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Organizing Solutions for People with ADHD
- GenresNonfiction
Unknown Binding
Published June 1, 2012
About the author
Susan C. Pinsky
6 books30 followersSusan C. Pinsky is the author of the best-selling Organizing Solutions for People with Attention Deficit Disorder. She is a top professional organizer and member of the National Association of Professional Organizers. She lives in Acton, MA with her husband and three children.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
July 14, 2026
While a lot of this book assumes you live in a middle-class suburban home with 2.5 kids and helpful family and lovely neighbours, there are actually some good tips. Most of it is finally giving myself permission to go for efficiency over aesthetics. I've collated my favourite takeaways so I don't have to reread the entire book again when I need to see them:
Is it easy to retrieve and, more importantly, easy to put away?
Socks need never again be mated and sorted. They get dumped directly and willy-nilly from the laundry into the sock drawer. Of course, the drawer will look like a wild jumble of socks (see photo on page 86), but it will be easy to use and maintain. Our goal cannot be beauty, it must instead be practicality.
How is getting rid of perfectly sound goods the most efficient system? It is more efficient because you are managing less stuff.
If so, then why are you hanging on to all of those gifts you don’t like or can’t use? You appreciated the sentiment when you said thank you—now get rid of all that stuff you don’t want. Give it to charity so it can fulfill its destiny as a treasured item by finding its way into the home of someone who will treasure it.
If you find yourself hesitating to get rid of something because you are holding on to it for your sister, waiting to get it appraised by a knowledgeable Hummel dealer, or planning to put it on eBay (after you get your digital camera fixed), then you are making it too complicated to reduce the inventory in your home.
Save the planet by reducing your purchases and forgive yourself the occasional reuse/recycle lapse.
Rely on tall open shelving for the bulk of your storage needs—the easiest method for putting something away is to pop it onto a shelf; if you have to open cupboard doors or pry off lids, you’ve added an unnecessary step, which is an impediment to putting things away.
Open front bins on shelves are the most efficient container system. Items stored inside are easy to
access and easy to put away.
KITCHEN
Locate china and cookware, not food, in areas that are convenient to the sink and dishwasher.
Use the cabinets farthest from your sink to store food.
If you must have a kitchen office, then segregate the office from the kitchen supplies. Name one cabinet and counter “The Kitchen Office”—try to choose an area near the kitchen phone. Then remove all kitchen supplies (food/dishes) from this space and replace them with office support items (paper, pen, stacking trays, and most important, a trash can).
Too many utensils in a drawer fit awkwardly, bunching up and rattling, so the drawer itself is difficult to open because the ladle is having relations with the potato masher. Store them instead in a carousel or large “canister” (glass, ceramic, or metal) so that you can see everything you have without having to open a drawer.
Naming the shelves—from top to bottom “snacks,” “breakfast,” and “cans”—gives you a guide for which groceries and how many can be appropriately stored here.
Don’t allow your cabinets to fill up; maintain empty shelf space.
Don’t worry about running out of something—running out is a triumph of organization! It means that you didn’t tie up your money in overstock or clutter your cabinets with excess; it means that you are frugal, resilient, and resourceful enough to cheerfully work though the toast when the cereal is gone.
Cast your eye over the remaining food and divide it as best as you can into as many categories as you have empty shelves.
Hang shopping bags on the doorknob so that they will be in your path when you exit the home.
You never want to have to lift one dish to get to another.
Clean sponges, dishtowels, and dishcloths can be kept, jumbled and unfolded, under the sink in a plastic dishpan.
Duplicate where necessary to store things where you use them.
Also keep modest cleaning supplies handy for small spontaneous jobs. A container of disinfecting wipes along with a wastebasket should live in just about every room in your home.
BEDROOM
If there are multiple beds of the same size in the home, then you will need only one set of spare sheets in that size. Linens should come off the bed only when you are on the point of washing them, and then ideally that same set should return to the bed that same day, completely eliminating the “fold the sheets” chore from your life.
Do not store your linens together in a central location. It is more efficient to store them near the bed for which they are intended.
Don’t bother folding undergarments or rolling socks.
In an ADHD home, the onerous “seasonal switch” chore should be eliminated if at all possible.
As long as each bin holds one category or activity only, you will have achieved an efficient and easy, though not particularly beautiful, organizational system for your wardrobe accessories, activities, and athletic endeavors.
The best place to store the bulk of your jewelry —even the most treasured items—is a clear plastic open tray, with built-in bins positioned in front of the mirror where you don it.
