Organizing Solutions for People with Attention Deficit Disorder: Tips and Tools to Help You Take Charge of Your Life and Get Organized

In a really well laid out and visually appealing book, Susan Pinsky takes us on a tour of our homes, and suggests ways to make cleaning them up and establishing systems to minimize the chaos and clutter... Turning to many of the pages - - empathizing with virtually ALL of the problems she identified I almost found myself chuckling then wanting to cry... I imagine that most ADD'ers have had "issues" with shame and conflict resulting for difficulty cleaning and getting organized (especially when living with other people.) Here in this book Pinsky offers solutions that center mostly around themes of practicality - - simplification and de-cluttering... A recurrent theme is never to choose an organization system because of how it looks... but rather the steps it minimizes... In the world of ADD the goal is simple and practical, not ideal and perfect... I found this re-currant focus particularly useful because until recently I had no concept of cleaning... cleaning has always been a struggle for me and when I do I tend to over-do it and in the process of "micro-focusing" (as she calls it) get totally lost and get nothing done... only ending up more frustrating... however, one chapter suggests storing washing rags under the sink in a bucket... Immediately, I went to the kitchen, collected up all the rags laying in, on, around, near the sink, on the tables, on the floor even in the closet and did thusly... and have to admit I felt really proud when I actually decided to make an effort to do the dishes and immediately was able to grab the rag like a pro. - - Also, I really appreciate her advice against stacking things when storing them -- as things become hard to find, it becomes particularly problematic to a person with ADD, who instead of being able to add the item to its place, simply will give up and throw it everywhere rather than tear the closet apart... I do have one serious criticism of the book... I think its serious but I'm still giving it 5 stars because of all the other stuff. A major theme of the book is de-cluttering... For sure, it is great advice, but the author offers advice on de-cluttering children and teenagers room which I feel is intrusive and although a short term solution, may offer more problems in the long term. As an example she suggests to ask the child to pick out toys he wants to give to charity... great advice... then goes on with her evil plan: - -she says to get it over with quickly as all children have closure issues with toys... then when the child is not around simply go in the room and get rid of all other toys he or she seems not to use... (!) - - She herself seems to feel a momentary pang of guil and mentions that as the parent you know best and have to do what's best for the child... I disagree with this: my parents constantly made efforts to organize my room and it only created a lot of resentment and antagonism... I appreciated the room suddenly becoming clean and fresh looking, but had a sense

I was diagnosed with adult ADD several years ago. I've struggled to find guidance and direction with tasks that others find easy - keeping the house clean, putting away laundry, keeping track of bills and paperwork. I hired a professional organizer who gave me generic organizing tips, and bought many books on organizing that recommended "pretty baskets and keeping your keys by the front door". Gee, thanks. This kind of unrealistic advice (for someone with ADD) just made me feel more of a failure. This book was a REVELATION. Cuts through the attractive but unrealistic organizing of Martha Stewart/Real Simple types (no offense) and gives REAL suggestions that work for ADD people and their families. The book is broken down into easy to manage sections, with great examples and photos. This book has changed my approach to managing my ADD and it really, really works. Thank you, Mrs. Pinsky.

After reading this book, I realize how simple it is to turn my currently inefficient and multi-step systems into ones that make day-to-day living easier. I love the format of the book. I was able to peruse the chapters so I could jump right into the biggest problem areas in the house and put her solutions to work right away. Like most people with ADD, the easier I can implement something right away, the more likely I am to follow through with a project. For example, the suggestion to take the kids' hampers out of the closets and put them uncovered in the bedrooms near where their clothes are taken off, brought immediate compliance without me having to say a word. Also, now that his towel rack is in his room, my teenage ADD son actually hangs up his wet towel! Some organizing books and magazine articles promote systems that a busy family, especially with one or two ADD members, just can't realistically maintain because they are too cumbersome. Susan Pinsky's solutions make sense and the end result is a more efficient, peaceful home. Aah...

Although nobody in my household has ADD, with just a tiny bit of tweaking, these ideas work for us, and Susan's treatment of the subject of ADD gives me a better understanding of it. This book is so skillfully arranged, you can find the chapter on a particular area of the house quickly, and the second you find the page, the solution is right there on a sticky note for you. Susan is all over the house with solutions for your cluttered dining table, kitchen garbage, family calendar, spice rack, and sock drawer, to name just a few, and with every step she's recommending what she calls he Brutal Purge. Too much 'stuff' is the enemy of all family members, not just those of us who do most of the cleaning, and the Brutal Purge is our ticket to freedom. Maybe you'll skip the part about children's bedrooms if you don't have children, but you'll linger over several good solutions for something we all have ... paper clutter ... bills, magazines, recipes, invitations, to-do lists, etc., and you'll love the implementation of 'staging areas', and the concept that you don't have to feel guilty about getting rid of things.