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Home Neat Home: An ADHD Organization Plan

ADHD is not synonymous with mess. Here, professional organizer and author Lisa Woodruff offers advice for adults with ADHD on how to tackle the clutter, set up weekly systems, think beyond the to-do list, and maintain a positive mindset while making progress every day.

6 Comments: Home Neat Home: An ADHD Organization Plan

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  1. Great article! I really appreciate this as it’s something I struggle with. The advice is very good, and it’s a relief to see more than just the usual 10 tips.

    As far as the detractions, it’s all helplessness and self-pity, sadly it’s REALLY common in the ADHD community and contributes to the negative stigma about us.

    She tried to give us some tools to help organize a living space-we don’t have to like or use every one. Beyond making these suggestions, what more could she do if they aren’t exactly what you need? Medication wouldn’t be up to her, or just accept that one will never be able to organize their living space no matter how much advise is given? She can’t write to that person in this article because that’s a different conversation altogether.

  2. Her helpful hints are anything but helpful. She clearly does not understand ADHD at all! And this suggestion to put a time to a task is really not fair. People have time blindness and have no idea how long it takes to do a task. That’s just one of her errors. She’s full of them. And she’s condescending.

  3. I tried Mrs. Woodruff’s ideas before. Some are effective, but others (this LONG LONG list for example), are just not possible to a person who has true ADHD. I believe her intent is honest and good, but my brain sees the over-simplification coupled with a litany of numbers very differently.

  4. Heaps of her strategies are really good. But it’s way too clear she doesn’t quite understand ADHD enough to realise it’s not quite as simple as that.

    The tone of her writing is like ‘its simple, obvious, just do this & you’ll be fine’ without leaving enough room to validate that we literally CANT do those things naturally. Not to mention her frustrations with all her ADHD clients presenting similar problems (like the perfectionism mentioned constantly) comes through a little too strongly ie ‘organising your home is not a chance to express your creative side’

    Yep, she can clearly see the symptoms accurately. But her solutions are a little too ‘just do it’.

    Maybe I’m being overly sensitive but then – that’s an ADHD symptom too. You guys usually choose really great authors but despite some good hot tips the tone of this one just really put me off and made me feel guilty or like a failure.

  5. I don’t have full ADHD the way the men in my family do, but I have some organization and memory issues. Too much chaos and not enough structure in my life was something that I really needed to work on and change, especially after two kids.

    This is an excellent and eerily accurate list of all the strategies/skills/habits that I’ve been practicing for the last 5 years or so. I’m happy to say that it’s made a real improvement on all fronts. Slow but steady progress. My home isn’t perfect, but it’s a much better place to be now. It’s set up for relaxation and ease and knowing where everything is, instead of chaos and frustration. I don’t really lose things anymore, and I arrive places on time because of it. There are a lot of positive ripples outwards.

    Still working on:
    I never take “before” photos, I don’t know why. I feel embarrassed? Then I don’t realize how much I’ve done, or I forget that I’ve made any progress at all. I take plenty of photos after, but none before. I accomplish something or build something and then instantly forget about it. It’s kind of weird. So yes, “before” pictures. Just started working on that.

    Also, I haven’t timed my tasks to see how long they actually take (usually much less than expected). That’s a good suggestion.

    I feel like what I have really learned how to do so far is be better at living. I didn’t do all this at once, I just kind of chipped away at my problems and tried to get better using many of the strategies listed here. If you want to change, you can!

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