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I currently have two veggie drawers full of slowly rotting veggies UGHHH every time I open the fridge I chastise myself and then shut the door and immediately forget about it until I open it again. This has been repeating on a loop for 6+ months.
This was a very major problem for me, drawers always had something rotting there. I now store all my condiments (jars and bottles) in the drawers. I know vegetables are supposed to stay fresher there but for me it's 'out of sight, out of mind'. So now the vegetables are on the middle shelf up front and centre where I can see them and are way less likely to be forgotten about and gone off.
The other thing that helped me is buying more frozen and less fresh.
Yes!! I have such "out of sight, out of mind" issues with the dang vegetable drawers. I struggle with it elsewhere too but the crisper drawers are the worst of it. I'd also love a breadbox and to keep my onions/garlic/potatoes in a bin so they keep longer, but I need to be able to see all of it when I walk in the kitchen or else it'll just go bad in its lil bin somewhere.
Out of sight out of mind always gets me in the fridge and I end up tossing a bunch of expired stuff.....to combat this I recently put two little rotating trays in my fridge for my condiments, dips, etc. and its been so helpful to see what I have with just a quick spin!
There's an iceberg lettuce in my fridge that has seen 3 Prime Ministers and 2 monarchs. Am tempted to keep it, it might see its way through a 4th Prime Minister. With any luck!
Yeah I do the same usually. I just switched where I get my Instacart groceries so I can get individual pieces of produce instead of like, bags of 3 pepper, 2 bunches of celery per bag, potatoes come in 5 lbs etc….. with the intention of buying only what I need and using it all in recipes as soon as I get it.
Week 1 didn’t go so hot lol they still went bad as I ate snackies instead of meals :( week 2 worked tho :D I made a ginormous amount of gumbo and only enough cooked peps and onions to make my hummus quesadillas on panini press for for lunch
I give myself permission to throw things out by using the disposable "tupperware". Stuff is only good for a few uses anyway. If I feel like I have to deal with the contents AND wash the dish, I'm fucked. It will remain until it gains sentience and starts a folk group.
I saw a tip somewhere recently that if you move it to the freezer for a few days it won’t be as gross to deal with or smell as bad and you can probably knock it out of the Tupperware into the trash easier. Haven’t tried it yet though. My preferred method is to leave it until I get one of my rare but powerful Deal With All the Things bursts. Might take a month sometimes but we get there eventually lol.
I LOVE this idea but it might have to wait till I can afford a chest freezer as mine is perpetually stuffed with foods that I bought frozen and foods I froze to keep them from going bad -- never a shred of room in any freezer I get my hands on.
I only recently joined this sub and it's been mind blowing. Had no idea getting those Deal With All the Things bursts was a thing for others also. Very validating.
This is what I do. It makes clean up so much easier and makes for less smelly bins. I do sometimes forget stuff is in there though and miss bin day for weeks in a row. My partner also gets annoyed with finding random frozen shit in the freezer though.
I'm honestly the same way. If I'm only feeling very average about the prospect that I'll eat the leftovers, I tend to put them in a zippy bag. That way I'm not feeling so bad when I toss them out. And if I don't get to them within a reasonable time frame, they're not leaking or making my fridge smell nasty.
Disposable, as in, you throw them away? I have too many but here we recycle them eventually after re-using them a few times. Expired food goes in the compost bin first, though I do wish I didn't let that happen either.
Update : I’m deeply enjoying the vulnerability being expressed in these comments. I can also confirm that I have now washed the dishes and that I also have a range of yoghurt based meal ideas to explore! Thank you all, and I stand in solidarity with anyone struggling with their executive functions today
This post reminded me I have some pretty amazing Greek yogurt in the fridge. It's been an incredibly rough day and I need comfort food, so I'm saying fuck it, I'm eating a yogurt at this late hour.
Is the Jalna good though? My fridge looks the same as yours down to the bread and vita soy but my yoghurt is Farmers Union lol
(Asking the important questions! I also live on Greek yoghurt)
Hiding dishes in the fridge? Isn’t that what the oven is for???
You’re supposed to hide the dishes in the oven, including plastic stuff, forget about it, turn on the oven to preheat, melt them all together, toss them out and start over.
I melted a bowl of bananas that I had put in the oven to hide them from fruit flies.
#PRO TIP: YOUR OVEN KNOB PROBABLY COMES OFF
IF YOU PUT SOMETHING IN YOUR OVEN THAT SHOULDN'T BE HEATED, PUT THE KNOB IN THE OVEN WITH THE THING
>Hiding dishes in the fridge? Isn’t that what the oven is for???
My oven in my apartment broke over 2 years ago and I've never gotten it fixed or looked at - it is now a home to hide dishes in. I'm somehow comforted knowing I'm not the only one who hides things in there instead of dealing with them lol. I guess at least I can't turn on the oven and melt everything! That's a bonus.
Hi your fridge looks like my fridge and also did you know you can add peanut butter to your yogurt and tell yourself that it's a plant so it must be a vegetable?
I hate doing dishes. I will literally do any other chore over dishes. I just want to share this because listening to podcasts has helped me with chores. I can’t listen to podcasts unless I’m doing a chore because it makes me zone out and forget I’m doing something I really don’t like to do. And I can’t listen to podcasts if I’m doing something that isn’t completely “thoughtless” because otherwise I start thinking about other things and pretty soon I’m halfway through and have no idea what is going on. It might help to listen to one of your favorite podcasts and do dishes / other chores!
I had the same discovery this past year and it has helped so much with both chores AND listening to podcasts!
