Many want to declutter their rooms and houses, but often get stuck on one of the many problems that come up when starting out to organize. When it comes to decluttering and ADHD, it's hard to know just how to start.
Have you ever tried to start a declutter project, and got caught with one of the following situations:
- You started to work, and then got distracted by something that came up
- You were ready and willing to declutter, but just couldn't seem to find any way to focus on what you were doing
- You purchased some courses, guides, and even some checklists, but then found no motivation or drive to declutter
If one of those situations is what you're dealing with right now, then keep on reading!
How To Focus While Decluttering
Before actually going into tips and tricks that will help you declutter, the first step is to understand why it's not easy to focus, and how we can use that for our personal gain.
People with ADHD usually struggle with at least one of the following:
- Not having a long attention span
- Not being interested in the task they're doing
- Under-estimating the time it will take to do something.
For many people who struggle with ADHD, attention span is a big issue. They just can't seem to stay focused on something long enough to get that task done.
If this is you, then the best thing you can do right now is figuring out for how long you can stay focused on something.
For example, if you can only stay focused for 10 minutes, use it to your advantage by not committing to anything more than 10 minutes at a time.
Some others who struggle with ADHD and want to declutter is that they find a lack of motivation to organize their house.
If that's you, the best course of action is to then turn decluttering into something that you will find fun, interesting, and enjoyable.
Others with ADHD will sometimes have issues with time management. For example, you may want to work (and finish) a project in a certain amount of time, but then realize it will be way longer than that, and then give up before even starting.
The easiest course of action is to focus not on the big project, but on how long you'll work on that project. Instead of thinking that you have to finish a certain room or closet, focus on working in time increments that your attention span will allow you to work.
Now that we understand why it can be hard for us to focus on decluttering (and ways to avoid them), we can go into the techniques that will help you achieve success!
Below are just a few simple tricks to understanding how you can stay focused when it comes to decluttering and ADHD.
Set A Timer For What Your Attention Span Will Allow
The first trick is just setting a timer. Set it to however much your attention span will allow you to focus.
When the timer begins, you start to pick up and put away as many things as you can within that time. Don't worry about how many you do, or whether you're going fast enough.
The point of this trick is to make your decluttering process a whole lot easier. If you tell yourself that you're only going to declutter for the next 10 minutes, then all you need to do is declutter for the next 10 minutes.
You don't need to try to get a room done in that amount of time (you can if you want to though), and you definitely don't need to get your home completely organized.
The great part of this technique is that you can set your timer over and over again.
Declutter for a certain amount of time, and then take a break and work on something else. When you're done, declutter for another amount of time.
Doing it this way will set you up for success and make you see the results you're looking for while you declutter.
By breaking it up into more manageable chunks, you'll be able to declutter so much more quickly, in a shorter amount of time, all while being completely focused on your task.
Focus Better By Playing A Game!
This simple trick works great for those of you who have trouble focusing due to focusing too much on how long a room will take to clear, as opposed to focusing on something else.
All you want to do is start by finding a room that you want to declutter. Break it up into 5 sections.
Tell yourself that within those 5 regions, you're going to pick up 5 things.
For example, if I was in my living room, I might have the toy closet, the sofa, the coffee table, the bookshelf, and the floor.
Starting with the closet, I would pick up 5 things. It might be 5 individual things or 5 groups of things. I may pick up 5 individual toy cars, or I may pick up a group of toy cars, a barbie, a group of blocks, a stuffed animal, and some toy kitchenware (5 individual and group of things).
After the closet, I would move onto the sofa and pick up 5 things from there, So on and so forth.
Similar to the previous tip above, you can do this over and over. Or, you can schedule this throughout your day, and do however many sets you need to (or want to) during that day.
Another great thing about this game trick is that you can also get kids involved with this as well. It can be super fun to race against each other or even just work with another person.
So, when you are in doubt about whether you can focus on decluttering, playing a game (or two) may just help you solve the problem.
Make A Hard Rule About Putting Items Away
Sometimes, it's not about how to declutter, as it is to make sure you don't make the clutter.
One of the hardest things for people with ADHD, and those who can't focus, is not putting things (completely) away.
They may start to attempt to put it away, but instead of the item making it to its final destination, it gets dropped somewhere else, left to clutter another part of your house.
That's where creating a hard rule can come into play.
If you are struggling with this issue, make for yourself a rule that if you pick something up, you need to put it away. That is your only task. Once you have put it away, then you'll be able to move on to the next project.
By doing this, you not only free yourself of cluttering up your house, but you also start to instill in yourself a good habit of picking up after yourself, and not getting unfocused in the smaller tasks you have.
Create this rule and you'll be surprised at how much clutter disappears!
Get Yourself Motivated With Music!
If you struggle with not being able to declutter because you lose interest, or because you never seem motivated, then why not try to add something extra to it?
My favorite way is to turn on some music that I enjoy. Doing this helps me get in the right mindset, and mood, to declutter what I want.
It doesn't matter what type of music, whether it's something face-paced, or something slower. As long as you enjoy it and it works for you, then go for it!
And it doesn't always have to only be music. I know that putting a few candles out and lighting them helps me make the setting the right environment for me to be more productive and get things done.
Get Rid Of Decluttering And ADHD Together!
Understanding the reasons behind it being hard to focus, as well as a few tips and tricks to get you started, will help resolve a lot of issues with both ADHD and Decluttering.
Understanding the why behind focusing is crucial to seeing the results you're looking for. Not only will the why help you declutter, but it will also help you keep and maintain an organized and clutter-free house.
Comment below and let me know which tip you're going to use right now to start decluttering your house!
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