If you live in a major city, many charities have regular pickup routesВ -В itвЂ™s just a matter of finding out when the truck will be in your neighborhood. ADHDвЂ™ers should have a plan for this before accumulating boxes and bags of donation items. I cannot tell you how many times weвЂ™ve had bags piled in the basement for months waiting to be taken to the electronics recycling center or the donation bins. She doesnвЂ™t mention a strategy to makeВ sure these thingsВ actually leave the house. I recommend breaking each project down into 30-to-60-minute chunks, factoring in time spentВ gathering materials, completing the task, and cleaning up.ДЄlso, DolandВ suggests sorting items into bags for Goodwill and putting them in the garage to take later.

ADHDвЂ™ers riskВ beginning a project like this with great gusto, only to lose steam and leave behind a bigger mess than when we started.

The key to making this book work for ADHD adults is breaking these projects down into manageable pieces. Ensuring these daily first impressions are good onesВ will provide immediate gratification and positive reinforcement. Just like some smokers quit by displayingВ a photo of the prize theyвЂ™ll buy with their cigarette money, we need a meaningful foundation for our efforts.В Once you begin to see your extraneous stuffВ as a barrier between you and thatВ remarkable life, youвЂ™re on your way to success.ДЄDHDвЂ™ers may benefit especially from DolandвЂ™s suggestion to prioritize the вЂњfirstsвЂќ in your life: the first place you see when you wake up in the morning, when you arrive at work, when you arrive home after work, etc. ADHDвЂ™ers who shy away fromВ structure and rules may find that philosophyВ helpful as they create new habits. Unclutter Your Life in One Week presents effectiveВ organizing strategies rooted in the belief that we all deserve a remarkable life. Trying to accomplish so much in so little time canВ lead to a demoralizing collapse of productive energy. I recommend using this book as a general guide and discarding the schedule Doland suggests. Maybe someВ highly motivated individuals canВ clear their calendars and stick to DolandвЂ™s timeline, but I havenвЂ™t met any of them.ДЄDHD readers should proceed with caution and set reasonable, attainable goals that wonвЂ™t max out your energy reserves. Mind you, you wonвЂ™t complete this process in one week. Author Erin Doland gives readers a comprehensive decluttering strategy backed by solid values. If you struggle to maintain (or create) order in your home, Unclutter Your Life in One Weekis a must-read. The original version of this review appeared in Mix Tapes & ScribblesВ on May 20, 2012.

Unclutter your life book