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By Kathleen Nadeau
 (This
is the second in our series of excerpts from our new AD/HD organizing
book, ADD-friendly Ways to Organize Your Life by Judith Kolberg
and Kathleen Nadeau, Ph.D.)
In the last issue of ADDvance News Online I have a
little background about the partnership that developed between myself
and Judith Kolberg, professional organizer, over the writing of
this book. Although she had worked with many adults who have AD/HD,
I still found that she, like most organizers and like most organizing
books, sometimes recommended approaches that wouldn't appeal to
or work for an adult with AD/HD. Our goal was to write a very different
organizing book that took into account the AD/HD tendencies that
make organizing so challenging for many adults with AD/HD. Here
are a few more….
AD/HD-friendly organizing strategies to work
WITH your AD/HD….
 Take
advantage of "organizational moments"
Organizational moments are times when you take advantage
of unplanned opportunities to organize. An example is filing a paid
bill and then, while you're at it, flipping through the file folder
and throwing out any obsolete junk. Or it might be the opportunity
to empty out your glove compartment when you're stopped at a traffic
signal. Or cleaning out your purse while you search for your nail
file buried at the bottom.
Organize
for reasons that matter to you.
Don't try to adopt some else's organizing values.
If being "tidy" or "organized" has negative connotations for you
(tedious, boring, uptight, perfectionist), motivate yourself by
organizing according to your own values.
For example, if you value social service, put together
coordinated outfits from clothing that you want to discard, then
donate these complete outfits to a local homeless shelter or shelter
for victims of domestic abuse. Your castoffs can be transformed
into job-interview outfits for women with limited income. With this
goal in mind, you're not engaged in tedious tidying – you're
making a positive difference in the life of someone less fortunate.
If you value creativity, imagine an art project –
a collage, a quilt, a sculpture, or braided rug. Then, just as some
artists collect objects at the local dump, or collect discarded
clothing at a thrift store for their art projects, go around the
house with a collection bag looking for items for future art projects.
You've had fun collecting materials and have de-cluttered your environment
at the same time.
Clear
as soon as you've cluttered.
Don't view cleaning up as a separate activity. So
often our clutter gets the best of us because we think of "straightening
up" as a separate, distinct, and dreaded activity that we put off
as long as possible. Meanwhile, our piles of clutter continue to
grow.
Develop the habit of straightening as you go. Hang
up your robe instead of tossing it in the pile on top of other clothing
waiting to be put away. If you've got the inclination, hang up another
item or two as well. Pretty soon, the clutter will begin to melt
because you're not adding to it and you're slowly making it disappear
– without having to go through the dreaded exercise of spending
hours de-cluttering. Also, with this method, you'll find that your
home stays less cluttered. Making a "clean sweep" every now
and then won't help you develop the non-cluttering habits you'll
need to keep your environment more organized and liveable.
To order a copy of ADD-friendly Ways to Organize
Your Life, click on "resources" at www.addvance.com.
Next: Women's Ways of Knowing
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