Reddit reviews Organizing Solutions for People with ADHD, 2nd Edition-Revised and Updated

I’ve been reading a book on organizational strategies for people with ADHD (I think it was this one, but I don’t have it with me at the moment, so I’m not 100% sure), and it said something that seemed pretty profound to me: if you struggle with organization, it’s okay to stop trying to do things the “right” way, and instead do them the way that’s right for you.

So, for example (a few ideas based on what you wrote):

• If your bathroom has two loads of laundry worth of dirty clothes on the floor, then it sounds like you tend to change/take off dirty clothes in there. Cool! That’s a routine you can work with. You can put a hamper in there and toss your dirty clothes into it as easily as tossing them on the floor in the same place. The book kind of points out that a lot of the time our systems fail when we make them hard, and for people (especially those with ADHD; not sure if that applies to you), attempting to do things the traditional way may make them too difficult or awkward to ever succeed. If your laundry basket/dirty clothes hamper is in a place that’s awkward for you, you may never end up using it. But you can put it where you’re tossing dirty clothes anyway and it’s 100% as valid of a placement, but much easier!
  
• Or if you struggle with having a place to put clean clothes once they’re clean...do you need to actually put them away? Could you just have a clean laundry basket (or several) that they live in until you wear them, or a plastic tub (or several) with a lid on it to keep the bugs out? They might be wrinkled, sure, but they’d be clean, and you’d know where to find them. Or maybe this $13 clothes rack from Walmart (we have one, it’s great and WAY sturdier than I expected!) and a few packs of cheap hangers would let you hang everything up (even the stuff that doesn’t usually get hung up), so you can see all of it and know what’s clean.
  
• And if you struggle with washing the dishes, and can afford to, could you switch to paper plates and plastic utensils for a while (or permanently)? It would cost more money than reusing permanent dishes and utensils, and it’s worse for the environment, but it would also guarantee that you always have clean plates to eat off of and clean utensils to eat with, and you never have to worry about washing them - clean up would take as long as throwing away whatever you’re done with, and you wouldn’t have to worry about it later. If you always eat on your bed, a full-size trashcan within arms’ reach would let you have an instant clean-up, without worrying about leaving any dirty dishes food waste on the floor or bed or piled somewhere.
  
  I don’t know if any of those suggestions would work for you (and I definitely don’t want you to feel pressured to try any of them, or buy that book!), but maybe there are similar shortcuts you could find that could help you use the systems you already have in place (like tons of dirty clothes ending up on the bathroom floor) and convert them into something that doesn’t cost any more effort or time, but changes the way you feel about your home (like placing a laundry basket where the clothes will get tossed anyway).

Sometimes I invite people over just so my place will get clean... jk but also it's kinda true.

I throw this book out here on this sub constantly (still waiting for my kickbacks...) but Susan Pinsky's book for organizing with ADHD literally changed my life. I'm still a hot mess, but everything is easier to clean and keep organized. I started going crazy when I transitioned to working from home full time. I need a clean environment to work but everything in my nature works against that. Her book really seriously truly helped me get things to a better baseline.

I can't link for some reason in-text, but here's the amazon link https://www.amazon.com/Organizing-Solutions-People-Revised-Updated-ebook/dp/B007ETD7GO

A short while ago, someone on here recommended this book to me. It actually turned out to be really good!

Organizing Solutions for People with ADHD, 2nd Edition-Revised and Updated https://www.amazon.com/dp/B007ETD7GO

The first edition of this book was fantastic for me! (I didn't know there's a new edition.. Something to check out!)

Organizing Solutions for People with ADHD, 2nd Edition-Revised and ... http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007ETD7GO/ref=cm_sw_r_udp_awd_Ty92tb18D9BS9

I was just reading this book which was recommended on this subreddit (thanks guys!) and I found it kinda mind-blowing. The basic thesis of the book is that for people with ADHD, it's okay and maybe even a very good idea to sacrifice some aesthetics for efficiency. This means:

• as much as possible, purge (donate/trash) mercilessly, instead of finding space for stuff that you will then have to take care of, sucking up valuable attention bandwidth
  
• prioritize "easy to put away" vs. "easy to access": this often means leaving things organized but visible, even if they might be a bit more aesthetically pleasing in a closed container; hooks for hoodies and coats instead of a closet, open-front non-stacked containers as a middle ground between piles and cupboards, etc.
  
