Organization tips from ADHD me!

[lcdc1]

OK, I promised to share some organization tips that work for me with major hyper ADHD. I have learned that these are important to get set up so external stress can be reduced. These seem to work for me, but may not for you, just idea sharing!

Tip 1 - from LCdc:

Garage organization - do you find yourself cursing cause you cannot find the chuck key to the handdrill? Do you buy the same hardware over and over cause you can't find the last 3 you bought? do you lose the specific battery chargers for digital cameras and kids toys?

If you are a very visual person like me, then you need to invest in clear plastic bins with lids on them and place items inside them that you can see. I bought a variety of the rectangular bins and here are examples of how I use them.

bin 1 - the drill with bits and chuck keys.
bin 2 - electric and electrical items such as cords, outlets, plugs, telephone cords, battery chargers, etc.......
bin 3 - bungees and rope, tie downs, and misc fasteners.
bin 4 - plumbing supplies such as plastic pvc fitting, gaskets, metal round fasteners, fittings of any kind, plumbing glue, etc...
bin 5 - work and garden gloves, like 10 pairs.
bin 6 - work shirts and pants for fires.
bin 7 - clamps of all sizes.
bin 8 - tape, electric tape, packing tape, masking tape, duct tape, solder tape, etc....
bin 9 - straps and metal clamps.
and more bins of your choice.

On the work bench top, buy a nail and small items bin that has clear drawers for nails, screws, washer and bolts, anchors, etc......

I then stacked them on a shelf next to my work bench. Then I used 4 drawers to sort hand tools by function such as screw drivers and wrenches, hammers and crwobars in one, sanders and woodworking tools in one, tape measure and levels in one.

Then on my second set of shelves I sorted two shelves with liquids only - paints, lube, caulk, wd40, windshield fluid, weed killer, etc.....

On my last set of shevles I put kid stuff on one, folding chairs on the other, grilling stuff on one, painting supplies and mower supplies, etc.....

Last short shelves - kids bins with balls, skating gear, soccer bags, chalk, toys, helmets, etc....

Then I took the 4 bikes and heavy duty hooks and hung the bikes from the cieling!

I built a large locker for the camping gear!!

All other stuff like holiday boxes is in big plastic bins that I labeled with tape and marker on the outside so that I know what is in them!

So there is tip 1, I will give you more tommorow or soon. The key here is get a system that works for you and is logical to you and maintain it, train yourself to put things back in the system!!

So that is free to you, I pay a physc big bucks for this stuff!!

[lcdc1]

Tip #2 - do you procrastinate on bill paying? Have you ever had a utility cut off because you forgot to pay a bill (even though you have the money to pay it)? Are you confused on the management of bills? Do you pay massive amounts of hard earned money on reconnect and late fees?

I have now had about 3 months of successful bill paying! I do not trust paying bills online and I used to toss all the mail on the counter and forget about it or not know what was in the pile. I had a really bad experience that made me wake up and make a goal with my physc to get organized. The power to my house was cut off a few months ago and I got home from work and had to scramble and get mad and act like a real idiot to get it turned back on! All because I never even realized I had not paid the bill!

Get a large bowl, one that is not too deep, as you get the mail, open each thing. Trash the junk mail right away then open all the bills. In a fat marker on the outside envelope write the date you will pay the bill and circle it, write it as big as you can on the envelope, then place it in the bowl to be looked at and handle on a specific date!

I decided to pick 2 days a month to pay bills so I will like write on a bill that is due 12/17 - due 12/15. Then the other day I pay is like the 30th.

BUT - be sure the only thing that gets put into that bowl is the bills that you have written your dates to handle on!!

Really the best way to manage consistent bills that are the same amount each month is to have them automatically withdrwan from you account if you have the money to cover it the same time each month.

I have that visual reminder of the bowl everyday to look at, but I also put in my planner the dates I will pay the bills and the time I will do it - I now schedule it. I also use the electronic calendar on my computer, each of you should also have this function that I will talk about in another tip!

A reminder again though, each system you ADHD folks develop that works, takes maintenance or the laws of entropy will sneak back into your life!!

[jj]

Those are great tips. Oh, I so need to organize both my garage and my basement storage/tool area. It is a disaster! I did work on my basement a little bit. I do have several of those clear big bins that I put some stuff in but even those need organizing. I am going to do it though. Right after Christmas.

It is going to take me hours and hours I know because I have so many tiny things like loose screws/ nails and all that kind of junk to find proper homes for.

