As I was unpacking from our Independent Living Trip to San Diego, I was reminded of recent discourse around the “floordrobe” phenomenon. The term dissected by Jeff Rice on TikTok earlier this year refers to the common problem people with ADHD find with putting clean clothes away. Instead, they may pick them out from piles on the floor, on a chair, from the dryer, pretty much anywhere except for hanging up in the closet or folded away neatly in the drawer. What looks like laziness is often a sense of dread ond overwhelm related to an overestimation as to how long that particular task will actually take once begun. Huffpost writer Caroline Bologna summarized the phenomenon in an article this Spring: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/floodrobe-laundry-adhd_l_661d6792e4b015646f789eb5#:~:text=What%20about%20items%20you’ve,common%20among%20people%20with%20ADHD.
When it comes to traveling, people who struggle with floordrobes often also find the most difficult task around vacations to be unpacking upon their return. To neurotypical friends and family, it seems incomprehensible that this relatively simple chore should be such a struggle. Yet, it can be for those with executive dysfunction.
Now at Segue, I am often heard repeating the phrase “explanation, not excuse.” Just because we recognize that certain tasks or social norms may be more difficult for neurodivergent people doesn’t mean that we all must accept situations like floordrobes. In our executive function coaching sessions and groups, we acknowledge the specific challenges as well as potential tools and techniques to try to ease the struggle of conforming to a neurotypical behavior norm. One of the first questions I ask new clients is which chore they dread the most, and after reading this post, you may not be surprised to learn that putting away clean laundry is often top of the list. But it doesn’t have to stay that way.
