Organizing Solutions for People with ADHD, 2nd Edition-Revised and Updated: Tips and Tools to Help You Take Charge of Your Life and Get Organized

by Susan C. Pinsky

The Rules of Organizing 1. Inventory (i.e., your “stuff”) must conform to storage. In the ADHD home especially, inventory MUST NOT fill storage. • Don’t keep building storage—reduce your inventory. • Don’t overcrowd shelving, cabinets, and drawers. 2. Make your things easy to access and easier to put away. In the ADHD home, ease of stowage takes precedence over ease of retrieval. • Keep things where you use them, arranging possessions within activity areas or “zones.” Give everything a “home.” • Take advantage of vertical storage space by using tall shelves and tall bureaus. • Store things on the wall or on a shelf, never on the floor. 3. Only touch (or sort) it once. For example, sort or toss mail as soon as you open it; don’t add it to a pile you’ll have to sort again later. 4. Duplicate where necessary to store things where you use them (e.g., a toilet bowl brush in every bathroom). 5. Eliminate items that unnecessarily duplicate functions (e.g., hand-powered can opener or electric can opener, not both). 6. Name your cabinets and shelves (dish cabinet, sock drawer, etc.) to remind yourself that only those items are stored therein. 7. Make sure the “rough storage” areas in your home are well lit and easily accessible. Value these spaces because they guard against long-term storage items cluttering your living space.