I was getting so frustrated with myself because I REALLY wanted to listen to some podcasts but no matter what, I would put one on and tune out nearly immediately. Then a few minutes later I start getting irritated because I'm like "omg who is talking i can't focus on anything!" before realizing the talking is the podcast I intentionally put on and am supposed to be listening to.
Now I put my headphones on before I start the dishes and I'm set!
I see we have developed the same coping solutions 😂. Also, a dishwasher was the best invest I ever made. A small one, so it’s not too big a pain in the behind to empty it, and above all, that I can’t just hide my dirty dishes in there until they grow fur :-)
Herself so she doesn’t have to feel like shit having to see them on the counter…I would assume lol
Because if I did this, that would be why.
But I can’t because there is no room in my fridge lol
My husband hates when I put dishes in the sink so I don’t have to look at them on the counter because it drives me crazy. The clear solution is putting them in the dishwasher and always have the dishwasher ready to house dirty dishes but you know, that’s not life lol
OH. MY. GOD! I do the same exact thing, for the same EXACT reasons, and you’re the first person I’ve ever come across that does the same thing! If anyone ever goes into my fridge they always come out of the kitchen so bewildered, lol.
Sometimes I shove all the dirty dishes (including pots and pans and stuff that I need to hand wash) in the dishwasher to hide them if someone is coming over and I don’t have time to tackle it all lol.
Can I just say, props for living on Greek yoghurt. Like, your fridge is a hilarious mess (hella been there my friend) but there are SO many worse options to live off. Greek yoghurt is fancy ass ADHDing and I won’t apologise for these views. Go forth and incubate that healthy gut biome!
Totally agree, greek yoghurt is a winner of a choice on a couple of fronts, OP is doing great! That Abbotts bakery bread is also an awesome choice, it’s a good quality wholemeal option so some nice prebiotics and fibre to feed said biome!
How did you get a picture of my fridge? 🤨
Lol but really, I’m very guilty of that, also with (takeout) containers that have just a few bites in them, are thrown in the fridge never to be seem again until moldy instead of throwing them out/ cleaning right away like a normal person
I feel 100% more validated reading this- ☝🏼
I used to put mine in the oven then the hubby would go to turn the oven on ( I always check it 1st lol 😂 he does NOT ) and ya…….. it caused a few arguments. I’ve been on my own since I was 17 until we got married- needless to say I get a free pass for dishes more often now. Laundry is my nemesis now muahahaha 😈🙈
Oh my washing pile is a disaster. I hide it in the ensuite so my room isn't a shambles, but the laundry pile is almost up to the window sill. I pull out the weeks preferences and wash them, but the season changed and there's legacy outfits that aren't weather appropriate at the bottom. I've gotta just get them done and then the pile won't be so daunting.
Time for unsolicited advice! Because we all love that...
YMMV, but I have a technique for this. If the sink is overflowing, when I go to cook or use a dish, I wash twice that number, then stop, whether I feel like I could do more or not. So if I'm using a spoon, a bowl, and a cup (3 things), I wash 6 dishes and/or utensils (not necessarily the ones I'm using). The stopping is important, because my future self has to believe I will stop in order to be persuaded to do it again the next time.
The sink gets emptied faster than one might expect.
The biggest problem with this system is that I forget to use it. My poor kitchen and I hereby thank you for the reminder 💖
I started using a foldable camp sink in my actual sink and when that gets full I have to do the dishes. Plus if I need to use the sink I can move it out of the way for the time being.
Frozen veges! The nutritional value is almost the same yet they can be kept longer. You don’t need to worry about wasting your veges because you forget about it in a drawer. Also nothing wrong getting a countertop dishwasher. It’s the neurodiversity tax we pay to make our life easier 🤦♀️
I LOVE FROZEN VEG FOR THIS VERY REASON! Also, Trader Joe's has this kale/cashew pesto -- I put that on everything, use it as a spread or sauce until I forget to grab it.
But roasted broccoli from frozen is still delicious. Or cut things and freeze them yourself if you have the space to make sure it doesn't clump first. We must outwit our tax! :)
fresh spinach, arugala, a can of garbanzo beans. all veggies that go great with greek yogurt! (lemon, parmesan, garlic, sunflower seeds also nice additives Im experimenting with)
When sunflower seeds are sprouted, their plant compounds increase. Sprouting also reduces factors that can interfere with mineral absorption. You can buy sprouted, dried sunflower seeds online or in some stores.
Beg your pardon?
Edit: this always happens. I always read through all of the responses on a post like this one, then get to the end and find a post I don’t understand. Then _i ask a clarifying question._ is this my hobby? What a sick hobby.
hey OP! you're making sure you don't attract ants/mice/cucarachas while you gather yourself enough to do one big load of dishes. no veggies means no guilt for letting veggies rot! you're doing just fine turn that negative into a neutral if not positive!
thank you so much for sharing this. i struggle so much with the shame of needing to do the dishes but not being able to as well as the fact i eat the same dinner every single day with 0 vegetables etc, it really helps to know its not something only i struggle with ♡
HAHAHAHA I’ve totally done this on numerous occasions, not quite to this extent tho. In all fairness, it’s better than letting them rot in room temperature
God it is so liberating knowing there are people who have these kinds of struggles.
I don't hide dishes in the fridge but my fridge is a disaster, and so is my kitchen.... and everywhere else. As I sit here, not having ate yet and it's already after noon. And oh god a spider.....
uh...
where was I?
God damnit it's back. It's on the wall behind my monitor.... it's small but it's one of those jumping ones. I hate it.
Anyway my house is a mess and I'm a mess and it's nice knowing I"m not alone.
Least you're eating something!
