ADHD home organization

ADHD Support

ADHD Home Organization Using the SHiFTⓇ Method: It Doesn’t Have to be Spooky! 

October 5, 2024

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Hello, I'm Jen
As a Certified Professional Organizer in Chronic Disorganization® (CPO-CD®), I am uniquely qualified with the knowledge and experience to help you with ADHD issues, hoarding, chronic disorganization, and aging. 


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The spooky season is upon us, and I bet we can all agree on one thing that feels quite scary – trying to tackle home organization with ADHD. 

Now let’s be honest…the task of organizing (and keeping it that way) is daunting for us all. Our lives are so busy already; it’s incredibly hard to keep up with everything. 

Add ADHD on top of an already cumbersome task, and you’ve got yourself a recipe for utter exhaustion and overwhelm.

It happens like this: 

You start with putting together a list of all the things you need to accomplish… 

And that list grows rather lengthy *in record time*…

So you stare at the list and start to feel the overwhelm set in…

You lose motivation to get started – not to mention the decision fatigue…where do you even begin?…

So you shut down and lock into freeze mode…

Before you know it, the allotted time you had to organize has passed, and you catch yourself thinking “i’ll start tomorrow”…all the while feeling so down on yourself for (yet again) not being able to check a single thing off of your list. 

Sound familiar? 

For someone with ADHD, this experience is incredibly common – but we want you to be able to tackle and put an end to this cycle. 

So let’s get to it. 

Wrapping Your Mind Around ADHD & Home Organization 

ADHD affects an individual’s executive functioning skills, which include planning, organizing, and prioritizing tasks. It’s no surprise that this would make organizing particularly challenging. 

Some of the common challenges that come with ADHD and home organization include: 

-challenges with finding motivation to get started 

-difficulty focusing on tasks and mitigating distractions 

-struggles with prioritization

-losing track of time or underestimating the time it will take to accomplish a task 

This leads to feelings of:

-anxiousness 

-frustration 

-decision fatigue 

-emotional overwhelm 

Feeling this way leads to a perpetual cycle of not being able to complete tasks. Meanwhile, the clutter and to-do’s continue to build. 

So wait a minute…ADHD and home organization – can these things even coexist?

It may seem (and feel) impossible, but we have a method that has proven otherwise, and we are here to help you implement it. 

The SHiFT Method – Making Home Organization With ADHD Less Spooky 

The SHiFTMethod – we’ve talked about this before (and we won’t stop talking about it!) because we believe in it so much.

We want you to know it well; we want it to be an intricately webbed within you to lead you through life’s sticky spots – especially when it comes to developing processes with home organization. 

So take stock of the ways you can lean on SHiFT to ease the overwhelm when you’re ready to start tackling disorganization this season. 

Social 

The social aspect is such an important foundation to everything in life, and having a network to support you on your journey to organization is invaluable. Having someone to lean on and share small successes with not only makes the tasks at hand more enjoyable, it also benefits you to have the help! 

So who ya gonna call? Ghostbusters! *er* I mean, a supportive friend – or better yet – the Livable Spaces team! 

Just make sure whoever you invite to help you tackle these tasks is supportive and gracious with the sensitive nature around chronic disorganization. 

Health 

Prioritize your well-being. It’s so critical that you show compassion and hold space for yourself as you go through this process. 

Honor yourself by addressing ALL of the feelings that come up as you begin organizing – and welcome them all; even the scary ones. 

You can do this by keeping a journal nearby and writing down anything that pops up. Once you have the feeling written out, acknowledge it by looking at it and say “this feeling is normal and to be expected, and it won’t last forever.” Then do your best to walk away and leave it for a time to revisit. 

This is the first step to recognizing feelings of overwhelm, and over time you can learn how to better manage those feelings as they come up. 

It can also be helpful to incorporate self-care routines before tackling an organizational task. This could be as simple as implementing a 10 minute session of breathwork. 

i am deserving 

Boo-lieve in yourself! 

And we mean it. 

You are so deserving of a peaceful, harmonious home and life – and it starts with organizing from a place of self-love.

Double down on your self-compassion by: 

  1. Setting realistic goals: 

Don’t expect yourself to tackle a task in one day – break it down further and celebrate for each tiny task accomplished. Before you know it, you will have crossed off upwards of 5 things on your list, leading to feelings of satisfaction and a boost of self-motivation to build that confidence.

  1. Implementing self-compassion practices: 

Start an affirmation journal. Begin by writing thoughts and phrases that often go through your head while you’re trying to tackle a task – and we realize these usually aren’t very uplifting. They might sound like: 

“I can’t ever get anything done” 

“Why do I always run out of time”

“No matter what I do I can never get it right!” 

“Why does this come easier for everyone else?” 

Then turn those phrases into something supportive like: 

“Sometimes I feel like it’s tough to tackle tasks, but I am so capable, and I’m proud of myself for showing up to try.” 

