I find that often one of the biggest sticking points in getting rid of things is what to do with them. For those of us ADHDers who struggle with clutter, getting rid of things can be very difficult. Not only are there usually psychological underpinnings to why we struggle with the part of getting organized, there are also very practical reasons too. In order to decide what to get rid of, we need to be attentive, persistent, and use multiple executive functions. And of course there is decision making… which many of us struggle with.
So, what I often see is that a person can’t decide what to do with an item(s) so their default is to keep it… which is a total bummer. After examining and assessing an item and considering what to do with it, you’re stuck putting it back in the keep or maybe or I don’t know pile. And, there is no reason to believe that it will be easier to decide what to do with said item later. This can definitely contribute to a sense of not making progress, partly because it might mean you aren’t actually making progress.
So, what’s the solution? Give yourself only one decision to make. When evaluating every item simply ask yourself, “Is this item staying in my life of leaving it?” That minimized your executive function burden as much as possible. And, this is a great place to have your significant other, helpful friend, daughter, grandson, etc. help you. Let them take care of getting rid of the stuff that you decide that is going to leave your life. And let go of controlling that end destination.