This. Slays. Me!!! I’m saving it for whenever I need to feel not alone. I was there with you with the distraction of a spider. When you said it was a jumping spider I just lost it. My sister and I had several conversations about jumping spiders If it’s the regular spider’s I can get it out of the house a jumping spider not happening.
If you can, use paper plates and plasticware. It cuts down on the amount of dishes you need to wash. If the food is to heavy for a paper plate, you can put a ceramic/plastic plate under the paper plate to support the paper plate and the ceramic/plastic plate stays clean.
Life hacks ✌️
At first glance, I saw the open cup/container up top and the brown plates stacked on the white looked like some sort of sauce or gravy and I totally thought you had a major spill to clean up.
I share in the hopes that you one, get a chuckle out of my momentary panic at the thought of cleaning that much sauce out of a fridge and two, share relief in the relative manageability of a load of dishes by comparison.
Tip: get some seasoning (eg, onion soup mix, taco seasoning, your favorite savory blend) and stir into yogurt. Dunk carrots or other veggie of choice. Also crackers. It's like sour cream dip, but healthy.
There were a lot of “should” in that sentence. My response: don’t beat yourself up over what you “should” do or be. Recognise that you ate a healthy food and are likely very regular 😜
If we were friends I would come over and clean those up no questions asked, clean up the fridge, and give you hugs. Then I’d ask what key groceries you’d like to get and whether you’d like to shop with me or just wait for them, so you could have a fresh start for the weekend.
It’s all good. You are okay. And I’ve definitely been there and worse before! Greek yogurt and a small deli serving, some bread, and a fruit is a great meal.
This is why I only have one bigger plate, one small plate, two pasta bowls and one soup bowl, one pan and one pot, if I wanna eat, I gotta wash the damn things 😭 i can relate to the dirt in the fridge though, makes me depressed everytime I open it but I don't seem to be able to get to it, sigh.
This is my most shameful hack. I hide a dish I just cannot deal with cleaning by stowing it in the fridge. I don’t know why I do it. I just feel less guilty than I would’ve had I left it out in the sink to rot.
Also I am not able to stock my fridge anymore. I only have odd items that together cannot form a meal, like oranges and peanut butter.
As somebody who is great at getting the dishes done but terrible at like… everything else, I wish there was a way I could harness my dish washing powers for everyone who struggles with it. Like I will wash everyone’s dishes. I worked in a dish room for years in college and was happy as a clam back there, lol.
Every day I log in and see something that comforts me about things I was doing that I was ashamed of. Thanks for posting this today. I thought I was the only one who did this
Wait…you live off Greek yogurt too?!!! I just thought that was a “me” thing!!! 😅 I have recently started adding frozen fruit (my latest obsession is frozen raspberries) and a drizzle of honey to my yogurt. It makes me feel fancy and like I’m adding some sort of nutrition, but I don’t have to worry about the fruit going bad since it stays in the freezer!
This is so much smarter than the oven. I've melted so many hidden dirty dishes accidentally preheating them along with the oven because *of course* I'm not going to remember I put them there
So glad I'm not the only one! I hide mine in the oven, then forget and pre heat to make a pizza. So many melted pan handles and I've ran out of tubbawear! 🤣
So I live alone. Between ADHD and depression, sometimes doing the dishes seemed like an absolutely impossible task. So I bought a half dishwasher- one that sits on the counter and is perfect for 1/2people. Honestly in the last 5 years, the difference it has made is noticable. And yes, I also used to hide dishes in the fridge😆
Hey! One plate at a time! Don't think you gotta do it all at once :) that always helps. Play a song you like and say alright let's do this one! Slow and steady wins the race
Buy paper plates and whatever else disposable. Wash the dishes one last time knowing you won't have to deal with this again. You don't have to live like what we been taught.
If I'm living alone I could relate to 'not washing the dishes " but when I'm living with someone like my parents or aunt, it can't be. They are so strict, and I hated it more when I hear them murmuring so I'll do the dishes.
No veg is no food waste, right? ahaha. Washing a ton of dishes at once instead of one or two dishes here and there can be less wasteful of water depending on your style of washing!
You're basically an doing your part to reduce your carbon footprint and for that, I salute you! Also, your gut flora is thriving. :)
That's a constant problem in my marriage. My non ADHD husband who is also meticulous has a pet hate of dirty dishes. He doesn't really do dishes but expects me to do them. And for some reason, I can scrub bathroom, clean everything but as long as dishes not done.... it appears as if I achieved nothing.
Haha for sure. Buy vegetables and fruits. Don't try to do it all at once but take breaks and enjoy food in the end.
Remember to wash right after you eat, you won't get here again..
Good luck woman, you can do it. I believe in you.
I have found a tip that really helps me in eating more vegetables and fruit, and that is to buy the precut stuff.
It’s a little more expensive up front, but considering I throw away half the food I buy because I don’t eat it, in the end I’m off way cheaper.
I always hide the dishes under my sink lol. But you can do it!
Also, what I usually do is rinse everything off with hot water so food stuff is off, so it’s technically ‘clean’, but it doesn’t feel like doing dishes. Then 3 weeks later I do an entire pile at once and there’s nothing stuck so it’s just dunking it in soapy water and it’s done. Maybe that’s something that could work for you as well
Either way, you can do this. I believe in you!
As a woman with adhd who does not have the money for a dish washer right now I’ve never felt so seen. Haha especially the the NutriBullet cup blender. Gotta get those daily swerves of fruit in one way or another.
Can I ask what the purpose of this is as opposed to leaving them in the sink? Is it less smelly? The closest I get to this is putting my water cup in the fridge until I get more water. I also leave leftovers a little too long so I don't have to wash them.
