Michelle Zorbas, CPO®, CWC
We can have plenty of good reasons and motivation to get something done, and yet starting still feels impossible. Maybe you know you need to go through boxes in the basement or garage that are getting dusty and musty. Or you know you’d sleep better if your bedroom were less cluttered, but it’s just never a good time to tackle it.
Let’s look at a few reasons this happens and strategies to move forward.
ADHD/Brain-Based Conditions
People in this category may also be dealing with executive dysfunction. Our executive function helps us organize our thoughts and prioritize tasks. People with impaired execute functioning may
- often feel paralyzed
- be unable to follow through
- find that managing time is difficult
So what to do? First, keep the task short and simple and incorporate a timer.
If you have a massive pile of shredding to tackle, set a timer for 5 minutes, get through a small portion of it and then give yourself a break.
If you need to clean the kitchen, make a list of what needs to be done to accomplish that. Then pick one single task from the list:
- wipe down the stove
- load the dishwasher
- take out the recycling
Dopamine is crucial when it comes to motivation and rewards. With ADHD, the brain processes dopamine differently, so starting and staying focused on a boring task is even more difficult. The ADHD brain is constantly searching for stimulation.
One way to battle this is to make the task a game. Use the timer to challenge yourself, like gather all your laundry in under 2 minutes. Or combine the activity with one you do enjoy. For example, listen to your favorite podcast while folding the laundry.
Overwhelm
When I make my initial visit to a client’s home, I often hear, “I just don’t know where to start.” It always reminds me of the joke:
How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.
We need to break things down into small, bite-sized pieces. An example of this would be organizing a walk-in closet. Instead of pulling out every single item in one go:
- Choose a category (example: tackle the t-shirts first)
- Gather all the T-shirts from your closet, drawers, laundry room, etc
- Separate them into piles:
- Keep
- Donate
- Recycle
- Put the keep pile back in the closet (or drawer)
- Then choose another category, like pants, and repeat the process
In the kitchen, pick a drawer or cabinet to go through. In the playroom, choose a category of toys like vehicles, or dolls.
When you do it this way, you’ll be less likely to run out of steam before you finish. Smaller attainable goals also make it easier to rack up wins and build momentum.
It’s Personal
Depending on what we’re decluttering, it can leave us feeling some big emotions. Items from deceased loved ones, photographs, childhood keepsakes, greeting cards… it can be a lot.
So if you find yourself putting off these types of decluttering tasks, ask yourself if it’s the emotions you’re avoiding more than the chore. If it is, let yourself off the hook before you begin. Tell yourself from the get-go, if you get stuck on something, you’re going to set it aside and move on. Don’t let any single object stop you from getting through the whole pile. It’s okay to have a “maybe” pile of things you’re just not ready to decide on. Remember the goal is progress, not perfection.
You can also try to depersonalize it. Take a step back and pretend the item belongs to someone else. What would you tell them to do with it if you were seeing it for the first time?
Hear more from NAPO pros on creative and compassionate ways to tackle sentimental clutter in this podcast Letting Go with Love and this webinar Grief Awareness & Professional Organizing.
You Don’t Know What You Don’t Know
We are the products of our environment. When a child grows up in a chronically disorganized home, they aren’t learning skills to become an organized adult. In this case, they need resources to build that knowledge like reading books or finding a professional to guide them.
One of my favorite reads is “Organizing from the Inside Out” by Julie Morgenstern. In it, she discusses looking for where the technical error is. For example, if an item does not have a specific home or if you have more belongings than you have space, those are errors. Once we identify the specific error, we can work on the solution to fix it.
Final Note
At the end of the day, in all of these situations, finding the root of the problem is key. So when the desire to get organized is there, but you still feel stuck, it’s not that it’s impossible. You just need to do some investigating. Maybe it’s undiagnosed ADHD, maybe you’re exhausted, maybe you need guidance on how to declutter.
Whatever your barriers are, remember resources like NAPO are always a great place to start. Find a local organizing or productivity professional near you.
Learn more about what gets in the way of decluttering and organizing by diving into some of the education NAPO offers:
I Guess I Should Do It: Help Clients Deal with Ambiguity & Ambivalence
Brain-Based Conditions Specialist Certificate
Meet the author, Michelle Zorbas, CPO®, CWC
Since 2017, Michelle Zorbas, CPO®, CWC has been helping homes & small businesses become more organized and efficient. Michelle is a Certified Professional Organizer & Productivity Specialist. She holds certifications in ADHD, Hoarding Issues and Time Management. She is also a Mayo Clinic certified Wellness Coach, which helps her empower clients to identify and achieve their goals
Her background includes a decade in TV news. She graduated from NYU with a BA in Journalism & Psychology. She’s spent nearly a decade as a volunteer EMT in NY & NJ and currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Better Business Bureau.
Michelle and her husband Ken also own Kitchen Wise Closet Wise of Bergen County.