Organizing Solutions for People with ADHD, 3rd Edition: Tips and Tools to Help You Take Charge of Your Life and Get Organized

by Susan C. Pinsky

Radical Tips for Limiting Laundry Don’t wash an item until it is obviously stained or odiferous. Limit the number of clothes you own. Dresser drawers must not be overstuffed, even at the end of laundry day; you will never bother to put your laundry away if you must wrestle it into a drawer. Reduce clothing inventory to just enough to get by for the week, (with some extra pairs of underwear and socks). Think of it as the college model; aim for a single load a week that stays on your radar because you are out of clean clothes and nearing your last pair of underwear. Eliminate ironing and specialty care clothes. Embrace permanent press, and wrinkle free fabrics. Eliminate sorting by color and temperature; warm wash and medium dry is fine for most everything. Avoid fading simply by washing less (wait until it is dirty, not just worn!). Avoid mixing the clothing of various family members. It is inefficient for clean clothes to go to someone else’s room waiting for a time when the laundress can do a mammoth and overwhelming “family sort.” No mixing means family members can do their own laundry if they (or you) so choose. Fold things roughly (slap-dash!) and wherever possible avoid folding at all, never fold briefs, panties, bras, undershirts, PJs, or socks—a jumble of panties in a drawer with nothing else mixed in is organized enough. Eliminate sock matching and rolling (see here). Reduce towels to one bath towel per family member, two for those with long hair. Wash them infrequ...