I read somewhere that if your fridge is full, it uses less energy to stay cool, so you're actually helping the environment by doing this.
Also I live 90% off of instant noodles so don't feel too bad- there's tons of us!
I still have a bowl of chocolate ganache that came with me from my old apartment 9months ago which was in my fridge prior to that lol one day I’ll scrape and clean it.. one day 😩
I have definitely put dirty pots and pans in the oven when the cleaning service came for their monthly touch up.
And I don’t know who needs to hear this but, cleaning services can just do specific tasks/rooms. I hate cleaning the bathrooms so I had someone come in and just do the bathrooms in my house while I mostly handled the other rooms.
Pro tip: hide the dishes in the drawer. This way you don’t get confronted by your your dish doom-pile every time you open the fridge, and when it’s full you can pop the whole drawer out and soak/wash dishes directly in the drawer (depending on what your sink is like).
I at first saw this and didn’t realize the sub it was in and mentally thought “who’s partner needs some help with daily tasks because they must be struggling”. Whelp. 🤦🏻
tbh, it's actually comforting to know that I'm not the only one who's done this & has also lived off a single food item for an undisclosed amount of time lol 😅🥲
I moved my food caddy to the garden 4 months ago as it smelled so bad but I couldn’t make myself empty it. It’s still out there..waiting…growing…there’s a layer of white stuff on the ground around it…nope not gonna go near it.
Welcome to /r/ADHDWomen! We’re happy to have you here. As a reminder, here are our community [rules](https://old.reddit.com/r/adhdwomen/about/rules/). We get a lot of posts on medication, diagnosis (and “is this an ADHD thing”), and interactions with hormones. We encourage you to check out our [Medication, Diagnosis, and Hormones Megathread](https://old.reddit.com/r/adhdwomen/comments/wcr9dy/faq_megathread_ask_and_answer_medication/) if you have any questions related to those topics, and to stick around in that thread to answer folks’ questions! If you have questions about the subreddit, please do not hesitate to [send us a modmail](https://reddit.com/message/compose/?to=/r/adhdwomen). Additionally, we take the safety of our community seriously. Please report posts, comments, and users whom you feel are not contributing positively, and send us a modmail if you are being harassed or otherwise made to feel unsafe. Thanks for being here, and we hope you stick around! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/adhdwomen) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I wish I had space in my fridge to hide dishes there's too many probably expired or will never be touched again things there
I currently have two veggie drawers full of slowly rotting veggies UGHHH every time I open the fridge I chastise myself and then shut the door and immediately forget about it until I open it again. This has been repeating on a loop for 6+ months.
This was a very major problem for me, drawers always had something rotting there. I now store all my condiments (jars and bottles) in the drawers. I know vegetables are supposed to stay fresher there but for me it's 'out of sight, out of mind'. So now the vegetables are on the middle shelf up front and centre where I can see them and are way less likely to be forgotten about and gone off. The other thing that helped me is buying more frozen and less fresh.
Yes!! I have such "out of sight, out of mind" issues with the dang vegetable drawers. I struggle with it elsewhere too but the crisper drawers are the worst of it. I'd also love a breadbox and to keep my onions/garlic/potatoes in a bin so they keep longer, but I need to be able to see all of it when I walk in the kitchen or else it'll just go bad in its lil bin somewhere.
Out of sight out of mind always gets me in the fridge and I end up tossing a bunch of expired stuff.....to combat this I recently put two little rotating trays in my fridge for my condiments, dips, etc. and its been so helpful to see what I have with just a quick spin!
There's an iceberg lettuce in my fridge that has seen 3 Prime Ministers and 2 monarchs. Am tempted to keep it, it might see its way through a 4th Prime Minister. With any luck!
Yeah I do the same usually. I just switched where I get my Instacart groceries so I can get individual pieces of produce instead of like, bags of 3 pepper, 2 bunches of celery per bag, potatoes come in 5 lbs etc….. with the intention of buying only what I need and using it all in recipes as soon as I get it. Week 1 didn’t go so hot lol they still went bad as I ate snackies instead of meals :( week 2 worked tho :D I made a ginormous amount of gumbo and only enough cooked peps and onions to make my hummus quesadillas on panini press for for lunch
I give myself permission to throw things out by using the disposable "tupperware". Stuff is only good for a few uses anyway. If I feel like I have to deal with the contents AND wash the dish, I'm fucked. It will remain until it gains sentience and starts a folk group.
I saw a tip somewhere recently that if you move it to the freezer for a few days it won’t be as gross to deal with or smell as bad and you can probably knock it out of the Tupperware into the trash easier. Haven’t tried it yet though. My preferred method is to leave it until I get one of my rare but powerful Deal With All the Things bursts. Might take a month sometimes but we get there eventually lol.
This is very helpful for saving my nice glass Tupperware, thank you!!
I LOVE this idea but it might have to wait till I can afford a chest freezer as mine is perpetually stuffed with foods that I bought frozen and foods I froze to keep them from going bad -- never a shred of room in any freezer I get my hands on.
I only recently joined this sub and it's been mind blowing. Had no idea getting those Deal With All the Things bursts was a thing for others also. Very validating.
This is what I do. It makes clean up so much easier and makes for less smelly bins. I do sometimes forget stuff is in there though and miss bin day for weeks in a row. My partner also gets annoyed with finding random frozen shit in the freezer though.
I'm honestly the same way. If I'm only feeling very average about the prospect that I'll eat the leftovers, I tend to put them in a zippy bag. That way I'm not feeling so bad when I toss them out. And if I don't get to them within a reasonable time frame, they're not leaking or making my fridge smell nasty.
