Translating ADHD: Breaking Down Clutter – Tailored Organizing Tips for ADHD Brains

Podcast: Translating ADHD
Hosts: Asher Collins & Dusty Chipura
Episode: Breaking Down Clutter: Tailored Organizing Tips for ADHD Brains
Date: December 1, 2025

Episode Overview

In this episode, Ash and Dusty, both ADHD coaches with personal and professional experience, explore the realities and paradoxes of organizing with ADHD. They break down common struggles, dispel myths about universal tips, and bring actionable, individualized methods to the table. Drawing on their own journeys and clients’ stories, they discuss how clutter management isn’t just about tidying up—it’s about understanding your brain, shifting your mindset, and finding fluid, sustainable routines that honor your needs.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Types of Disorganization: Situational vs. Chronic

[00:57-04:37 | Ash]

• Ash distinguishes "situationally disorganized" (due to life events, ample space, etc.) from "chronically disorganized" individuals typical with ADHD.
  • Situational Example: One family’s large, cluttered home was a result of several life transitions. They needed help to tackle an overwhelming project but could maintain organization once established.
  • Chronic (ADHD) Example: ADHDers often believe that a massive overhaul will solve their organizing struggles. In reality, "clean slate thinking" often fails because ADHD brains struggle with the maintenance phase.

“What organized might look like for you might be different than what you see in a catalog or at the container store. You have to organize around what's going to work for your brain.”
— Ash [03:48]

• Clear, organized spaces can bring peace, but maintaining them is uniquely challenging for ADHDers, despite craving the calm organization brings.

2. The Limits of ADHD ‘Hacks’ and the Need for Individual Solutions

[04:37-07:19 | Dusty & Ash]

• Media is awash with ADHD organizing hacks, but what works for one person may backfire or feel demoralizing for another.
• Reference to Dr. Hallowell's "piles" strategy, highlighting how even experts offer conflicting advice.
• Dusty's core point: The path to effective organizing is trial and error; no universal hack works for everyone.

“So these hacks and these tips and tricks just end up being even more disempowering or they might even kind of reinforce harmful things.”
— Dusty [05:05]

• Maintenance is often neglected. “One-and-done” thinking is common but misleading—organisation is an ongoing process.

3. Reframing Organization as an Ongoing Care Task

[07:19-10:55 | Dusty & Ash]

• Inspired by Casey Davis ("How to Keep House While Drowning"), Dusty introduces the concept of “care tasks”—routine, cyclical chores, not definitive projects.
• Organizational tasks should be seen as ongoing cycles, similar to refilling a gas tank, rather than binary (all done or not done).

“She said care tasks are ongoing, they're cyclical… it's never done. But that doesn't mean that it's always not done. It's in a state of flux always.”
— Dusty [07:50]

• This mindset helps bypass perfectionism and feelings of failure triggered by social media’s unrealistic images of home organization.

“If you're actually living your life in your house, it's never or it's very rarely going to look or be, be that way.”
— Ash [09:47]

4. The Social Context and Costs of Maintenance

[10:55-12:12 | Dusty & Ash]

• The social and gendered pressure, especially for AFAB (assigned female at birth) ADHDers, to keep immaculately tidy homes can sap time and quality of life.
• Dusty reflects on her own large, busy home and the tradeoffs between cleaning and more meaningful time with family.

“You can prioritize having a clean home above all else, but is that really worth it when it takes up like that much of your time and energy?”
— Dusty [11:41]

5. Personalizing Your Organization Approach

[12:12-15:41 | Ash & Dusty]

• Ash shares a client story: Instead of hanging up everything, the client used baskets for most of her (wrinkle-free) laundry. The system worked for her, even if it was "unconventional.”
• Organizing systems must fit your brain and needs, not an external standard.

“So many, many years ago, I invested in a set of nice hangers so that all of my hangers match. But I don't need my closet to be more aesthetic than that.… I don't need to aspire to someone else's standard there.”
— Ash [14:07]

6. Decluttering, Inventory Management, and Limiting Beliefs

[15:41-19:14 | Dusty & Ash]

• Dusty discusses how minimalism helped her, but notes many clients are “pack rats,” making organizing far more challenging when inventory exceeds capacity.

  • Example: Her roommate needs “eight or nine coats,” each for a different purpose.

