Organizational Tip: Shelves!

How’s your office looking these days?  A cluttered and disorganized work space is a common issue I discuss with my ADHD clients.  Recently a client and I had a follow-up conversation about this issue.  It went like this:

“I just have to say these things have been a total game changer!  I’ve kept my office organized since we talked about this last.  That was three months or so ago, wasn’t it?  I mean it’s not perfect, but getting rid of all those drawers changed everyhing!”

“Drawers hid everything, but it hid them too well making it difficult to find things again.  With her new shelving system she could simply open the doors and see everything in her office or close them and feel free in her decluttered space.  ”

I love when my clients experience resounding success and, of course, I want to share it.  Who knows, this could be your “game changer”, too.  In fact, one of the amazing things about this game changer was that I had accidentally implemented this super ADHD friendly concept into my own household a few months before my client and it had been a game changer for us as well.

What could this amazing mystery technique be?  Wait for it…

Shelves.

Doesn’t sound that radical does it?  But it truly can be.

In our house utilizing shelves meant taking all of my child’s clothes out of the dresser where nothing could ever be found. Things were always being shoved in or were hanging out as if trying to escape whatever insanity that was going on in there.  I could spend significant chunks of time refolding and organizing those drawers on a regularly daily basis if I desired.  I did not.

So one day I took everything out of there.  We are blessed with a large bathroom with shelves and I cleared out a chunk of space for clothes and started stacking.  T-shirts here, long sleeve shirts there, shorts over here, pants over there.  Everyone was happier.  My child could see all their clothes and easily decide what to wear.  Things stayed folded and it was easier to see where things belonged which made it easier for everyone put things away.  As a lot of my clients like to say with relief “everything had a place” and the place was clear and easy to locate.

I hadn’t thought of this as an ADHD technique until my client brought it up to me a few months later when she had tackled her disorganized office and the drawers she had been trying to keep everything in and had instead invested in an IKEA like shelving unit with doors.  In one weekend she had assembled it and put everything in her office on a shelf with labels.  She instantaneously felt differently about this system than she had with drawers.  Drawers hid everything, but it hid them too well making it difficult to find things again.  With her new shelving system she could simply open the doors and see everything in her office or close them and feel free in her decluttered space.  

Being able to see things so as to not forget anything tends to be hugely important point for many of my clients with ADHD.  These shelving units assuaged that concern.  Knowing everything has a place is equally important to a lot of my clients and without that certainty can deter my clients from even starting to clean up.  Additionally, the ability to close the doors and have all the clutter go away in one instant is just as important.  Have a clear space to think can often work magic for my clients with ADHD.

So there you have it.  Shelves.  Do you use them already?  Do you find them helpful?  What else do you find helpful to organize your spaces? Please share in the comments below!