Hi! If you are new here, welcome to the Clutter to Clarity Newsletter! I try to send out two newsletters per month (though it doesn’t always happen!). One newsletter is filled with organizing tips on a topic of my choosing and the other is my mailbag issue in which I answer readers’ questions. Here are the questions that I’ll be answering today:
How can I best help friends with organization when they have ADHD and need very practical and functional organization?
What a great question! So, everyone has different needs, but here are some general tips that you should find helpful:
Tip #1: Make things visual!
Label everything.
Use visible solutions like clear bins. If your friend is overwhelmed with visual clutter, then try storing those clear bins behind a closed cabinet door.
Use shelves or open bins instead of closed solutions like drawers.
Tip #2: Make things easy!
Remove lids for easy access.
A lid is a barrier. Remove lids from hampers, trash cans, toy bins, etc.
*Extra Tip - If you struggle to take the trash out regularly, buy a bigger trash can. Also, make sure there are trash cans in every room.
Set up zones or macro categories instead of micro-organizing.
A lot of people with ADD/ADHD like to hyperfocus on the micro-organizing but then struggle to maintain it. Start with macro-organizing - you can also add micro categories later. My favorite example for this is battery storage. Do not buy a battery organizer unless you know you will always have the energy to maintain it. A plastic bin of batteries is an easier solution. Remember that you will probably be more willing to spend a little extra effort to look for something than to put it away.
Tip #3: Get professional help from an organizer!
When in doubt, have your friend hire a professional to help her. Sometimes friends and family mean well, but a very organized person can sometimes get very frustrated trying to help a friend who isn't as organized. A professional organizer can come in with a non-judgmental view and lots of strategies up their sleeve.
I’m so overwhelmed with mail. Help!
First, know that you are not alone. Many of my clients are overwhelmed with paper and especially new mail coming into the house every day. The best way to organize paper is to have less of it. Let's start with some tips for how to reduce the mail and then we'll talk about how to organize it and tackle it.
Switch bills and statements to paperless as much as you can. Now, this doesn’t work for everyone, but if you have autopay turned on or are getting monthly statements that you can always access online, there is no need for a paper statement in the mail.
Get off as many mailing lists as you can. https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/how-stop-junk-mail
Reduce the pile right as it enters your house. As you walk into the house with your daily mail, toss what you don’t need into recycling and shredding bins IMMEDIATELY. If you prefer to tackle the weekly mail once per week, then create a bin to collect the mail until your designated day to tackle it.
Okay, now that we’ve got our pile of paper down to what we want/need, let’s talk about tips for tackling it.
Many people pick a day to tackle the mail. On that day, they sort the mail, open the mail, pay bills, prep the outgoing mail, and possibly even file away what needs to be filed.
For some people, those are way too many steps all at once. Here are some tips on how to break mail down into smaller steps.
Step 1: Sorting.
Anything I need to “take action on” or “file” goes on the desk in my home office. Anything that needs to be read by someone in the family goes into the kitchen. I try to do this sorting step every day, with everything else going into a shredding or recycling bin. As I add things to this pile, I look for anything urgent, but very rarely do we receive something in the mail that needs to be taken care of immediately.
Step 2: Review the Action/Filing pile.
I have a reminder on my phone every 2nd Monday to review the pile of mail on my desk. My pile of bills is usually very small because I have most things on autopay. I sort items into two piles - respond or file. Everything that needs to be filed goes into a bin that hangs on my wall. I will empty out that bin every January and file things away.
Step 3: Prep the bills to pay
I open all of the bills. If I am paying anything by mail, I paperclip together remittances and return envelopes, and add a stamp and return address sticker to the envelope. I may pay the bills now or if I am short on time, I will pay them another day (step 4).
Step 4: Pay the bills
After step 3, I now have a little pile of bills to take care of. Everything is prepped for easy processing - whether paying online or sending through the mail. If I need to save the remittances, they go in the “file” bin on my wall.
We don't always have the time or the bandwidth to tackle this project from start to finish on the same day. Some people prefer to tackle it all at once. You may need to play around with a few different approaches to see what works best for you. I had one client who only tackled mail once a month and just let it all pile up until one day when she spent several hours slogging through it. Mail might also be something that you want to tackle with a friend or family member as your body double. If you are still really struggling, is there someone else in your family who has stronger executive functioning skills to take on this task?
How can I send in my own organizing question?
Easy - just respond to this email!⌨️
Thanks for reading! See you next time!
