Tips for easy adhd adventures

For a long time I didn’t go to the beach. People would invite me, and I would say no.

Not because I didn’t want to go, because I really did. I love water and sand and sun.

I said no for two reasons:

• because Rejection Sensitivity Dysphoria convinced me that being perceived by people would mean they would judge and abandon me

• getting organized and ready and inevitably forgetting things filled me with overwhelm and shame.

It wasn’t until I had the small human and felt myself saying no to things I wanted to say yes to that I needed to do something.

So I tackled the RSD with Therapy and coaching (because we deserve support navigating the worst lies our brains tell us about ourselves, even if they’re trying to help us).

And I learned the trick to adventures with ADHD:

Stay ready so you don’t have to get ready

It is now a running joke with friends that my car is ready for the zombie apocalypse. As long as it lasts like maybe 72 hours. Like a chill three day apocalypse.

Kids need snacks? Beaus car. suddenly got cold and need sweaters? Beaus car. Need a compass, a shovel and a roll of duct tape? Beaus car but honestly I have concerns.

By keeping my car and an adventure backpack ready, I lessen my worry about getting out the door organized. In the moment I tend to be forgetful. I cannot tell you the number of times I’ve ended up at the park on a hot day and forgotten my water bottle. But now I travel with a backup water bottle and a 3 gallon water jug in my trunk that has saved our butts SO MANY TIMES.

So I’m going to share with you how we stay ready so we can do fun stuff. I’ve added links to amazon and I do make comission off it, I just want to be super up front about it!

Whats in my car:

• Trunk organizer

  • Grab one with a lid for safety reasons and also so you can still put things on top of it.

• Water jug with spigot

  • We use it to fill up water bottles, rinse dirty feet, wash hands, rinse the portable kid potty on big road trips. I end up refilling it a few times each summer and I am always glad I have it.

• Empty water bottle

  • I have a mini roll up one and a bigger one so we’re ready for anything!

• Snacks

  • I keep a mini pack of single serve cheerios, granola bars, individual goldfish, fruit snacks, and jerky, things i can grab easily and use up and rotate through

• Change of clothes

  • Seasonal clothing change, and a sweater and flipflops/slides

  • Wet bag to keep things dry

• Adventure gear

  • quickdry towels

  • Sunscreen sticks

  • swimsuit

  • backup sunglasses and hats

  • a backup tote/drawstring backpack

  • First aid kit

• Entertainment:

  • Mini colouring books

  • Twist up crayons

  • Stickers

  • Figurines/toys (honestly anything we get from a birthday party in a grab bag lives in the car)

In my backpack I keep a simplified version: mini first aid, snacks, towel, kids swimsuit, sunscreen, dry bag so that if we are headed to the park or out on a bike ride, I’m ready to just grab my backpack and go, no running around required.

Now: GO GET READY so that you can say yes to adventures this summer without the stress.