ABC’s to Organizing: Letter "a"

As I have been brainstorming how I can best as a professional organizer help others virtually through blog posts, I have come up with a general idea plan of topics to discuss. For this and the following 25 blog posts, I will discuss a topic regarding organization based on a letter of the alphabet. Today's the first day with letter A and I am sharing organizing strategies for people with ADD/ADHD.

As I was coming up with topics based on the letter A, I actually came up with 4 topics. I debated whether to briefly discuss about each one of them. I ended up deciding to keep the other 3 topics for future posts. Today's topic is for those who have or maybe have family members with ADD/ADHD. I will start off sharing that I do not have ADD or ADHD so I personally do not know what your life is like. Though I may have experienced some of the common characteristics in myself and through others, I will not tell you I have it all figured out how to best help you. As someone who has OCD, I know myself better than any doctor, therapist, or ordinary person. So, I am not here to tell you that I have the answer for you, but I do have a passion for organizing and I have experienced the benefits an organized home can bring into my own life. Below I offer 20 organizing strategies that I believe could assist anyone and be particularly helpful for those with ADD/ADHD. 
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• Use a calendar app OR a daily planner. Even your time set to organize should be marked down. Marking down sets it in stone - increasing the likeliness of completing. If you need the extra reminder, set an alarm on your phone.
• Need motivation? Set a reward system AND post it up.
• Declutter before organizing.
• Rank the areas needing to be organized from easiest to hardest to you.
• Break big tasks into steps. Always use lists. Add in colors. (Have a notebook set aside just for this.) Highlight steps once complete. 
  • For a home: Organize a room in zones by priorities. I highly suggest writing down your priorities. For example, you’re organizing your home office: ask yourself what your priorities for the office are. For instance, I myself do not have a room for an office, so I have space set aside between my dining/living room as my office/craft space. My priorities for this joined space include: read books, be crafty, read/respond to email, handle finances, business-related tasks, and transfer phone pictures to laptop/print phone notes. I have this joined space organized into 2 main zones: hanging files and bookshelf. The hanging files has 2 mini-zones: top for business client paper documents and bottom for personal current incoming and outgoing papers. The bookshelf has 5 shelves so I break down the shelves as 5 mini-zones: 
    • 1. all books
    • 2. personal papers
    • 3. business papers and catalogs
    • 4. printer, laptop, paper, and cords
    • 5. craft and office supplies
• Create a Brain Dump notebook. Junk all those little notepads, paper scraps, and post-its. It’s much simpler to keep one notebook for those random notes you jot down to keep for later. 
• Remove (or limit) distractions. Phone distracts you? Put it in another room. Silence distracts you? Turn on music. 
• Use a timer. You know yourself the best. Start with what you deem an appropriate amount of time for you.
• Create a home for everything.
• When deciding whether to keep or take away items in your home, don’t focus so much on the “just in case” or “one day” reasonings. As the Minimalists will tell you, “Just in case are 3 of the most dangerous American words.” Susan C. Pinsky, owner of Organizationally Yours suggests “it is better to be resourceful than prepared, and it is saner to be resilient about occasionally doing without than to keep lots of overstock.” Remember, the items should serve a purpose and if they are not doing so they are just taking up YOUR space. 
• Judith Kolberg, author of Conquering Chronic Disorganization suggests setting aside a “ripening drawer” for random items you’re agonizing over what to do with. “Once the drawer is full, quickly sort through it. Use what you can, and discard the rest. Then start the process anew.”
• Kolberg also recommends making “a ‘launch pad’ near the front door.” It makes for a smooth going start of the day having all your needs at your fingertips as you go out for your day. Belongings that I keep in my “launch pad” include keys, the current purse I’m using, and umbrella. Also, I keep my shoes there and I have a small table with a basket for ends and odds that I need to remember to take before I leave. “The launch pad might have cubbies, pegs, hooks, containers.” 
• Get a friend to help or hire a professional organizer. Having someone can keep you on task either because the talking prevents your mind from wandering while handling your things or the other person could be the one whom helps redirect you on task so you complete it before moving to the next. 
• Deal with mail on a DAILY basis - toss junk, file important, and respond to needs action asap. 
• Set up a filing system with broad categories AND file papers as they come in the house. Have a red file for time-insensitive documents that require action. Visit this file daily.
• Go paperless with your bank accounts/bills and set reminders on your phone to remember to pay bills.
• Use a glass jar for al of your tax receipts. 
• Unsubscribe from all your junk email.
• Only shop with a list. 
• To maintain organization: set aside daily time (5-15 minutes) to place your belongings back to their homes. Even the most organized person needs to do this throughout the week. ​​

I would love to hear your thoughts if these strategies help you or not. And, if you have any strategies of your own that help you, please feel free to share with others below.

The main key to organizing your home with the least struggle is to plan first: set priorities, set zones, then declutter and organize your belongings’ purposes according to your priorities to the room’s zones. And always remember to stay organized requires maintenance. ​

Resources:
​​https://psychcentral.com/lib/staying-organized-with-adhd/
https://www.helpguide.org/articles/add-adhd/managing-adult-adhd-attention-deficit-disorder.htm
http://www.chadd.org/Understanding-ADHD/For-Adults/Living-with-ADHD-A-Lifespan-Disorder/Organization-and-Time-Management.aspx
https://psychcentral.com/lib/32-of-the-best-ways-to-get-organized-when-you-have-adhd/2/
https://www.additudemag.com/how-to-get-organized-with-adhd/