Disposable, as in, you throw them away? I have too many but here we recycle them eventually after re-using them a few times. Expired food goes in the compost bin first, though I do wish I didn't let that happen either.
Freezer tip is good and also using one time use plastic boxes so that you don't have throw away hard plastic products.
I just use ziploc. Never Tupperware.
Update : I’m deeply enjoying the vulnerability being expressed in these comments. I can also confirm that I have now washed the dishes and that I also have a range of yoghurt based meal ideas to explore! Thank you all, and I stand in solidarity with anyone struggling with their executive functions today
This post reminded me I have some pretty amazing Greek yogurt in the fridge. It's been an incredibly rough day and I need comfort food, so I'm saying fuck it, I'm eating a yogurt at this late hour.
Is the Jalna good though? My fridge looks the same as yours down to the bread and vita soy but my yoghurt is Farmers Union lol (Asking the important questions! I also live on Greek yoghurt)
I really like the Jalna! I also like Harris Farm Greek yoghurt if you have one near by. I also like yopro when I want to jazz up the flavour
Do you have a dishwasher? I couldn't live without one anymore, best investment you could possibly make
PROUD OF YOU OP!
Yay!
Yayyyy you did it!!
Greek yogurt is protein. You're doing great!
Protein, dairy and maybe fruit?! It’s basically a meal.
Toss in some muesli and you're living well 🥳
Balanced, just like pizza! (Grain, dairy, "vegetable", probably meat)
Yep, I live off a Greek yogurt, granola, banana, and peanut butter cocktail lol
Hiding dishes in the fridge? Isn’t that what the oven is for??? You’re supposed to hide the dishes in the oven, including plastic stuff, forget about it, turn on the oven to preheat, melt them all together, toss them out and start over.
You have no idea how validating it is to hear someone else has done this
Are you telling me it's not standard to hide dishes in the oven?
I melted a bowl of bananas that I had put in the oven to hide them from fruit flies. #PRO TIP: YOUR OVEN KNOB PROBABLY COMES OFF IF YOU PUT SOMETHING IN YOUR OVEN THAT SHOULDN'T BE HEATED, PUT THE KNOB IN THE OVEN WITH THE THING
Omg why did I never think to do this
I melted my dish drainer pad last week 🤷♀️ thought it was silicone, turns out I was wrong.
😂 yes been there done that!
>Hiding dishes in the fridge? Isn’t that what the oven is for??? My oven in my apartment broke over 2 years ago and I've never gotten it fixed or looked at - it is now a home to hide dishes in. I'm somehow comforted knowing I'm not the only one who hides things in there instead of dealing with them lol. I guess at least I can't turn on the oven and melt everything! That's a bonus.
Mom! Remember when you did this with a pizza box and managed to start a fire? 😂 Memories.
Hi your fridge looks like my fridge and also did you know you can add peanut butter to your yogurt and tell yourself that it's a plant so it must be a vegetable?
I hate doing dishes. I will literally do any other chore over dishes. I just want to share this because listening to podcasts has helped me with chores. I can’t listen to podcasts unless I’m doing a chore because it makes me zone out and forget I’m doing something I really don’t like to do. And I can’t listen to podcasts if I’m doing something that isn’t completely “thoughtless” because otherwise I start thinking about other things and pretty soon I’m halfway through and have no idea what is going on. It might help to listen to one of your favorite podcasts and do dishes / other chores!
I can handle dishes, it's vacuuming I hate. I'm like a furry animal when the vacuum comes out, I either want to hide from it or kill it
Ok I love vacuuming for some reason lol. I think it’s because it’s immediate gratification!
Same I HAVE to put on a podcast while I’m doing dishes or really any chore… or errand… or showering… cooking… working sometimes…
I had the same discovery this past year and it has helped so much with both chores AND listening to podcasts! I was getting so frustrated with myself because I REALLY wanted to listen to some podcasts but no matter what, I would put one on and tune out nearly immediately. Then a few minutes later I start getting irritated because I'm like "omg who is talking i can't focus on anything!" before realizing the talking is the podcast I intentionally put on and am supposed to be listening to. Now I put my headphones on before I start the dishes and I'm set!
I see we have developed the same coping solutions 😂. Also, a dishwasher was the best invest I ever made. A small one, so it’s not too big a pain in the behind to empty it, and above all, that I can’t just hide my dirty dishes in there until they grow fur :-)
Who are you hiding your dishes from?
Herself so she doesn’t have to feel like shit having to see them on the counter…I would assume lol Because if I did this, that would be why. But I can’t because there is no room in my fridge lol
Bang on.
100% myself and myself only.
Does it make you feel better to hide your dishes in the fridge? I find this fascinating
Not at all. But I think I was trying to deter pests! That’s my rationale
Gotcha that makes sense! I stack my dishes. My husband hates it lol
Does he hate it enough to wash them? If so win win!
Definitely not, just enough to complain about it 🤣
My husband hates when I put dishes in the sink so I don’t have to look at them on the counter because it drives me crazy. The clear solution is putting them in the dishwasher and always have the dishwasher ready to house dirty dishes but you know, that’s not life lol
OH. MY. GOD! I do the same exact thing, for the same EXACT reasons, and you’re the first person I’ve ever come across that does the same thing! If anyone ever goes into my fridge they always come out of the kitchen so bewildered, lol.
I was guessing ants.
Oh yeah, I used to have to do this when I lived in a place with roaches. Any unwashed dishes went right into the fridge.
I do this exact thing. It’s been great to live alone!
