The Background For Decluttering ADHD

Meet the Zany Sage

How many towels do you need? Does your schedule resemble a sardine can–every moment packed? Are you 63 years old and pondering what you want to be when you grow up? And how’s that chronic back pain? Migraines?  

Hello! Did my questions make you think? If so, I want to talk to you because you, my friend, are dealing with clutter. My name is Theresa Winn and I’m a professional organizer, certified life coach and spiritual director. I also have deep and abiding affection for dumpsters, but I’m getting ahead of myself.

I also have an alter ego. Meet the Zany Sage, a moniker hatched when I worked with my business coach. She had me ask many people to describe me and my approach to business in a few words. The majority mentioned iterations of “wise” and “funny.”

And the Zany Sage was born. She’s a bit of a cussing mystic. Or maybe a salty nun. You’ll get to know her as I settle into my new virtual home here on Substack. She’s got plenty to say.

Clutter to me is more than a closet bursting at the seams. I see three distinctive types of clutter: home, head and heart. And when it accumulates, they can negatively affect your health. My approach to dealing with the clutter is a little different from the wildly popular (and absolutely adorable) Marie Kondo. Yeah, that’s not me. In my experience, asking a compulsive shopper if an item “sparks joy” is dangerous because everything sparks joy. And besides, I run on caffeine and am still childishly amused when someone breaks wind. Also, I speak fluent Sailor–especially after divorce and breast cancer.

Marie is Zen. And I am Zany. But enough about me.

Let’s talk about clutter! I’m going to unpack those three different types of clutter. I will help you identify them, equip you with effective ways to declutter, and finally empower you to create systems that will keep clutter from overtaking, as the poet Mary Oliver so eloquently stated, “your one wild and precious life.”

I’ve been a professional organizer for more than a few decades. And way before then, I was one of those annoying kids who entertained myself by organizing mom’s pantry—no small thing in a family with seven kids. My idea of a good time is tidying up my sock drawer too, but I digress.

I realize this is not something that comes naturally to many people and it brings me great joy to help them figure systems that work for them. The challenge has always been making sure the changes would last. 

They would get organized…and then call me a few months later. I realized that the level of organizing I was performing was like the “feed a man a fish and you feed him for a day” vs the “teach him to fish and you feed him for life.” How I could I help clients get uncluttered and STAY uncluttered?

And this is where a coaching approach to declutter brings sustainable results. Meaning, instead of sorting and sifting physical items, I use a query approach in decluttering. I saw that the outward clutter was merely a reflection of inner clutter—such as feeling they would betray the memory of a loved one if they donated the inherited (but unwanted) garage contents.

I’ve also learned another valuable lesson. And that is this: You are the best organizer you will ever find. 

Decluttering ADHD is help you discover this truth for yourself. You are the expert on your life and on what works for you and your family.

So please, come join me! The Zany Sage and I are looking forward to helping you… and have some fun while we kick some clutter ass. Hit me up with your questions. Until next time…now go throw out something!