• Difference in client needs spotlights the importance of individualized approaches—minimalism isn't universally ideal.

7. Breaking It Down: The SPACE Method for Organization

[19:14-28:33 | Ash explains]

• Ash outlines the SPACE model (Julie Morgenstern’s framework):

  1. Sort: Group items by category that makes sense to you.
     • Example: A client’s t-shirts sorted into five categories, including “comedy t-shirts.”
  2. Purge: Once items are grouped, decide what to let go. Sorting first provides context and clarity.
     • Friends, Acquaintances, Strangers Method:
       • Friends: Keep
       • Strangers: Donate
       • Acquaintances: Negotiate
  3. Assign a Home: Designate specific locations for kept items, evaluate space versus possessions.
  4. Containerize: Only after sorting and assigning, use containers (often people buy containers first!).
  5. Equalize: Maintenance—do items make it back to their spots? Reassess as new things come in.

“We tend to buy the containers first.… Just live with [the new system] for a little while and maybe make do with what you have.”
— Ash [25:05]

8. Handling the Emotional Weight of Letting Go

[28:33-31:27 | Dusty & Ash]

• People often resist purging due to guilt (wasted money, gifts) or fear (“What if I need it?”).
• Ash suggests focusing on end goals: Prioritize making the current space functional instead of forcing decisions about everything at once.
• Use “partway gone” boxes—store questionable items elsewhere and revisit after 6-12 months.

9. Reinforcing Positive Change & Evaluating Value

[31:27-34:39 | Dusty & Ash]

• Dusty describes the “rent” model (Allison Lush): Items should “pay rent” through regular use or meaningful value.
  • Reflect: What is more costly—the stress of excess or the rare absence of something you donated?
• The act of getting even one space working can reinforce further progress.

“There’s whole rooms in our house that we can’t use because they’re filled with stuff that we don’t really need that isn’t contributing in any way to our joy. And so in a way that stuff is not paying us rent.”
— Dusty [32:24]

10. Defining Your Own Version of “Organized”

[34:39-36:47 | Ash & Dusty]

• Ash shares a success: A client who preferred open shelves and visible supplies (despite visual clutter) was thrilled—“organized” looked different for her than for Ash.

“The opportunity here is to discover what organized looks like for you. And if you don't know at all, start with something that feels relatively unintimidating.”
— Ash [35:58]

• Advice: Start small, with a single drawer or cabinet, and build confidence before tackling larger spaces.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “Most of my clients describe cluttered spaces, creating a lot of mental clutter, creating a lot of stress… it can feel so paradoxical that we … crave organization but struggle to maintain it.”
  — Ash [04:13]

• “The hard part of organizing … is that there's no real … It's trial and error, right? And what works for one person may or may not work for you.”
  — Dusty [05:33]

• “We should be thinking of it more as like a cycle… It's an ongoing cycle until the dishes need to be done again.”
  — Dusty [08:09]

• “If you're actually living your life in your house, it's never or it's very rarely going to look … like something out of a catalog.”
  — Ash [09:47]

• “You wouldn’t let a person take up all this space in your house … if they weren’t at least paying you rent. But we do this with our stuff.”
  — Dusty [32:42]

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:57 – Types of disorganization: situational vs. chronic (Ash’s story)
• 04:37 – Organizing “hacks” and why they don’t always work (Dusty)
• 07:19 – Care tasks as a cyclical approach to chores (Casey Davis reference)
• 09:39 – Bypassing perfectionism and catalog expectations
• 10:55 – The time and quality-of-life impact of over-cleaning (gender lens)
• 12:12 – Individualizing organizing systems (Ash story: laundry and closet)
• 15:41 – Minimalism vs. inventory management (Dusty’s coat story)
• 19:14 – The SPACE method explained in detail (Ash)
• 28:33 – Emotional barriers to decluttering, practical solutions (Ash)
• 31:27 – The “rent” analogy for possessions (Dusty)
• 34:39 – Owning your version of organized, starting small

Conclusion

Ash and Dusty underscore that successful organizing—especially for ADHD brains—is more about alignment with your personal needs, habits, and limitations than about achieving a Pinterest-perfect environment. Maintenance is ongoing, solutions must be individualized, and every step forward (even in a single kitchen drawer) is meaningful progress.

For listeners seeking practical support and self-compassion on their ADHD organizational journey, this episode offers validation, strategy, and hope.