Also, get rid of any small decorative boxes used for jewelry; it is inefficient to be opening and shutting a series of boxes and drawers in order to locate a particular piece
Long necklaces belong on press-on plastic adhesive hooks
Organizing by length creates storage space underneath hanging clothes. A shelf-style rack is easiest for shoe storage and hooks provide easy storage, for sweaters and robes. The top shelf holds a single open bin for out-of-season clothes, a single change of linens, and a suitcase. Plastic hangers don’t tangle and help to prevent overcrowding.
The multi-hook units provide the most storage, but sometimes single hooks can be accommodated away from the hinge if the door jam is tight.
Accept that your most frequently worn shoes should be kept on the closet floor.
LAUNDRY
Reduce towels to one bath towel per family member, two for those with long hair. Wash them infrequently (a clean towel on a clean body doesn’t need to be washed after every use). Store them on the door hooks in the owner’s room (no folding!), so they can get thrown in with the owner’s laundry, eliminating the need for a “towel load.”
OFFICE
The bulletin board calendar uses a whiteboard for the weekly seasonal schedule matrix. The monthly calendar and activity schedules for soccer and hockey are pinned to the board. A clear upright bin affixed to the board holds active paperwork, a newsletter, and a pad of paper for “to-do” lists.
STORAGE
No member of the family should own more than three coats—heavy winter, spring jacket, and trench/rain coat.
Is it easy to retrieve and, more importantly, easy to put away?
Socks need never again be mated and sorted. They get dumped directly and willy-nilly from the laundry into the sock drawer. Of course, the drawer will look like a wild jumble of socks (see photo on page 86), but it will be easy to use and maintain. Our goal cannot be beauty, it must instead be practicality.
How is getting rid of perfectly sound goods the most efficient system? It is more efficient because you are managing less stuff.
If so, then why are you hanging on to all of those gifts you don’t like or can’t use? You appreciated the sentiment when you said thank you—now get rid of all that stuff you don’t want. Give it to charity so it can fulfill its destiny as a treasured item by finding its way into the home of someone who will treasure it.
If you find yourself hesitating to get rid of something because you are holding on to it for your sister, waiting to get it appraised by a knowledgeable Hummel dealer, or planning to put it on eBay (after you get your digital camera fixed), then you are making it too complicated to reduce the inventory in your home.
Save the planet by reducing your purchases and forgive yourself the occasional reuse/recycle lapse.
Rely on tall open shelving for the bulk of your storage needs—the easiest method for putting something away is to pop it onto a shelf; if you have to open cupboard doors or pry off lids, you’ve added an unnecessary step, which is an impediment to putting things away.
Open front bins on shelves are the most efficient container system. Items stored inside are easy to
access and easy to put away.
KITCHEN
Locate china and cookware, not food, in areas that are convenient to the sink and dishwasher.
Use the cabinets farthest from your sink to store food.
If you must have a kitchen office, then segregate the office from the kitchen supplies. Name one cabinet and counter “The Kitchen Office”—try to choose an area near the kitchen phone. Then remove all kitchen supplies (food/dishes) from this space and replace them with office support items (paper, pen, stacking trays, and most important, a trash can).
Too many utensils in a drawer fit awkwardly, bunching up and rattling, so the drawer itself is difficult to open because the ladle is having relations with the potato masher. Store them instead in a carousel or large “canister” (glass, ceramic, or metal) so that you can see everything you have without having to open a drawer.
Naming the shelves—from top to bottom “snacks,” “breakfast,” and “cans”—gives you a guide for which groceries and how many can be appropriately stored here.
Don’t allow your cabinets to fill up; maintain empty shelf space.
Don’t worry about running out of something—running out is a triumph of organization! It means that you didn’t tie up your money in overstock or clutter your cabinets with excess; it means that you are frugal, resilient, and resourceful enough to cheerfully work though the toast when the cereal is gone.
Cast your eye over the remaining food and divide it as best as you can into as many categories as you have empty shelves.
Hang shopping bags on the doorknob so that they will be in your path when you exit the home.
You never want to have to lift one dish to get to another.
Clean sponges, dishtowels, and dishcloths can be kept, jumbled and unfolded, under the sink in a plastic dishpan.
Duplicate where necessary to store things where you use them.
Also keep modest cleaning supplies handy for small spontaneous jobs. A container of disinfecting wipes along with a wastebasket should live in just about every room in your home.
