Organizing with ADHD: Letting Go of Guilt and Finding What Works

For years, I carried a heavy sense of guilt about not being able to follow traditional organizing advice. No matter how hard I tried—color-coding, decluttering, or diving headfirst into Pinterest-worthy systems—I couldn’t make them stick. After being diagnosed with ADHD as an adult, I finally understood why. It wasn’t a lack of effort or willpower—it was that those methods weren’t designed for how my brain works.