now on iOS

ADHD cleaning app for adults who can't start

Nudge is a cleaning app for ADHD adults that gives you one doable next step before it asks you to manage a whole routine. Choose the time and energy you have, or use Panic Clean for a time-sensitive reset. It provides task-organization support for iPhone, not diagnosis or treatment.

Get Nudge on iPhoneTry one browser task without installing

Nudge is a subscription. You can try one tiny task before you choose a plan. Weekly has no free trial; eligible new Monthly and Annual subscribers receive a 7-day trial.

Looking for the Harvard cleaning app from the ads? That is a different app. Here is what it is and how to cancel it.

Nudge home screen on iPhone. Mochi stands in the living room doorway and says: evening, maya. the living room has been lived-in since sunday. one tiny thing? Below it, how much have you got today? with four Mochi choices, frozen, a little, some and lots, and a note that frozen and a little swap in a 5-min rescue. Then the next step, Clear the coffee table, living room, about 1 minute, then Mochi brings a gift, with Start this task and Easier buttons, More for this task, and a Visit Mochi card: the living room is lived-in, 2 gifts.
a verified first-party Nudge Today screen, not concept artwork

Built from the can't-start problem, not a perfect-home ideal

I build Nudge alone, and I live with executive dysfunction. I designed it around one tiny action, changing capacity, and restarting without a missed-day penalty—the cleaning support I wanted to use myself.

See how Nudge makes the next step smaller

Real screens from Nudge as it is in the App Store today, not concept art or a generic task-manager template. Drag the shelf sideways.

  • Nudge Start Rescue on iPhone, step 2 of 4, asking How stuck does it feel? No wrong answer, it only picks the size of the first step. Three choices, each with a small Mochi: I could push, I just need a nudge to stand up; I'm frozen, I'm looking at it and not moving; and It feels impossible, even standing feels like too much.

    a spoken first move

    Say how stuck it feels. Start Rescue sizes one physical step to that and reads it out, so you do not have to read anything.

  • Nudge task sheet on iPhone over the kitchen page: Clear one small surface, kitchen, about 2 minutes, with not now selected beside remind me and did it. It says it leaves your list, then comes back by itself, above a Not today, back tomorrow button, In an hour, back at 12:16, Put it on my later list, on the rooms tab till you want it, and Edit task.

    not today, no guilt

    Skip a task for today, snooze it for an hour, or park it on a later list. It comes back by itself.

  • Nudge Scan My Mess on iPhone: point at the mess. A drawn camera frame shows Mochi waving from a kitchen doorway and saying i'll find the first thing. no tidying first, with the hint stand at the door, get the floor in. Below are Take a photo and Choose from photos, a short privacy note, and two ways to start without a photo: House hush, just clear the surfaces, and List what you see, no photo, no scan.

    point at the mess

    Scan My Mess finds the first thing to touch from one photo. No tidying first, and no photo needed if you would rather list what you see.

  • Nudge guided clean-along on iPhone, step 1 of 5: entry, shoes in a line, bags on hooks, with 02:52 left on a 3-minute timer and timing and sound buttons at the top. Below, the next step, loo: wipe the sink, fresh towel, lid down, starts by itself, the line just this one thing, stop early if your brain says done, and I did it, Too hard and Stop buttons.

    one step, one timer

    A calm voice keeps going with your phone in your pocket. Stop early if that is enough.

  • Clean with Mochi on iPhone: Mochi carries a small gift across an arched room with a green sofa and says i'm here. pick one small spot to start. Below, 09:53 left of 10 minutes, ten progress pips with the first one lit, and the label tidying together, then I'm done and Stop.

    company while you tidy

    Clean with Mochi: soft rain, a calm line now and then, and a timer if you want one. No camera, no chat.

  • Nudge Panic Clean on iPhone: Breathe. We got this. How much time do you have, with 10, 20, 30 and 60 minute choices and 20 selected, a co-clean card that says I am here with you, one small move is enough to begin, with a Clean with me button, the line unlimited panic cleans, and a Let's go button.

    panic clean, one task at a time

    When guests are close, get the one thing that changes the room fastest.

