I stop forgetting wet laundry in the machine?
Set a phone timer the moment you press start, for the length of the cycle. When it goes off, move the load before you do anything else.
Do I have to fold everything?
No. Use bins for socks, underwear, gym clothes and pyjamas, and fold or hang only what creases. Getting clean clothes put away matters more than how they look in the drawer.
Start your journey
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