BEDROOM
If there are multiple beds of the same size in the home, then you will need only one set of spare sheets in that size. Linens should come off the bed only when you are on the point of washing them, and then ideally that same set should return to the bed that same day, completely eliminating the “fold the sheets” chore from your life.
Do not store your linens together in a central location. It is more efficient to store them near the bed for which they are intended.
Don’t bother folding undergarments or rolling socks.
In an ADHD home, the onerous “seasonal switch” chore should be eliminated if at all possible.
As long as each bin holds one category or activity only, you will have achieved an efficient and easy, though not particularly beautiful, organizational system for your wardrobe accessories, activities, and athletic endeavors.
The best place to store the bulk of your jewelry —even the most treasured items—is a clear plastic open tray, with built-in bins positioned in front of the mirror where you don it.
Also, get rid of any small decorative boxes used for jewelry; it is inefficient to be opening and shutting a series of boxes and drawers in order to locate a particular piece
Long necklaces belong on press-on plastic adhesive hooks
Organizing by length creates storage space underneath hanging clothes. A shelf-style rack is easiest for shoe storage and hooks provide easy storage, for sweaters and robes. The top shelf holds a single open bin for out-of-season clothes, a single change of linens, and a suitcase. Plastic hangers don’t tangle and help to prevent overcrowding.
The multi-hook units provide the most storage, but sometimes single hooks can be accommodated away from the hinge if the door jam is tight.
Accept that your most frequently worn shoes should be kept on the closet floor.
LAUNDRY
Reduce towels to one bath towel per family member, two for those with long hair. Wash them infrequently (a clean towel on a clean body doesn’t need to be washed after every use). Store them on the door hooks in the owner’s room (no folding!), so they can get thrown in with the owner’s laundry, eliminating the need for a “towel load.”
OFFICE
The bulletin board calendar uses a whiteboard for the weekly seasonal schedule matrix. The monthly calendar and activity schedules for soccer and hockey are pinned to the board. A clear upright bin affixed to the board holds active paperwork, a newsletter, and a pad of paper for “to-do” lists.
STORAGE
No member of the family should own more than three coats—heavy winter, spring jacket, and trench/rain coat.
July 25, 2025
This book makes a lot of assumptions. Like grab some nails and a hammer and put them in the wall to hang stuff. Ok great. No concept that many adhd people are very visual. It would drive me nuts to have a nail in the wall. It would be too much or a distraction. Much of the open bins would be visually unappealing and a distraction not w help
Donating or trashing what you already have is not helping the environment. It’s already bought and paid for 🤦🏼♀️
There was no new information I read that is not in any other organization/ decluttering book
At the one point she suggested having up to 3 dressers, a shoe shel/bench nightstand and a bin of your off season clothes at the end of your bed ! And your jewelry sitting open containers on your sink. Smacks of privilege. Not everyone lives in a McMansion
Then to suggest removing tags on children’s clothes but don’t worry about repairing any holes created. you have other concerns
I found it very disrespectful to ADHD people
Donating or trashing what you already have is not helping the environment. It’s already bought and paid for 🤦🏼♀️
There was no new information I read that is not in any other organization/ decluttering book
At the one point she suggested having up to 3 dressers, a shoe shel/bench nightstand and a bin of your off season clothes at the end of your bed ! And your jewelry sitting open containers on your sink. Smacks of privilege. Not everyone lives in a McMansion
Then to suggest removing tags on children’s clothes but don’t worry about repairing any holes created. you have other concerns
I found it very disrespectful to ADHD people
May 6, 2025
2.75/5 I rated this self-help book at just over par because most of the solutions the author provided were hacks I had already discovered and or devised for myself in an effort to cope with my day to day existence. I wasn’t professionally diagnosed with Adult ADHD until I was in my mid-fifties. Having spent five decades chastising myself for being disorganized, easily distracted, overwhelmed,—and according to my disapproving mother—slower than molasses, I developed coping mechanisms over time. In order to navigate homework, full-time work, tertiary education, renting, volunteering, homeownership, motherhood and project management, it was absolutely essential to develop coping mechanisms and ways in which to organize myself.
Disappointedly, this book added little to the strategies I had already organically devised out of desperation. About the only tip I hadn’t already contemplated or tried out was the suggestion of only buying myself two different coloured socks!
Disappointedly, this book added little to the strategies I had already organically devised out of desperation. About the only tip I hadn’t already contemplated or tried out was the suggestion of only buying myself two different coloured socks!
May 11, 2026
Two main ideas: less is more; keep things visually accessible. This book is not good for you if you do not have a lot of space or financial means to buy the open/clear bins idea.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews