Try these home organization tips if you want to put disarray in its place.
Do you have piles of “stuff” so high you can’t find what you need, or sit down to a family dinner at the table because it’s covered with piles of papers – or gasp – dirty dishes? Even if clutter is beginning to take over your home, you can bust through the confusion and get your household running more smoothly, despite having adult ADD/ADHD!
Tip #1 – Tap into your values
The best allies you have in the war against clutter are your most deeply felt values. Find a way to connect your most cherished beliefs to clearing away the clutter!
In order to do this, you’ll need to ask yourself “what matters most to me” and find a creative way to redefine clutter-busting in terms of your values. This will help you find a deep and profound reason to get the pile under control.
We do the things that matter deeply to us. The goal of tapping into meaningful values and using this strategy as one of your home organization tips is to find value and purpose in clearing up your clutter. Finding the deep meaning in organizing your home gives you a sense of power and pride and almost guarantees that your home will be more orderly! An added benefit is that an orderly environment quiets our mind, gives us a sense of peace, and makes us feel safe.
For example, disorganized piles of paper, books, mail and clothes can lead to wasted time and energy for family members. Disorganization can lead to frustration and irritation that we would rather spare family members from experiencing. Disarray can lead to important things falling through the cracks, creating negative outcomes in the form of penalties, fines, and missed opportunities. A little bit of organization can go a long way to keeping your family happy and keep every member of your family from using up valuable time that could be better used for having fun!
It takes some practice to remember to think of the deep connection and value you bring to your life and the lives of others that matter to you when you get control of the piles of stuff around your home, but with practice, you’ll find you are less resistant to clutter-busting and take more pride in keeping things organized and neat! Try it, it really helps!
Tip #2 – Use your natural processing style
Great! You’ve gotten in touch with your cherished values and know why clearing up the clutter is meaningful to your life. You’ve decided to tackle that pile, but it threatens and taunts you!
Outsmart the pile by using home organization tips that fit the way you naturally work best. For example, if you work better when you’ve got a buddy for support, invite your best friend over to help you. Today the two of you will tackle your clutter and tomorrow, you’ll bust the jumble at her house!
Do you work best with your favorite music in the background, a news program or a home video of your children at the park? Do whatever you need to do to make the conditions right for you so you persist and demolish that pile!
Tip 3# – Use the bucket trick
Get a number of buckets, tubs, or boxes, one for every room in your home. The buckets can be clear so you can see everything inside or very attractive to match your décor (you’ll see why in a minute). Label each bucket with the name of one of the rooms in your home.
Start by bringing a trash can and your buckets right to the pile you need to get sorted, let’s say you need to clear off the dining room table. A motto in the field of home organization tips is that every item in the pile has a “home” where it naturally “lives.” Your job is to help the items get home to where they live.
Start by sorting the items one by one into the buckets based on where they belong. Things to be thrown away go into the trash can, which is where trash lives. Sort the items that live in the family room, your bedroom, your children’s bedrooms, the bathroom, etc. into the correct buckets.
Next, take each of the buckets to the room where the items in it live. Even if you can’t get to the next step today, you’ve gotten this far and cleared away the pile!! Celebrate your accomplishment! Woohoo!
Now it’s time for stage two, tackling the buckets. You can tackle stage two right after you clear the pile, or the next day. Put each thing in the buckets away in its true home. As you empty the buckets, take them back to the dining room table and set them out, ready for work!
From now on, everything that comes onto the dining room table goes into the correct bucket right from the start, no excuses. If the item lives in the bedroom, it goes into the bucket labelled “bedroom” and so on.
Whenever a bucket gets full (or if you can manage it – every night), take the bucket to the correct room and put the things in the bucket away in their proper home. In this way, it only will take a quick five to ten minutes to get everything put back in its home!
The bucket system is a cool tool for staying organized and efficient with your time. You can jazz up the system by using attractive buckets which make the experience more fun. Get some attractive containers at a flea market, thrift store, or bargain store. Choose ones that match your décor or your personality. Now organizing is fun, which means you are more likely to stick with it.
Want some other great tips for getting a handle on “boring” and “annoying” tasks so you can get control of your time and feel good about how much you accomplish? Download my free guide for better attention and concentration skills.
Dr. Kari Miller
ADHD coach and board certified educational therapist, Dr. Kari, helps women conquer their biggest ADHD challenges. She assists women in getting focused, organized, and motivated so they get unstuck, finish what they start, and accomplish more every day!
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