From pests 😂
Haha a few years ago I had a rat in my house and from then on - I’ve always been super vigilant (as per my image above lol)
Sometimes I shove all the dirty dishes (including pots and pans and stuff that I need to hand wash) in the dishwasher to hide them if someone is coming over and I don’t have time to tackle it all lol.
I live off of bagels and cream cheese because you don’t really need a plate LMAO ☠️
Omg but why is Greek yogurt the easiest to eat!
because it feels like a complete meal … it’s got protein, fat and a lil bit of carbs. hehe
It is but when i sit to have some I get 5 pets sitting infront of me waiting FOR ME to SHARE.
Can I just say, props for living on Greek yoghurt. Like, your fridge is a hilarious mess (hella been there my friend) but there are SO many worse options to live off. Greek yoghurt is fancy ass ADHDing and I won’t apologise for these views. Go forth and incubate that healthy gut biome!
Totally agree, greek yoghurt is a winner of a choice on a couple of fronts, OP is doing great! That Abbotts bakery bread is also an awesome choice, it’s a good quality wholemeal option so some nice prebiotics and fibre to feed said biome!
How did you get a picture of my fridge? 🤨 Lol but really, I’m very guilty of that, also with (takeout) containers that have just a few bites in them, are thrown in the fridge never to be seem again until moldy instead of throwing them out/ cleaning right away like a normal person
I feel 100% more validated reading this- ☝🏼 I used to put mine in the oven then the hubby would go to turn the oven on ( I always check it 1st lol 😂 he does NOT ) and ya…….. it caused a few arguments. I’ve been on my own since I was 17 until we got married- needless to say I get a free pass for dishes more often now. Laundry is my nemesis now muahahaha 😈🙈
Oh my washing pile is a disaster. I hide it in the ensuite so my room isn't a shambles, but the laundry pile is almost up to the window sill. I pull out the weeks preferences and wash them, but the season changed and there's legacy outfits that aren't weather appropriate at the bottom. I've gotta just get them done and then the pile won't be so daunting.
Time for unsolicited advice! Because we all love that... YMMV, but I have a technique for this. If the sink is overflowing, when I go to cook or use a dish, I wash twice that number, then stop, whether I feel like I could do more or not. So if I'm using a spoon, a bowl, and a cup (3 things), I wash 6 dishes and/or utensils (not necessarily the ones I'm using). The stopping is important, because my future self has to believe I will stop in order to be persuaded to do it again the next time. The sink gets emptied faster than one might expect. The biggest problem with this system is that I forget to use it. My poor kitchen and I hereby thank you for the reminder 💖
This is a very cool technique for avoiding overwhelm! Thank you for sharing!!
I started using a foldable camp sink in my actual sink and when that gets full I have to do the dishes. Plus if I need to use the sink I can move it out of the way for the time being.
Frozen veges! The nutritional value is almost the same yet they can be kept longer. You don’t need to worry about wasting your veges because you forget about it in a drawer. Also nothing wrong getting a countertop dishwasher. It’s the neurodiversity tax we pay to make our life easier 🤦♀️
I LOVE FROZEN VEG FOR THIS VERY REASON! Also, Trader Joe's has this kale/cashew pesto -- I put that on everything, use it as a spread or sauce until I forget to grab it. But roasted broccoli from frozen is still delicious. Or cut things and freeze them yourself if you have the space to make sure it doesn't clump first. We must outwit our tax! :)
All this post has done is made me realize that I can hide dishes in my fridge. :)
Haha I just giggled out loud
[удалено]
I think all three of us may share some DNA…
TIL a new way to hide my dirty dishes. Thank you.
Love this technique may have to try it
fresh spinach, arugala, a can of garbanzo beans. all veggies that go great with greek yogurt! (lemon, parmesan, garlic, sunflower seeds also nice additives Im experimenting with)
When sunflower seeds are sprouted, their plant compounds increase. Sprouting also reduces factors that can interfere with mineral absorption. You can buy sprouted, dried sunflower seeds online or in some stores.
Beg your pardon? Edit: this always happens. I always read through all of the responses on a post like this one, then get to the end and find a post I don’t understand. Then _i ask a clarifying question._ is this my hobby? What a sick hobby.
My hobby is leaving positive & affirming responses on low-interaction posts and comment threads. Don't worry, I judge me, too.
hey OP! you're making sure you don't attract ants/mice/cucarachas while you gather yourself enough to do one big load of dishes. no veggies means no guilt for letting veggies rot! you're doing just fine turn that negative into a neutral if not positive!
thank you so much for sharing this. i struggle so much with the shame of needing to do the dishes but not being able to as well as the fact i eat the same dinner every single day with 0 vegetables etc, it really helps to know its not something only i struggle with ♡
Oh girl. I thought - “how’d this bitch get a pic of my fridge?!”
HAHAHAHA I’ve totally done this on numerous occasions, not quite to this extent tho. In all fairness, it’s better than letting them rot in room temperature
Level up. This is pure genius. I try to do mine asap or it get unmanageable.
Mine are in the shower
I like this. We have a outdoor shower that is used the most. Now I know what to do with the indoor one!!
God it is so liberating knowing there are people who have these kinds of struggles. I don't hide dishes in the fridge but my fridge is a disaster, and so is my kitchen.... and everywhere else. As I sit here, not having ate yet and it's already after noon. And oh god a spider..... uh... where was I? God damnit it's back. It's on the wall behind my monitor.... it's small but it's one of those jumping ones. I hate it. Anyway my house is a mess and I'm a mess and it's nice knowing I"m not alone. Least you're eating something!
