7 Ways to De-Clutter

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If you’ve got Attention Deficit Disorder, it’s easy for things to get piled up and cluttered.

We put things down without thinking (and wonder where they are later). We leave stuff out so we won’t lose or forget it and then it gets lost in the rest of the stuff we’ve left out.

Here are 7 ways to help you de-clutter:

1. Have a friend or relative work with you to help you get rid of your excess stuff. Working with someone can help the job go by faster, plus they can act as the voice of reason when you’re trying to talk yourself into keeping all 3 copies of Collecting Knick Knacks for Fun.

2. Be prepared with supplies before you get started. Boxes, garbage bags and baskets all help you sort items more easily.

3. Take any items to be donated (think of it as blessing others) directly to your car, and then decide when you’re going to drop them off and where. Then do it. Don’t wait until you’ve de-cluttered everything; drop off whatever you’ve collected so far.

4. If you can’t decide on whether or not to get rid of something, put it in a designated box and store it someplace inconvenient, like the attic or the crawlspace. Make a note on your calendar for six months from now. In six months, throw the box away. Do NOT open it, just throw it away (or get someone to do it for you).

5. Once you’ve cleared out your space, figure out what to do with what’s left. Organizing is more than neat piles. Find a “home” for everything you own and make it permanent. Almost everybody stores their water glasses by the kitchen sink, and the toilet paper and towels in the bathroom. Make similar, logical rules for what you own. If you don’t know where something should “live”, think about where you most use it, or find it.

6. Make de-cluttering a part of your regular weekly routine. Each week, when you do your normal cleaning, look for extra clutter. Old newspapers and magazines, junk mail and catalogs, whatever. Get rid of it a little at a time and it won’t overwhelm you any more.

7. Teach your family to pick up after themselves and put their own things away. In my house, with 5 ADDers, it was hard, but we did it. You can do it too. One of my rules was that if something was left out for more than 24 hours, I took possession of it for one week, or else you had to do extra chores to get it back. Maybe something similar will work for you.

Take the time and work through the issues you have around clutter. You will be glad you did.

Lacy Estelle

Lacy Estelle

Lacy Estelle is the writer of Lacyestelle.com and the Podcast host for An ADD Woman.

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2 Responses

  1. I recently read a book called Your Spacious Self, by Stephanie Bennett Vogt that has changed the weay I live! In the good of course.
    “Your Spacious Self” is a uniquely feminine approach to clutter clearing that invites its readers to do what does not come naturally—i.e. slow down, observe, listen, trust, feel, allow mystery, surrender… remember.
    I honestly enjoyed this book and hope you will enjoy it as well.

    Enjoy!

  2. Thanks, Chrissy! That sounds like a wonderful book! I’ll be sure to look for it – I like that approach to life in general.