“Our life is frittered away by detail… simplify, simplify.”
Henry David Thoreau
In organizing for ADD I always make efficiency –least number of steps, least amount of effort- take precedence in all of my organizing strategies. I reject beauty, preparedness and even frugality in order to create an efficient maintainable home and home office. Here are some examples where efficiency has been placed before other values in order to create a quick and easy-to-maintain system.
Beauty sacrificed to efficiency:
Tall kitchen sized garbage bins instead of small decorative waste baskets in the bathrooms and bedrooms make it easier to throw out shoe boxes and other packaging (bedroom), and feminine hygiene products and large shampoo bottles (bathroom), and of course don’t need to be emptied as often.
On the other hand, won’t your home be more beautiful if the garbage is in a garbage can?
Don’t be prepared, be resourceful:
Throw all of that paid bill paperwork you probably won’t need into the large paper recycling basket you should keep near your desk. On the off chance that you really do get curious regarding last January’s electric bill, you can either find it, filed chronologically, in the recycle bin, or resourcefully procure another copy with one phone call to the electric company.
Besides, overall won’t you be better prepared if the papers in your home are so limited that they become manageable?
Weighting frugality in the efficiency equation:
Consider selling your lawn mower and hiring a lawn service. True, it will be one more bill to pay, but that bill might represent one minute of your time and a negligible fraction of your seasonal budget, while mowing the lawn could cost you hours every week, garage space (the lawn mower must live somewhere), and of course further time and money for machine maintenance.
Is it possible that when the equation includes, time, space, and stress, then frugality is just too expensive?
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Susan, I bought your book for those of us with ADD. About 20 pages into it I began to feel so emotional. Finally someone who understands us has sent help! You really knew how to put this in a format that was an easy read, (short chapters,clear advice, pictures). I can’t thank you enough. I donated my other organizing books, the fat ones full of words, words and more words. This one really worked. I’m organized, all is running smoothly and it’s maintainable with little effort. I’m looking forward to your next book and THANK YOU!!! Sandi