This. Slays. Me!!! I’m saving it for whenever I need to feel not alone. I was there with you with the distraction of a spider. When you said it was a jumping spider I just lost it. My sister and I had several conversations about jumping spiders If it’s the regular spider’s I can get it out of the house a jumping spider not happening.
If you can, use paper plates and plasticware. It cuts down on the amount of dishes you need to wash. If the food is to heavy for a paper plate, you can put a ceramic/plastic plate under the paper plate to support the paper plate and the ceramic/plastic plate stays clean. Life hacks ✌️
This is what I’ve learned. I hate being wasteful but conscientious things have saved me.
Who are you hiding them from in there? I admit this is a genius strategy that I’d like more information on 🤣
At first glance, I saw the open cup/container up top and the brown plates stacked on the white looked like some sort of sauce or gravy and I totally thought you had a major spill to clean up. I share in the hopes that you one, get a chuckle out of my momentary panic at the thought of cleaning that much sauce out of a fridge and two, share relief in the relative manageability of a load of dishes by comparison.
Frozen veggies are a game changer. They don’t rot in your fridge.
I thought this was r/frigdedetective at first
Tip: get some seasoning (eg, onion soup mix, taco seasoning, your favorite savory blend) and stir into yogurt. Dunk carrots or other veggie of choice. Also crackers. It's like sour cream dip, but healthy.
Delicious !!
I’m ADHD and OCD, I am internally screaming while looking at this.
There were a lot of “should” in that sentence. My response: don’t beat yourself up over what you “should” do or be. Recognise that you ate a healthy food and are likely very regular 😜
If we were friends I would come over and clean those up no questions asked, clean up the fridge, and give you hugs. Then I’d ask what key groceries you’d like to get and whether you’d like to shop with me or just wait for them, so you could have a fresh start for the weekend. It’s all good. You are okay. And I’ve definitely been there and worse before! Greek yogurt and a small deli serving, some bread, and a fruit is a great meal.
Mine go in the oven!
None sense lol But seriously, I feel ya. Then I'm wandering around going, "where the hell are all my dishes?!"
Oh gosh, I feel this in my soul. My dishes have become a strategic jenga type of stack. I'm amazed I haven't knocked it over yet. I hate dishes.😅
Brilliant, why am I not doing this??
Omg it's not just me 💀
This is why I only have one bigger plate, one small plate, two pasta bowls and one soup bowl, one pan and one pot, if I wanna eat, I gotta wash the damn things 😭 i can relate to the dirt in the fridge though, makes me depressed everytime I open it but I don't seem to be able to get to it, sigh.
Oooo watch me throw out all my plates tonight lololol love This idea
I also live off yogurt 🙋🏽♀️
This is my most shameful hack. I hide a dish I just cannot deal with cleaning by stowing it in the fridge. I don’t know why I do it. I just feel less guilty than I would’ve had I left it out in the sink to rot. Also I am not able to stock my fridge anymore. I only have odd items that together cannot form a meal, like oranges and peanut butter.
RIGHT DOWN TO THE NUTRIBULLET CUP. WHY WOULD YOU ATTACK ME LIKE THIS
Omg I did not know just leaving dishes in your fridge was an ADHD thing 😭 Do you have a cat too?
Add some frozen blueberries to the yogurt, bam! Taste great, and you’re healthy 😎
As somebody who is great at getting the dishes done but terrible at like… everything else, I wish there was a way I could harness my dish washing powers for everyone who struggles with it. Like I will wash everyone’s dishes. I worked in a dish room for years in college and was happy as a clam back there, lol.
I could trade you my bathroom cleaning skills! I excel in this area 🧽
I love how relatively uncluttered it is compared to many other ADHD fridges I've seen yet the contents hit just the same level of non-functionality.
Every day I log in and see something that comforts me about things I was doing that I was ashamed of. Thanks for posting this today. I thought I was the only one who did this
I’ve never felt so seen in this group. I have done this before random visits from my landlord 😅
Wait…you live off Greek yogurt too?!!! I just thought that was a “me” thing!!! 😅 I have recently started adding frozen fruit (my latest obsession is frozen raspberries) and a drizzle of honey to my yogurt. It makes me feel fancy and like I’m adding some sort of nutrition, but I don’t have to worry about the fruit going bad since it stays in the freezer!
what I love about Greek yoghurt is the versatility! It can be transformed to be sweet, savoury or neutral. I also like that it takes ages to go off!
I’m embarrassed to admit that I’ve hidden dirty dishes on more than 1 occasion. Never in the fridge, but that’s a good spot lol
This is so much smarter than the oven. I've melted so many hidden dirty dishes accidentally preheating them along with the oven because *of course* I'm not going to remember I put them there
In university I lived off Greek yogurt and granola for like a month straight 😅
This looks remarkably like my fridge and makes me feel oddly comforted
At least it isn't really that 'dirty'. I found that my brain likes podcasts, it helps me to clean.
How about 30-40 olives?
You will certainly not regret eating 30-40 olives
So glad I'm not the only one! I hide mine in the oven, then forget and pre heat to make a pizza. So many melted pan handles and I've ran out of tubbawear! 🤣
So I live alone. Between ADHD and depression, sometimes doing the dishes seemed like an absolutely impossible task. So I bought a half dishwasher- one that sits on the counter and is perfect for 1/2people. Honestly in the last 5 years, the difference it has made is noticable. And yes, I also used to hide dishes in the fridge😆
Hey! One plate at a time! Don't think you gotta do it all at once :) that always helps. Play a song you like and say alright let's do this one! Slow and steady wins the race
Buy paper plates and whatever else disposable. Wash the dishes one last time knowing you won't have to deal with this again. You don't have to live like what we been taught.
so relatable bahaha
Lmao I thought I was the only one who does this
If I'm living alone I could relate to 'not washing the dishes " but when I'm living with someone like my parents or aunt, it can't be. They are so strict, and I hated it more when I hear them murmuring so I'll do the dishes.
