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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]

P.s. Both kids have ADD and possibly spouse too.

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OP I have ADD. I struggle with putting things away.

I read a great book on organizing when you have ADD. It was written by a professional organizer who did NOT have ADHD but her daughter, I think, did, and it was based on what she learned helped her daughter.

[url]https://www.amazon.com/Organizing-Solutions-People-ADHD-3rd/dp/0760381623/ref=asc_df_0760381623/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=598351629263&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=257476546444658479&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9051727&hvtargid=pla-1733313179256&psc=1[/url]

Here's one example of a principle I learned. You need to make it SUPER EASY to put things away. If any decisions have to happen to put something away, it will be too hard and the stuff will just be put down on a flat surface "for now".

So for example in my kitchen cabinet - it is OK to have stacking bowls, plates etc but they all have to be the same size NOT nesting. Three mixing bowls that are the same size are fine as long as you can easily get one out and place it back, but if you have to remove two bowls to place the third on top, that's no good.  And a small, medium, and large mixing bowl that nest will NOT work. To put the medium one back you will have to pull the large one out, remove the small one that is inside it, and replace the medium then put the small back in .. that's TOO MUCH WORK and I won't do it so I'll just leave the medium on the counter "for now" until I get around to "FINALLY CLEANING THE CABINETS"... and that's how it goes. Same thing for nesting glass measuring cups. They just don't work for me. Either everything stands on its own, or if it nests, everything has to be exactly the same size.

You need to set things up so there are very few decisions to make at the point of putting things away. An over the door shoe holder with labeled pockets for various items works great for an organized person, but a person with ADHD won't take the time to look and see where stuff should go, and they do not remember where it should go. A two ox system is much better.  Another great idea I learned from her for kids with ADHD was to have a box under their bed for a "backpack dump". You have the kids empty their backpack every week, but you don't make them actually sort through everything and think about it - that's too much for them. But just dump whatever is in the backpack into the box (removing obvious trash). When inevitably they realize the need a paper that was in there, it'll be at the top of the box most likely so they can find it, so no worried about accidentally throwing out something vital. At the end of the school year it is easier to just trash the whole box.

And every basket or bin needs to be an adequate size to hold what you want them to put away.  If the garbage can is constantly overflowing get a larger garbage can.

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