Clutter | Untapped Brilliance

How To Eliminate Clutter When You Have ADHD

Posted on March 9, 2012 Written by Jacqueline Sinfield 2 Comments

ADHD and clutter often go hand in hand. Yet clutter in your life, is very damaging. It makes focus and concentration hard, (even if you don’t think it doesn’t effect you it does!). It makes you late because you struggle to find things. It eats your time because belongings need maintenance, even if it’s a dusting once in awhile. A disorganized and cluttered environment keeps you socially isolated because you don’t want to invite people into your space. A disorganized environment makes you feel overwhelmed and anxious and there is a direct link to clutter and depression. These are all compelling reasons to attack your clutter. Yet, it’s very hard to do. It is time consuming and hard on your emotions.

I seem to be on a constant quest to find ways that help adults with ADHD declutter their life…and I have just found a new way! Declutter by numbers.

I don’t know about you, but I love numbers. I find numbers are a great way to monitor progress and success. For example, when writing my book I would religiously record how many words I had written each day. I like to see how many visitors get to my website each day. At Kung Fu, I count the number of push ups I do and when I run I like to know how many minutes I have been running. These sorts of numbers appeal to my competitive side and I try to beat myself the next time.

However, it’s only been in the couple of weeks that it occurred to me to link getting rid of clutter to numbers. Here are 2 great ways to declutter by numbers:

Gail Blanke wrote a book called ‘Throw out fifty things’. The idea is that you walk around your house and throw out or donate fifty things. What I love about this idea is that you have goal 50 things. This turns a seemingly endless task into one where there is a beginning, middle, and end.

She gets you to keep a track by having a scorecard. For example:

3 belts
1 radio
7 books

The idea isn’t actually to throw out 50 belongings rather to throw about 50 categories of belongings.

Gail’s method makes it easy to part with things and she says when you reach 50 a “wonderful momentum takes over; before you know it, the throwing out thing becomes a habit, an ongoing mindset”

The second idea is by Alison. Alison decided to declutter her life one day at a time. Every day she is throwing out one item every day so by the end of year she will be 365 items lighter. This is a great idea because 1 item every day seems very do-able and not overwhelming. Plus, my guess is some days you will want get rid of much more than 1 item. You can learn more about this project at http://clutter365.com/

Whichever declutter by numbers idea you choose good luck and let me know how you get on!

Here is another declutting article you will enjoy An Organized Environment

Pin It

emailHow To Eliminate Clutter When You Have ADHD

Filed Under: Untapped Brilliance Blog Tagged: add, adhd, belongings, clean, clutter, donate, emotions, gail blanke, house, ideas, junk, organize

Create the Right Environment

Posted on May 8, 2010 Written by Jacqueline Sinfield Leave a Comment

Adults with ADHD really struggle to create a beautiful living environment for themselves. Your physical environment is a reflection of your self-esteem and like other aspects of self-esteem; it’s a ‘chicken and egg’ situation. Your self-esteem is low so you feel you don’t deserve a beautiful living environment. However when you are living in a cluttered, dirty and possibly smelly environment it reinforces your low self-esteem. While this is an area that is particularly hard when you have ADHD, it is still possible to keep things clean and ordered. Plus it’s a vital element to your well being

Keep your home clean and tidy as if guests were coming. Because you deserve to be in a nurturing environment just as much (more in my opinion) as any guests that visit. The English Designer William Morris said “Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful”. Let this be your motto as you begin to create a beautiful physical environment for yourself

Filed Under: Adult ADHD Tagged: Adult ADHD, clutter, declutter, environment, organization

ADHD Diagnosis

Posted on May 4, 2010 Written by Jacqueline Sinfield Leave a Comment

A common sentence I hear as an ADHD coach is “I think I have ADHD, but I don’t want to get a ADHD diagnosis because I am scared I will use it as an excuse not to try and succeed in life anymore.”

Getting an official ADHD diagnosis doesn’t mean that a switch is flipped and you become such a different person that you don’t recognize yourself any more. You will still be you. Except now, you know why you are the way you are.

In my late twenties, I was officially diagnosed with severe dyslexia. The diagnosis was a huge relief to me as it explained why I found some things exceptionally hard and yet to others they seemed effortless. From studying or filling out forms, to giving the waitress my order. After being diagnosed, I continue to do those things and I still experience anxiety, discomfort and mental fatigue etc. However, I know rather than being ‘stupid’ it’s because I am dyslexic.

It’s the same when you have an ADHD diagnosis. There is a huge feeling of relief that you aren’t “lazy” or “lacking in self-discipline” and “disorganized” or any of the other negative labels you have been giving yourself. You might have a disorganized living environment, but that is not because you are lazy, it’s because you have ADHD and being organized is a challenge.

If you are the type of person who asks the question “Will getting diagnosed result in me no longer trying in life?”, it means that you are a highly motivated and conciseness person who wants to be the best they can be. Rather than sabotage your efforts to succeed, a diagnosis actually allows you to be more successful as you know the reason behind certain behaviors and can learn techniques to manage those behaviors. In the long run you will see great results for the same amount effort AND feel a level of comfort and ease within yourself that you never had before.

