Struggling to find lost items? Your keys? Your phone? Your wallet?
Finding lost items is a huge challenge when it comes to organizing for ADHD adults. Be honest. How often do you race around muttering, “Where in the *&^%$ did I put my _______? “(fill in the blank)
Perhaps you’ve heard the basic rule of getting organized: Everything needs a home. Possessions without homes become homeless and get lost. They roam about and you never quite know where to find them.
Giving everything a home is a solid, basic organizing rule you need to pay attention to if you want to end the daily struggle to find your lost items such as your keys, phone, or wallet.
However, when it comes to getting organized with ADHD, we have to look at that idea of giving everything a home a tad differently. To be able to find lost items, ADHD adults need to create the right homes for their stuff. Not just any home will do.
Things you always use in one spot need what I call permanent homes. Things like kitchen knives, laundry detergent and office supplies. Sure they can get lost, but if you keep them where you use them you’ll be in pretty good shape.
Finding Lost Items That Roam Is The Real Problem
Finding lost items that never stay in the same place is more common. I call these things Travelers.
Travelers are things like cell phones, keys, glasses, purses or wallets.
Creating a permanent home for a Traveler won’t keep you from losing it because if you have Adult ADHD, always putting a Traveler away in its permanent home will take too many steps and you won’t do it. You’re more apt to set it down in some random place.
This means travelers actually need more than one home. They need a permanent home as well as numerous vacation homes.
Losing keys is a big problem for ADHD Adults, so let’s use my keys as an example of permanent and vacation homes.
The permanent home of my keys is in my purse. However, their vacation homes are:
- my car ignition,
- my right front pocket when I don’t carry my purse,
- by the phone on the left-hand kitchen counter by the back door,
- on the left corner of my dresser.
See how specific I am about my keys’ vacation homes? That’s the trick to not losing stuff if you have Adult ADHD.
You have to know exactly where the Travelers’ vacation homes are and PUT THEM THERE when you’re not using them.
Otherwise you will keep struggling to find your keys and other lost items and you’ll end up racing about yelling, “Where in the heck are my $%^&*@$ keys?”
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