This past weekend my daughter Sarah, her husband Rob, and this guy came to visit.
We had a Thanksgiving dinner on Saturday and we were very busy all weekend. It was both wonderful and exhausting!
After they left, especially that guy, I had a mess to clean up.
He likes to rearrange, you see, and relocate, and just generally wreak havoc.
I took a quick nap after they left, and then had the house back in shape in no time.
How?
Organization.
You know that organizational skills are something that those of us with ADHD struggle with. It’s important to start with some basic rules and then put them in place wherever they need to be.
Here are 5 ways I stay organized at home:
- I have a place for most things and so it is easy to put them away. I have a basket under an end table for books, another basket for my rocks from the Great Lakes collection – a favorite toy, by the way – and a hutch in the kitchen that holds craft supplies and decorative accessories I use in my home.
- I’m relentless about getting rid of garbage and junk. My kitchen trash gets emptied daily, usually when I clean up after dinner. My kids go through a lot of pop (soda) so I grab the empties every time I leave a room and take them to recycling. Should I make them do it? Of course, but when everyone is together for a celebration, I don’t mind.
- I have a plan. Certain things happen every year at the same time. Chances are you cook or eat pretty much the same thing at most holidays: turkey for Thanksgiving, hot dogs and hamburgers for the 4th of July, and a ham at Easter. Make a master list so that you aren’t reinventing the wheel each time.
- Take shortcuts when you can. We used real dishes for our Thanksgiving meal, but paper plates for dessert. I made a lot of food from scratch, but when things get crazy, I go for easy and quick without sacrificing good food for junk. My crockpot, for instance, did the bulk of the work for my mashed potatoes, and I put it to work as much as I can when I know I’m having a crazy day or week.
- Ask for help. I treasure the time that my girls and I spent together cooking in the kitchen and just getting things ready. It makes it easier on me, but more importantly, it turns a chore into something fun and meaningful.
By the way, I am hard at work on a planner to help you get through the holidays in one piece. Look for it soon!