“I recognize that it takes a lot of time to do these things, and I don’t need to rush myself through it. I am working on these new skills.” 

“I do a lot of things right, and even though some things feel harder, I am still capable of learning new ways to make things easier.” 

This practice takes time, but even writing something as simple as “I’m so proud of myself” is a fantastic start. 

Financial 

Picture this: 

You get excited about starting a new project or embarking on the journey of completely reorganizing your home, so you think to yourself, “Great! Where do we start? A list! Yes, a list. Wouldn’t it be nice to have a cute checklist that I can write everything down in?”

So then begins your search. You hop online and come across a “home cleaning planner” and boy does their marketing reel you in…become the most organized person you know just by using one spiral bound planner? Sold! Only you know what’s going to happen to this planner…it’s going to end up in a stack on your bookshelf along with the rest of them. 

Or maybe you find yourself in the organizing section at the store loading up on bins and baskets…so many baskets, and while you’re at it, a label maker! 

Don’t fall under the spell of overspending when it comes to organization. 

By getting creative and using what you already have, you can effectively organize your space without breaking the bank! Try not to get sucked into the abyss of organizing supplies – start with a pad of paper and a pencil. 

That’s it! 

As you go through each room, write down some practical solutions that would help to better organize your space, and then make a list from there. This will ensure you don’t end up buying excessive amounts before you even know what you need. 

Time 

Like a hidden clock in a forbidden room, time sneaks away from us. 

But leaning into these time-management techniques can help put time on your side: 

  1. Use a timer and the Pomodoro technique (or something similar) for focused organizing. This technique consists of setting a timer for 25 minutes, focusing on the task at hand for that entire length of time, and then stopping as soon as the timer goes off for a 10 minute break. You can then reset the timer for another 25 minutes, and repeat until the task is complete or until you have reached your allotted time. 
  1. Shift your mindset – execute tasks with an intent to “move the needle” on a task, not complete it. Don’t place the expectation that you need to complete the task in that set time frame. Simply focus on getting as much done as you can in that moment, and whatever you aren’t able to complete can be picked back up at a later time. 
  1. Create a flexible schedule – some individuals with ADHD have a difficult time transitioning from one task to the next. When scheduling your day, add a 15-20 minute buffer before and after each task. This will ensure that you have a little extra time to start and complete each item. 
  1. Personalize your to-do list based on energy levels – each person is unique in their times of motivation throughout the day. Are you a morning person? Set your most important tasks to be accomplished when you first wake up. More of a night owl? Schedule the most daunting tasks for that time of day. Learn to work with what works for you, and schedule plenty of breaks throughout the day. 

Your “No-Brainer” ADHD Home Organization Checklist 

Now we know that was a lot of info to throw at you, so we’ve made a simple no-brainer checklist to recap everything we discussed above. 

  • Enlist help: 

Get your support network together! 

  • Prioritize your well-being: 

Start a journal to jot down the thoughts and feelings that come up as you work through organizing each space. Keep these brief, such as “I’m feeling overwhelmed as I go through the counter space in my kitchen”. Breathe through that feeling, acknowledging it, and release it as you continue with your task. You can revisit that feeling at a later time and journal more deeply on it; asking questions such as “why does this feeling overwhelm me? How does this feeling sit in my body? What are some tools I can use to help me process these feelings?” 

  • Set realistic goals: 

Make a checklist based around your well-being and the goals that best enable you to be your most compassionate self. Journal the negative thought patterns that come up and counteract those with positive affirmations that feel supportive to you. If you struggle to come up with something, ask yourself what you would say to a close friend or family member whom you love. 

  • Throw out the organizational systems and planners: 

Keep it simple with a paper and pen to start. As you work through organizing each space, jot down items you think may help to organize as they come up, and consider those purchases later on. You’d be surprised by the number of things that can be repurposed; you’ll likely not need to buy anything new at all. 

  • Keep time on your side: 

Get to work!  Organize room by room, task by task – the more you break it down the better. Use a timer and a method that makes you focus on the task at hand for an allotted amount of time (20-30 minutes), followed by a 10-minute break, and create your schedule based on your personal productivity levels throughout the day. Release any expectation that you accomplish an entire task in one go – complete what you can, and know that you can come back to it at another time. 

Want To Learn More? There’s A Book For That…

And it might as well be a spellbook for the real-life transformation it has sparked in people’s lives. 

Making the SHiFT®: True Stories of How People Affected by Chronic Disorganization Learn to Live a Deserving Life, is my latest book that uncovers the healing potential of the SHiFT® method. 

Whether you’re a mental health professional or facing chronic disorganization head-on, this book will speak magic to you. 

Bottom line – we want to see you thrive. 


Schedule a free consultation today to chat more about how we can transform your life.

Because you deserve it. 

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