Filed Under: Adult ADHD Tagged: adhd, Adult ADHD, clutter, diagnosis, health, organization

Coping with ADHD at work

Posted on March 8, 2010 Written by Jacqueline Sinfield 2 Comments

Want to listen to this article? Click here.

Coping with ADHD at work can be a challenge. However there a 5 simple tools and strategies that when you implement them in your office you will feel you aren’t just coping with ADHD but flourishing, as when you can organize yourself at work you can achieve what you know you are capable of.

Whiteboard -People with ADHD like to be able to see all the projects they are working on at once in case they forget one. Since it’s not usually possible to have all your projects in clear sight and maintain a tidy work environment, a whiteboard is a great office accessory. It will help to stay on track and not forget anything. Use your board to write down all your on going projects and update it regularly.

Timer -Use a simple kitchen timer to help keep you on tasks for work that requires concentration. Concentrating takes lots of effort so it’s natural to want to avoid it. However if you know you only have to concentrate until your timer rings, tasks are no longer overwhelming. Set your timer for 30 minutes at a time. Only work on that task until the timer goes off. If you feel like checking email, picking up the phone or taking a walk… do it after your timer goes off.

An Idea’s Notebook -When you are working on a task, it’s easy to get distracted with lots of thoughts, ideas, and worries about the tasks that you aren’t working on. Have an idea’s book next to you and jot those thoughts down and then go back to the original task. You will be able to focus much better, safe in the knowledge you won’t forget those concerns. Using a notebook not a piece of paper is much preferable since it’s less likely to get lost.

Healthy Snack -No matter how well intentioned you are, you won’t be able to concentrate or focus if you are hungry. Keep a good supply of non perishable healthy snacks close to hand and never let yourself get too hungry, almonds, raisins and V8 are a few examples.

Clutter Free Environment – This can be tricky at first, but once you have experienced how happy you feel when you walk into your office and you see clear surfaces and the floor, there is no going back. Nothing distracts you, or makes you feel overwhelmed and eats into your time like clutter. Take 15 minutes a day to clean your office and then once it’s ship shape spend a few minutes each day doing maintenance.

The results will leave you feeling productive and proud of yourself!

Pin It

Filed Under: Adult ADHD Tagged: adhd, clutter, declutter, organization

An Organized Environment

Posted on May 18, 2009 Written by Jacqueline Sinfield Leave a Comment

furnitureAn Organized Environment Having an organized environment helps adults with ADHD feel calm, focused and able to function at their peak. However, having ADHD also means achieving and maintaining an organized environment is really hard. One of the biggest challenges is the accumulation of clutter. In my book, Untapped Brilliance, I have a chapter about achieving a clean, tidy and organized environment and I am always interested to learn more about this subject so I can in turn pass the information on to my clients. It was with fascination that I read organization guru Julie Morgenstern’s book SHED Your Stuff, Change Your Life: A Four-Step Guide to Getting Unstuck.

Julie makes the connection between hoarding your belongings and staying stuck in life. It is really hard to move forward in life when you have the physical and mental reminds of the past. She gives a powerful personal example of how her old belongings were preventing her from moving forward.

Her childhood passion for theatre led her to be a theatre director. Then when her circumstances changed and she was a single mum, she started her own business as a professional organizer. Her business was going well, however she noticed it had reached a plateau. Due to lack of storage, she had six boxes of theatre production books (her old life) housed under her dining room table. By getting rid of those boxes, she witnessed a remarkable growth in her business (her current life).

Because getting rid of things is so hard for people with ADHD, I really liked Julie’s philosophy as it gives a deeper meaning to getting rid of your clutter. She suggests picking a theme for the next chapter of your life. This theme acts as a mental guide to help you get rid of your belongings that reflect your old life’s chapters.

So are you ready to create a beautiful living environment for yourself? One that helps you move forward in the direction of your dreams? Here are the five steps:

Pick a theme for your next life chapter. Are you a singleton, empty nester, freshly graduated or about to embrace a new healthy lifestyle? Identify yours and then use a few positive words to describe your theme.
Write list of every area you want to declutter. You probably know where your clutter is lurking in your house. There might be a little in every room, or you might have one room that is “off limits.” Writing it down gets it clear in your mind and acts as a great reminder of what you have done, once you start putting checkmarks beside areas that you have decluttered.
Grab your kitchen timer and work for fifteen minutes a day on the Decluttering process. If you are inspired to do more than fifteen minutes, go for it, but don’t burn yourself out in one day. Then you won’t be able to face Decluttering again for months.
If you are unsure if you should part with something, remember your theme. Does this item fit in with where you are going in life?
Reward yourself along the way. The benefits of decluttering are huge; however, they aren’t always obvious in the beginning. Give yourself treats and rewards every time you do your Decluttering.

Pin It