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Adult ADD Support Group Previous Notes Page
Topic: Dealing with Clutter in your life.
Presenter:
Daine Halley, Interior
Designer - Professional Organizer.
Daine has experience in ADD and gave us a presentation on how to deal
with clutter in your life.
Meeting
Leader Pete Quily
Introduction:
Introduce yourself to 2 people you don't know.
-
Name
-
Describe on of your strengths, big
or small
-
Example of problem with clutter or
other problem
Daine's
Presentation
Clutter is Postponed Decisions
Barbara
Hempill, author of Taming the Paper Tiger
ADD
Organizing Challenges:
-
Forgetfulness
-
Inconsistent
-
Out of sight is out of mind:
-
Most strategies that work for others
will not work for us
-
The repetitious act of organizing
is not stimulating
-
Make peace with what is going on for
them (the way we are wired and how we cope)
-
May have a great system until something
happens and we miss a beat
Secondary
Symptoms:
-
Pain and Shame
-
Isolation
-
Wasted time
-
Tension in relationships
-
Lost items
-
Hoarding
-
Packrat
Solutions:
-
Really easy, simple and elegant
-
Fun (OK what I mean is not painful)
-
System has to be Visual
-
May not work for anyone else but does
for me
-
Own that I am not one of those people
who are ÒnaturallyÓ organized and find new ways that will work
-
Get support
Daine's
Favourite Strategies:
-
Mail Centre: A place in your
home you always deal with your mail. I have a little hanging file
box with files: Action, To File, and the Current and Upcoming month
for tax related items.
-
Launch Pad: I use a pole from
Ikea that is like a Valet. I have my keys, watch, earrings, rings,
cell phone charger, hand bag, shoes for that day, etc. I always
keep these items there and have not lost my keys since.
-
Organized Kitchen: I like using
Tupperware in the kitchen to keep all my food organized with ShelfSmart
and Modular Mates and at a glance I know what to add to my shopping
list. The fridge is organized with FridgeSmart containers.
-
To Do Basket: A basket you
can put in one spot in your home and put things/projects that need
action. I also use Ikea bags to transport things that need to be
returned or taken somewhere else.
-
My Computer and Personal Digital
Assistant: I use Microsoft Outlook with the FranklinCovey PlanPlus
software. It takes the time-tested planning methods from FranklinCovey
and seamlessly integrates them directly into your Outlook software.
I synchronize the calendar, contacts, tasks, notes, email, Word
and Excel files from my computer to my Palm PDA. I have everything
I need and carry less when I am away from home.
-
Supportive people in your life.
Books
for more information:
Add-Friendly Ways to Organize Your Life
by Sam Goldstein (Foreword), Judith Kolberg (Author), Kathleen Nadeau
(Author)
Unclutter Your Life: Transforming Your Physical, Mental and Emotional
Space
by Katherine Gibson (Author)
Organizing from the Inside Out: The Foolproof System for Organizing
Your Home, Your Office and Your Life
by Julie Morgenstern (Author)
Links
on the Web:
Professional
Organizers in Canada help their clients to find balance,
restore order and maximize their time and resources at home,
office and workplace locations. Services vary widely, depending
on the area or range of specialization.
The
Paper Tiger software is a powerful filing system that uses the power
of your computer to help you get organized and stay organized.
Get
Organized Now! Web site, where you'll discover thousands of tips
and ideas to help you organize your home, organize your office and organize
your life!
Pete
Quily, an Adult ADD Coach, can help you with customized strategies,
motivation, realignments and support in reducing the clutter in your
life.
When
all else fails:
Daine
Halley
Interior
Designer - Professional Organizer
Comet Interior Design
Residential - Retail - Recreational
www.cometinteriordesign.com
Cellular 604-240-0230
Some
of the questions or comments during the meeting:
-
One person does not have a clutter
problem. Everything is really organized and they know exactly where
to find it in one of the three storage lockers. On the surface this
may not be a problem. However if a person had to pay for all this
storage then there would be costs/prices associated with having
so many belongings. Daine asked the person a few questions and may
have got the reason for all the items: all of them were useful and
of good quality. These are great reasons for keeping something but
there can be a price.
-
How to stay focused on a task or
even get going on it? Use a timer set for 15 minutes and agree to
do just the 15 minutes. If after an hour goes by and you are still
doing the task great. If you find yourself off task 15 minutes later,
go back to the original task. If you forget what it was that you
started doing in the first place, attach a note to the timer about
the task you need to work on.
-
If you cannot afford an organizer,
trade off with someone that will support you in completing the tasks
you need to do by keeping you on track. Trade off with the other
person for something they need done.
-
What do I do if a strategy no longer
works? A part of having ADD is the need of constant stimulation
and to keep things new. Know that you will need to tweak your strategies
from time to time. That is what making peace with your condition
is about.
-
Know what your why or value is for
getting or keeping organized. If there is not a real reason to be
better organized than guilt or feeling like you just should be,
it will most likely not happen for you.
-
Balance: If you buy something or
bring it home, get rid of 2 for a while then move to a balance of
one item for one item.
-
Traveling: Pack more than you will
need? When you get back from your trip make a list of what you actually
used as you unpack and keep that list in a place where you will
find it (maybe in the luggage).
-
It is okay to let go of things you
are not using or have not used in a long time. Let go and the guilt
that goes along with that item/project/gift.
-
Don't compare yourself to the other
people who don't have ADD: you are special and unique in your own
way.
Next
Meeting: Wednesday, December 1, 2004
Topic:
Communications and Social skills for Adults with ADD
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