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

So what can we remove from our file drawer and where should it go? Current papers. These go in the Active basket. Current projects. These go in the Active basket if it is just a few papers, and in the stacking trays if there are many papers or they are so frequently referenced that it helps to have them set apart. Contact information, business cards, and envelopes with addresses. Label a pocket folder “Contact Info” and keep them in there. People we contact all the time will already be in our phone. Don’t bother transferring this information. Homeowners’ manuals and warranties. Toss them as they are all online. Alright if you must keep them, either keep them near or under their respective appliance or together in a clear accordion folder that lives on a bookshelf. Vacation or renovation ideas and inspiration. If it is a physical paper like a picture pulled from a magazine you can put it in a pocket folder on a bookshelf as it won’t take much room—or take a picture and file in a digital photo album you’ve created for this category. Receipts. Throw them in the recycle basket, where they’ll linger for 6 months so you can retrieve them if you need them. Large-purchase receipts can be tossed too, but most clients won’t give these up even though some stores can track the purchases through your credit card. If you must, make a large-purchase receipt file folder only for major purchase receipts. Alternatively, photograph them immediately and put in a “Receipts” photo album on your...