157. Yes, You CAN be ADHD and Organized with Wendy Zanders

You’ve probably been told that because you’re neurodivergent, you’ll struggle with being organized. Because it’s all so overwhelming to deal with “stuff.” As someone who is both neurodivergent and incredibly organized, I call bullshit.

 

It’s not about one or the other, it’s about finding the systems that work for you.

 

This week on the podcast, professional organizer and declutter coach Wendy Zanders is taking on the critics who think that neurodivergent business owners are doomed to be unorganized for life. She shares her own story of an ADD diagnosis and how she’s created systems that work for her and her family.

 

Wendy’s clients have been successful in maintaining their spaces because she listens to them and takes their family dynamics into consideration when decluttering with them. Because what might work for my family and me might not work at all for yours. Every home and office needs a system designed specifically for the people who will use and maintain them.

 

Listen in for Wendy’s tips and tricks as well as permission to let some things go, depending on what season you’re in right now.

 

About Wendy Zanders:

Wendy Zanders is a professional organizer, declutter coach, and special needs mama who is passionate about helping the special needs community take their homes and lives FROM Overwhelmed TO Simplified. An underperformer in grade school due to undiagnosed attention deficit disorder (ADD), Wendy worked hard and surpassed the expectations of everyone around her. Early in her career, she found that she had a knack for systems and organizing, but found herself living in a totally disorganized home after several episodes of depression. She helps the special needs community get organized by helping them identify what has created the disorder in their lives, and by helping them create systems so they can get back in control of their possessions and homes.

Links and Resources:

• Your Declutter Coach
• Follow Wendy on Instagram
• Connect with Wendy on LinkedIn
• Marie Kondo folding
• Join the Inner Circle

Time Stamps:

 

• [1:06] - Organization from the neurodivergent brain
• [3:55] - More about Wendy
• [7:16] - Sometimes you have to find your own way
• [8:50] - You didn’t fail; you need to figure out how you learn
• [10:17] - Neurotypical organizers don’t work well with neurodiverse people
• [17:51] - Just because you’re ADHD doesn’t mean you’ll be disorganized
• [22:44] - Sometimes you find money when you declutter
• [24:25] - The house isn’t a priority when you’re taking care of family members
• [26:50] - It’s hard to ask for help - 
• [29:20] - Find ways to divide and conquer using body doubling
• [31:06] - Using music to get kids to clean their rooms
• [32:55] - Tips for dealing with business paperwork
• [34:45] - Organizing yearly statements and receipts
• [36:30] - To digitize or keep physical copies of paperwork
• [38:14] - The papers hold memories
• [40:15] - It might be difficult to let go of things in the special needs community because of what’s important to the kids
• [42:30] - How to make the Marie Kondo method work for you
• Understanding theory and bigger picture that different things work for different people