Hey LC. I use electrical tape to tape all the chuck keys to the tool cord they belong to. They usually have a area that is meant to push onto the cord but they always fall off. If you just wrap the electrical tape or some sort of stretchy tape around them so the key is still usable then it is always right there for you to use when you need it. Just make sure you tape it far enough down so you can use it.

LC, you are inspiring me. If you can do it, I can do it!

[lcdc1]

good jj, I am glad this can help anyone. I am sharing it because it seems so simple when I talk about it, but it was not!

I will also tell you a secret - if you say I need or I should, or maybe I will - NONONO, say on such and such a day I am going to tackle that project and I am going to set aside the time on my planner! It took me 16 solid hours to do the garage! Getting the bills caught up and situated took me a few half days and lots of phone time to straiten out so I had a clean starting point and wait for the next tip that has to do with household paperwork and organization - sheeewwwwwwww, it took me 3 and a half days to do 10 or so years worth and I am still finding stuff I stuck in drawers!

So tell me when you set aside that couple of days to do it!

OH yeah and when I share the filing tip, you should also chime in there because that list of documents and guidelines for timeframes was very good and could save the next person some headaches to know!

[charliegirl]

Love the tips Lc but I think it would be even better if you would come visit and help me get organized.

[jj]

I'll be doing it exactly 600,000 minutes before my next birthday minus 22 days provided the ground hog sees his shadow and only if it is a leap year in the next 4 years.

Seriously, I will let you know. I just have to figure out my priorities. I have a couple things that need to come first.

I will do it!

[lcdc1]

charliegirl said:

Love the tips Lc but I think it would be even better if you would come visit and help me get organized.

Well you know I would come do that, except I will be working on maintaining the systems I develop! So the first thing is time planning as jj exaggerated above!! hehe.

So the best way I can help to "coach" you all is post the things that work for me and hope other post some things that work for ADHD minds. This physc that gave me some of these ideas is ADHD also and the stuff he told me so far works for me!!

Just remember an organized external environment for me, means working on the internal organization next and some of that comes just from doing these projects!

[charliegirl]

lcdc1 said:

Just remember an organized external environment for me, means working on the internal organization next and some of that comes just from doing these projects!

That makes sense. When I do manage to have the house in order its much easier to maintain and I even feel like I am thinking more clearly. The minute it gets out of hand and things start piling up on me I'm totally overwhelmed.

[lcdc1]

Yes, barb, and feeling overwhelmed is easy for women with ADHD and can actually be one of many signs or sypmtoms of ADD/ADHD.

OK, here is tip ?, well next tip!

Find a planner that is easy to use for you, I had to try about half a dozen different kinds til I was directed to the current one that works for me! I am not advertising this product by any means, but here is the web address of the one that is successful for me!

www.plannerpads.com

this planner has a filter down system, each two pages you lay the planner open to represents one week. It is a filter down system. Top 1/3 is your to do lists for the week (keep it realistic and go back after you list them and give them a number of importance. Then you filter down to the day of the week. In this middle 1/3, you take the items from your 2 do list and put them on the day of the week you are going to do them. The bottom 1/3rd of the planner is the actual time schedule that runs from 7 am to 9 pm, broken down by the hour. Here is where you make the time committment to get the task done on the given day! As I complete the tasks and appts on the planner, I place a check mark next to them. When the week ends I go back and circle the items, if any, that were not completed. I either decide to drop them or move them into the next week or ahead when it is logical.

Once you have checked each item as done or moved, you cut off the upper corner of the week page so you know you are DONE with it all on those pages!

You should break the 2 do into lists like, work, home, kids, church, etc.....

so check it out and then look at other planners too and find what works for you that you will maintain and stick with.

A hint on this, do not buy the planners with pockets, I used to have that kind and would write things on scraps of paper and shove them into the pockets, out of sight out of mind!

I bought the spiral planner with no pockets, this forces me to put the stuff on the planner right away.

OH, yeah, another very important tip, only enter stuff in your planner in pencil!! It keeps the mess down when changes are made!

Go ahead, you all can do it!

[lcdc1]

alright part of the reason I am hypersonic also tonight is that I did not follow my bill paying system - the laws of entropy busted me 2 night ago!! My phone is half cut off, I cannot make phone calls, but people can call in, it is the way the phone company reminds me to pay the bill! ARGHHHHHHH.

I had the bill in the bowl system, but then I think I found a mistake on it, so I thought I would take it to work and deal with it from there! Guess what? Out of sight, out of mind! I cannot find the bill and keep forgetting to call them to get the phone hooked back up!