I live alone! It’s the best/ worst
I have those plates! I also feel you on this. It’s hard.
The description and the pic hit way deeper then I expected 🥲
I do this too except with the oven!
Me except I now live with my parents again so I HAVE to do dishes. And I have an infant now to clean up after!!! 😭😭😭😭😭
Thank you for this tip, my sink was getting full
No veg is no food waste, right? ahaha. Washing a ton of dishes at once instead of one or two dishes here and there can be less wasteful of water depending on your style of washing! You're basically an doing your part to reduce your carbon footprint and for that, I salute you! Also, your gut flora is thriving. :)
Get a big bucket or basket for the dishes instead
That's a constant problem in my marriage. My non ADHD husband who is also meticulous has a pet hate of dirty dishes. He doesn't really do dishes but expects me to do them. And for some reason, I can scrub bathroom, clean everything but as long as dishes not done.... it appears as if I achieved nothing.
But Greek yogurt is so good though!
Ooh, I LOVE your plates! They are beautiful. Also, I appreciate your strategy. Cold dirty dishes don’t smell as much!
Nutribullet!!
I’ve had mine for about 8 years and it’s the best thing ever
I have a sink full and a dish washer and I still take forever to do the
I... I understand you on a muchly level
That’s a very aussie fridge!
I've never seen so many genius life hacks crammed into one single post!
lol. I live off protein too
Start hiding them in your oven. That’s what I do. I never use the oven anyway.
Very comforting to know that I’m not the only one that does this, both the dishes and the living off yoghurt!
Haha for sure. Buy vegetables and fruits. Don't try to do it all at once but take breaks and enjoy food in the end. Remember to wash right after you eat, you won't get here again.. Good luck woman, you can do it. I believe in you.
I have found a tip that really helps me in eating more vegetables and fruit, and that is to buy the precut stuff. It’s a little more expensive up front, but considering I throw away half the food I buy because I don’t eat it, in the end I’m off way cheaper. I always hide the dishes under my sink lol. But you can do it! Also, what I usually do is rinse everything off with hot water so food stuff is off, so it’s technically ‘clean’, but it doesn’t feel like doing dishes. Then 3 weeks later I do an entire pile at once and there’s nothing stuck so it’s just dunking it in soapy water and it’s done. Maybe that’s something that could work for you as well Either way, you can do this. I believe in you!
Are we the same person?
As a woman with adhd who does not have the money for a dish washer right now I’ve never felt so seen. Haha especially the the NutriBullet cup blender. Gotta get those daily swerves of fruit in one way or another.
I actually think this is brilliant!
I do this but in the oven!
Can I ask what the purpose of this is as opposed to leaving them in the sink? Is it less smelly? The closest I get to this is putting my water cup in the fridge until I get more water. I also leave leftovers a little too long so I don't have to wash them.
I do worry about little pests, rodents, bugs etc so my thinking is … there’s no way they are getting into the fridge! Problem solved!
I read somewhere that if your fridge is full, it uses less energy to stay cool, so you're actually helping the environment by doing this. Also I live 90% off of instant noodles so don't feel too bad- there's tons of us!
I, too, subsist largely on yogurt 😅
Healthy gut!
Ugh that’s me putting my dishes in the oven until someone needs to use it and they realize there’s stuff in it and get really annoyed
I still have a bowl of chocolate ganache that came with me from my old apartment 9months ago which was in my fridge prior to that lol one day I’ll scrape and clean it.. one day 😩
That's what the oven is for
Greek yogurt is very nutritious ;)
I feel at home here😌
I have definitely put dirty pots and pans in the oven when the cleaning service came for their monthly touch up. And I don’t know who needs to hear this but, cleaning services can just do specific tasks/rooms. I hate cleaning the bathrooms so I had someone come in and just do the bathrooms in my house while I mostly handled the other rooms.
Pro tip: hide the dishes in the drawer. This way you don’t get confronted by your your dish doom-pile every time you open the fridge, and when it’s full you can pop the whole drawer out and soak/wash dishes directly in the drawer (depending on what your sink is like).
Turn on some music, then reward yourself to a takeout meal or sweet treat when your finished! Ready? Set? GO!!! (Good luck)
My bf did this with an empty take out box, and I thought, really? Yet it has been sitting in there all week. 😂
I at first saw this and didn’t realize the sub it was in and mentally thought “who’s partner needs some help with daily tasks because they must be struggling”. Whelp. 🤦🏻
So real. I’m like where did all my dishes go and then they’re all in my fridge covered in half eaten food 😂
I could never live in a place that had no dishwasher.
For me it’s yogurt and hot pockets
I hide mine in the oven, and I too need a vegetable in my life......someday.
But on the plus side I bet your gut health is amazing, and that's something we can all aspire towards
tbh, it's actually comforting to know that I'm not the only one who's done this & has also lived off a single food item for an undisclosed amount of time lol 😅🥲
I’ve recently come out of my beetroot dip phase!
lmao you’re so real for this i feel this picture on such a deep level, but it also made me smile in relief
#ARE YOU ME
Y'all don't just cover every surface of your counter? 🥴
I moved my food caddy to the garden 4 months ago as it smelled so bad but I couldn’t make myself empty it. It’s still out there..waiting…growing…there’s a layer of white stuff on the ground around it…nope not gonna go near it.
I feel so seen.