• get rid of the need for certain chores entirely if you can (having only one set of sheets in the rotation so you never need to actually fold your sheets unless you have guests or the stomach flu, lol; go down to one type of daily wear sock so you almost never have to actually match and roll sock pairs)
  
  With your guest bathroom, there might be a middle-ground solution (if you can afford the $10 I'd look in the section of the book under craft projects rather than under bathrooms, which is more about getting your bathroom routine down to the minimum possible and is aimed at folks for whom make-up is more functional and less of a "project", for lack of a better term).
  
  I found this a lot more relatable than Konmari, with its emphasis on kind of a devotional approach to housekeeping. I tried that sock and underwear folding method and like -- I'm glad I learned it (esp. for packing!) but as far as daily routine goes, it's the kind of thing that's out the window the second I get preoccupied with something else. Also in general we tend to be kind of hard on ourselves because our "resumes of failure" with organization/mess are kind of long, so it was really great to hear someone say "hey there are other options between Real Simple/Dwell centerfold and total grungey chaos and it's OKAY to use them!"

Welcome to our sub! Just so you know, AD(H)D can absolutely be a factor in causing hoarding behaviors. Research shows that hoarders tend to have higher rates of ADHD (inattentive type).

I suggest that you take a look at these resources:

1. You Mean I'm Not Lazy, Stupid, or Crazy?! by Kate Kelly, et. al.. Written by adults with ADD for adults with ADD, the is arguably one of the best books about ADD ever written.
   
2. ADD-Friendly Ways to Organize Your Life - recommended by the parent of one of our Redditors; the parent has AD(H)D and hoarding tendencies, and found this book extremely useful. They said it was a relief to read a book written for the way their mind works.
   
3. Organization Solutions for People with ADHD by Susan C. Pinsky.
   
   Also, ADDitude Magazine has some helpful articles geared towards folks with AD(H)D:
   
   
4. Stop the Slide from Clutter Into Hoarding
   
5. Find hoarding help in these 13 ADHD-friendly rules to organize your home for good.
   
6. Listen to Organization Solutions for People with ADHD with Susan C. Pinsky. In this hour-long podcast, learn efficient systems of organization, why adults with ADHD should strive for good enough rather than perfect, how to reduce clutter, and more.
   
   And see also:
   
   ADHD Podcast: ADHD Support Talk Radio - Clutter, Hoarding and Adult ADD / ADHD
   
   /r/ADHD is a support sub for people living with A(D)HD and may be able to offer advice on decluttering.
   
   Some folks with A(D)HD have found that using phone apps to tidy and stay organized helps, so you might try these:
   
   
7. UnF__k Your Habitat has apps for both the iPhone (listed as "Unfilth Your Habitat" to get around the iTunes naming rules) and Android. And the Weekly Challenges on their web site are a great place to find cleaning goals, as are their Basic Cleaning Lists.
   
8. Chorma - iPhone only. The app is specifically designed to help you split chores with the other person or persons living in the home. If you live with somebody and want to divvy up chores, definitely check it out.
   
9. Tody - For iPhone and Android. VERY comprehensive approach to cleaning.
   
10. HomeRoutines - AFAICT, this app is iPhone only. Again, android users should check out Chore Checklist (which is also available for iPhone) and Flyhelper (which is from r/hoarding favorite Flylady). These two apps are very routine-focused, and may help you with getting into the habit of cleaning.
    
11. Habitica turns your habits into an RPG. Perform tasks to help your party slay dragons! If you don't do your chores, then a crowd of people lose hit points and could die and lose gear! For iPhone and Android. There's a subreddit for people using the app: r/habitrpg/ (since the name change, there's also r/habitica but it doesn't seem very active)
    
    As a general rule, you want to START SMALL. You didn't get into this mess overnight, and you won't get out of it overnight. Rome wasn't built in a day. This is a marathon, not a sprint. Etc., etc.--my point is, it's admirable if you want to sail in and tackle it all at once, but that's a very, very tough thing to do, and not a recommended strategy.
    
    Big successes are built on top of little ones, so focus on the things you can do in under a few minutes. You'll notice that most of the tools listed above have you doing 10, 15, or 20 minute tasks. That's because bite-sized tasks are what help you feel a sense of accomplishment, which in turns helps you stay motivated.
    
    Personally, I'm a fan of the 40 Bags in 40 Days De-Cluttering Challenge. 40 Bags in 40 Days is a forty-day period where you declutter one area a day. It's an easy goal that's also easy to remember. The official challenge runs annually and coincides with the 40 days of Lent, but some people find it useful to schedule the challenges for themselves during other times of the year. See this post to learn more.