1 Simple System To Keep Your Room Clean With ADHD

My room is pristine because of this system

Photo by ian dooley on Unsplash

Your room is messy.

Everyone you know with ADHD probably has a messy room.

But mine hasn’t been for years.

Why?

A simple system that makes clutter go away within days.

The Drawer Method

With ADHD, our shit is out everywhere all the time.

Usually, it’s because if we can’t visibly see something, it doesn’t exist.

So, that bill we need to pay?

On the counter, so we will remember it when we walk through the kitchen.

That book we’ve been meaning to read?

Piled on top of three other ones on our nightstand, that is one gentle gust of wind away from toppling over.

This is where 90% of clutter comes from for folks with ADHD

Thankfully, there’s an easy fix for this.

First, find 2–3 empty drawers (or, since most of you don’t have any spare room in your drawers, invest in a moderately sized cabinet).

Next, put those drawers in an easy-to-access place (I put mine right next to my bed).

Now, think of an item you use every day, all the time (your phone is a good example).

In the first/top-most drawer, put your phone (or whatever item it is you use daily) and important things you need immediate access to.

For me, I put my medication, belts, floss, keys, wallet, headphones, clips, etc; These items should be important things you use regularly.

Do the same with the drawer right below it, but do it for slightly less important things that you use a bit less frequently (do what makes sense to your brain).

Continue this for as many drawers as you need (I find 3 is usually fine).

Put everything in these drawers that is out and about right now, and you will never lose anything.

Now, all that’s left is to put your phone in the top drawer every day.

That’s it- no more clutter.

Have a bill to pay in the next two days?

Put it in the drawer that has your phone/important item in it because you will open it every day to get that thing.

Have some paperwork you’ll need to use in 2–3 weeks?

Second drawer (if you do what makes sense to your ADHD brain, trust me, you’ll remember which one you put it in).

Light bulbs that you may need in a few months?

Third drawer.

This simple system helps you keep track of important things you need immediately and things you will need at some point in the future.

You never lose anything because there’s only one spot it could be in, and you’ll generally know where to start looking most of the time.

If you’re worried you’ll forget about something that’s important, top drawer it is!

If you run out of space in the top drawer, find another thing you use daily (for example, coffee beans), and put them in the second drawer.

Bam, now you have two places that you are guaranteed to look most days.

There is no longer a need to keep things out in the open.

This will feel awkward at first and a little weird.

Remembering to put things in the drawer is a struggle, too.

But that’s one of the beautiful things about this method.

If you mess it up, it takes 30 min to get it working again.

Just throw everything you left out into the appropriate drawer.

I’ve been able to put the contents of my entire room into my drawers within minutes since it’s a simple system.

Now, there are some caveats.

Let’s say that 3 drawers aren’t possibly enough.

Which, given that we love not throwing things away, is entirely possible.

Here’s another great thing about this method.

You can use any type of storage device.

Put your phone in the closet and, bam, all the same things still apply.

Have an empty room with lots of space?

Chuck your phone in there every night.

It’s a simple, adaptable method that has helped me so many times with decluttering my living space and with never losing anything.

Now, all that’s left is to get started (which is also, unfortunately, the hardest part).

I wish you luck and hope your counters and floors become visible for more than 2 weeks at a time with this method.