These 10 organization tips for neurodivergent women are also perfect for any woman over the age of 45. Read on for help in creating a simple home.
The story.
It was like Christmas.
Only it was the beginning of summer, and I’d bought the items myself.
They were two matching baskets that were to hide arts and crafts materials on the bookcases in the living room. Living in 576 square feet with two other people, I had to be clever when it came to home organization.
Being neurodivergent, I had to make sure the organization worked for me.
Thanks to those baskets, I now have cozy spot all my own. Next to my rocking chair is a short bookcase, one of its two shelves holding one of the decorative baskets. When I need to self-regulate, all I have to do is sit in the chair, put on an audiobook, then select something from the basket to occupy my hands.
It’s my little corner of joy.
Organization for autistic women and women with ADHD can change your life.
If you’re neurodivergent – even neurotypical, but dealing with the exhaustion and lethargy of age – you need to organize your home in a way that makes walking into it a pleasure, not a burden.
Doing so will help you reach closer to your goal of living a quieter, simpler life.
Following are ten tips to help you do just that. Note first that household cleaning is a part of organization, especially in the context I’m going to put it in.
#1: Use clear storage.
If you have ADHD, not being able to see what’s inside of opaque containers might cause you anxiety. Use clear bins and jars to store your excess or out-of-season items.
#2 organization tip for neurodivergent women: Use opaque storage.
On the other hand, autistic women typically dislike any kind of visual clutter, because our brain is already letting in too much visual information.
If that’s you, use opaque storage containers, cabinets, and drawers to keep your things.
Read seven ADHD closet hacks to make getting dressed a joy!
#3: Have appropriately-placed landing spot.
This tip works for anyone, as this interior designing YouTuber insists. That is, wherever you naturally drop your keys, wallet, etc. when you get home, have a surface with a small box or dish to collect these items. That way, you always know where to find them.
Ditto for shoes, scarves, and hats. Many days, walking to the coat closet to put everything away there might be too much for you. So buy a special organizer that fits next to your front door to stow such items.
#4 organization tip for neurodivergent women: Hide those CDs and DVDs in plain sight.
Admit it, my fellow Gen-Xers and Baby Boomers: you’re still hanging onto CDs and DVDs, even though you pay for monthly streaming services or have ripped all the content you have onto your computer.
Chances are good that they are taking up precious space in a desk drawer, or lie helter-skelter on a shelf somewhere.
In that case, designate a shelf (or three) for your non-digital entertainment. You can either stack them all up in an attractive way, making them part of the décor, or you can obtain a basket with a cover and keep them in there.
#5: Use narrow, vertical shelves.
If your home is lacking shelf space, and you need it, buy a set of track shelving. You attach a metal track to the wall, then click on the individual shelf holders, on which you place each shelf. They are big enough for one book, and you can space them apart so you can stack several book on each or place a vase of flowers on one.
#6 organization tip for neurodivergent women: Practice a minimum viable clean.
In this post, I teach you how to create a cleaning schedule you can stick to.
But, let’s get real. As I write this post, I haven’t dusted in two weeks. At least. And both neurodivergent and postmenopausal women can experience long periods when it’s all they can do to get out of bed in the morning and feed themselves.
So practice the “minimum viable clean.” Choose three chores that must be done every day, and focus only on those. For most of us, they will be washing dishes, taking out the trash, and picking clothes up off the floor/getting the laundry done.
#7: Duplicate.
When most people think about simple living, they think about having as few items as possible.
But for the neurodivergent brain, sometimes having multiple iterations of commonly-used items throughout the home makes life a lot simpler than having to take them from one room to another.
Consider having scissors, pens, notepads, tape, and similar small everyday items in the most frequented areas of the house. They also tend to be helpful in bedrooms, as well.
#8 organization tip for neurodivergent women: Purchase and use low-effort tools.
Sometimes, frugality has to take second place to sanity. A robot vacuum, cleaning sprays that don’t need rinsing, and paper plates for days you absolutely can’t face washing dishes are just a few examples of low-energy tools you can incorporate into your home.
#9: Utilize vertical stacking inside cabinets.
Shelf risers, tiered organizers, and pegboards in cabinets reduce executive function output because they allow you to see everything at once. We neurodivergent women don’t need the extra stress of spending ten minutes to find that can of corn we must have for dinner!
#10 organization tip for neurodivergent women: Establish zones.
When you have zones for specific tasks, organization becomes much easier. The space designated for administrative tasks, for example, is where you’ll put bills and other paper correspondence, as well as your checkbook, pens, and so on.
You can create a “hobby zone,” where the small bookcase, storage ottoman, and/or desk houses materials needed for your hobbies.
A refueling zone is a must. This is the place you have set up for resetting your nervous system and regulating overloaded emotions, similar to what I depicted in the introductory story.
A simple home must be organized YOUR way!
Whether you have a neurodivergent brain, or have entered the time of life when brain fog is a daily occurrence but good sleep is not, a simple home means one that is organized in a way that first, makes sense to you; and second, makes life a lot easier.
Do you have additional organization tips? Please share them with us in the comments!
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