  • Nudge declutter on iPhone, item 1 of 2: Mochi holds a gift and says used it this year? keep. not sure? decide later, that's allowed, above the item, the old magazines. Four round buttons offer Keep, it lives somewhere, Donate, by the door, Sell, the sell pile, and Toss, out it goes, with Decide later, it waits in the decide-later box, and Stop here.

    declutter one thing

    Keep, donate, sell or toss, one item at a time. Not sure? It waits in the decide-later box.

  • Mochi's Place in Nudge on iPhone: a terraced island of small arched rooms. The bedroom at the top and the living room, its fire lit and a badge showing 2, are painted in, and Mochi stands on the ladder under the living room label. The kitchen, the bathroom, a study and the rooms below are still misty, with empty plots at the bottom. The line reads: one win paints a room. the misty ones are waiting for theirs.

    wins paint Mochi's Place

    Every finished task fills in a room on your cat's island. Skip a day and the painted rooms stay painted.

Screens shown are verified first-party Nudge screens. Features may require Nudge Premium.

Watch the real Nudge screens in sequence

This 20-second clip is a screen recording of the real Nudge app on iPhone (version 1.3.2). You finish one tiny bathroom task, Mochi brings a bath mat, and the bathroom paints in on Mochi's Place. It has music and no voice-over. The line on top is our caption, not a customer quote.

Read what happens in the clip
  1. 0–3 seconds: Mochi's Place, with the bedroom, kitchen and living room painted and the bathroom still misty.
  2. 3–6 seconds: The bathroom page offers one job: put one thing back and the bath mat is yours.
  3. 6–8 seconds: A timer starts for wiping the sink, then the task is marked done.
  4. 8–14 seconds: Mochi walks in, the bath mat appears, and Mochi sits on it.
  5. 14–17 seconds: A “that counts” page shows before and after: 1 step, 1 minute.
  6. 17–20 seconds: Back on the island, the bathroom paints in.

One tiny start

When the room feels too big, Nudge gives you one small task instead of a full list.

Plans that match today

Choose your energy and time. Nudge builds a cleaning plan around what is possible now.

Quick help for crisis cleans

Panic Clean sorts tasks by visual impact when guests are close or time is short.

Why a house cleaning app for ADHD can still feel too hard

A lot of cleaning apps are built around schedules, recurring chores, and long checklists. Those can help once you are already moving. They are less helpful when the hard part is choosing the first thing.

Different tools solve different barriers. Our transparent comparison of the best cleaning apps for ADHD explains when a recurring chore tracker, shared household game, body-doubling app, or one-step-at-a-time coach may fit better.

Nudge starts before the checklist. It helps you pick one tiny action, then gives you another only when you are ready. The goal is not a perfect home. The goal is a room that feels easier to enter, one step at a time.

If you are looking for a room-by-room plan rather than help with the first step, go straight to the dedicated ADHD cleaning planner and checklist page. It explains how Nudge handles rooms, flexible schedules, and low-energy days without turning this page into a second planner result.

Two step-by-step guides pair with the app or work on their own: how to clean your room with ADHD, one pass at a time, and executive dysfunction and cleaning: six stuck points.

Nudge vs. a recurring chore tracker

Neither format is best for everyone. A recurring tracker can be the better choice when the main job is coordinating or remembering repeat chores. Nudge is built for the earlier moment when choosing and beginning the next action is the hard part.

What you needRecurring chore trackerNudge
Primary jobMaintain repeating chores and see what is dueChoose a doable first step when starting is the barrier
Planning styleA recurring schedule you configure in advanceA plan shaped around today's room, time, and energy
Overwhelming roomsUsually shows the task list you createdCan give one tiny action or break a larger task into steps
Guests arriving soonFollow your existing chores or make a short listPanic Clean prioritizes visible-impact tasks for the time available
Shared household accountabilityOften the stronger fit for assigning and rotating choresDesigned primarily as individual starting and planning support

Compare Nudge with Sweepy, Tody, and Tidywell on price, platforms, and scorekeeping in our transparent cleaning-app comparison hub. For five tools matched to different kinds of stuck, use the broader ADHD cleaning app comparison linked above.

Nudge by situation: ADHD cleaning app for students, ADHD cleaning app for shift workers, ADHD cleaning app for parents of toddlers, ADHD cleaning app for late-diagnosed adults.

What Nudge helps with

Can't Start

Tap for one tiny task under five minutes. No sorting through a full room first.

Energy-aware plans

Low energy, medium energy, or ready for a longer clean. Nudge adjusts the plan.

Scan My Mess

Use your camera to turn a room into a short, ordered list of starting points. Leave the app halfway and the list waits.

Task breakdown

Turn a big task like clean the kitchen into small checkable steps. Too hard? Say what's in the way and it gets smaller.

Not today

Skip a task, snooze it, or park it on a later list. It comes back when you want it.

Repeats that bend

Bring a task back on certain days, every few weeks, or once a month. Start the laundry, and get a nudge later to hang it up.

Laundry, one load at a time

Start it, move it, put five things away, with a nudge when each step is ready.

Ask someone to take it

Send a Mochi postcard asking someone to take a task. They answer without the app, and you see it on Home.

Not sure what to pick up first? Here is how Scan My Mess decides what to clean first from one photo of the room.

Turn “clean the kitchen” into concrete next actions

A room-sized instruction is a project, not one task. Nudge can break it into specific, time-bounded actions so you do not have to plan the whole sequence before moving one thing.

  1. Put dishes in the sink (about 1 minute)
  2. Clear the left counter (about 2 minutes)
  3. Wipe the stovetop (about 2 minutes)
  4. Take out the recycling (about 1 minute)

The breakdown is planning support, not a neurological treatment or a guarantee that one sequence will fit every room. You can swap a step, choose a smaller plan, or stop after the first action.

What Nudge is, and is not

Nudge is a cleaning-specific starting and planning tool: an ADHD house cleaning app for one person's home. It is not a general task manager with an ADHD label, a household-assignment game, or a substitute for medical care or hands-on support.

In other words, Nudge is an executive dysfunction app for one job, cleaning. If you are comparing executive dysfunction tools for work, email, or money as well, a general planner will cover more than Nudge does.

When Nudge is the right fit

When another app may fit better

If you mainly need shared family chores, leaderboards, or child task approval, a household chore app like Sweepy may be a better fit. If you want established dirtiness indicators for recurring routines, Tody may be closer to what you need. Nudge is for iPhone users whose hardest cleaning moment is starting.

Pricing

Nudge is a subscription for iPhone. You can try one tiny task before you choose a plan. Weekly is $2.99 with no free trial. Monthly is $6.99 and Annual is $49.99, and both include a 7-day free trial for eligible new subscribers, so nothing is charged before day 7. Cancel anytime in Apple ID settings.

Get Nudge on iPhone

FAQ

Is Nudge an ADHD cleaning app?

Yes. Nudge is an ADHD app for cleaning on iPhone, built for adults who struggle with task initiation, overwhelm, and executive dysfunction. It helps organize cleaning into small steps, but it does not diagnose or treat ADHD.

What is the best cleaning app for ADHD adults?

There is no single best ADHD cleaning app. The best app for ADHD cleaning is the one that removes the point where you get stuck. Nudge is built for starting. A recurring chore tracker like Tody suits routines, and Sweepy suits shared households with points. Our comparison of five apps is written by Nudge, and it says so.

Is there a free ADHD cleaning app?

Nudge is not free. It is a subscription with no free tier, and the Pricing section above has the exact prices and trial terms. What is free on this site: Tiny Clean picks one cleaning task in your browser with no signup, and the printable ADHD cleaning planner is a free one-page PDF. If you want an ADHD cleaning app free of charge, Tody's official site described its basic version as feature-complete for a single user when we checked on 2026-07-13.

How is Nudge different from a cleaning schedule app?

Most cleaning schedule apps help you track recurring chores. Nudge focuses on the start: choosing one tiny action, adapting to your energy, creating quick Panic Clean plans, and scanning a room when you do not know where to begin.

Does Nudge diagnose or treat ADHD?

No. Nudge is task-organization and gentle productivity support. It does not diagnose ADHD, treat ADHD, or replace medical care.

What happens to photos used with Scan My Mess?

A room photo is optional. If you submit one, it is sent to Claude by Anthropic to generate your cleaning plan. Nudge does not permanently store the photo on its servers after the plan is generated, and the photo is never used to train AI models.

Is Nudge available on Android?

No. Nudge is currently available for iPhone on the iOS App Store.