Know someone suffering from A.D.H.D?

The following article was published in the NY Times on July 19, 2010 and forwarded to me by Coach Rudy in Asheville, NC who specializes in helping people with ADHD. The toll of ADHD on marriage and relationships can be overwhelming. Does this sound familiar? Another reason to have a professional organizer who understand ADHD help you in the home and office!
 
Attention Disorders Can Take a Toll on Marriage
by Tara Parker-Pope
Does your husband or wife constantly forget chores and lose track of the calendar? Do you sometimes feel that instead of living with a spouse, you’re raising another child?
Your marriage may be suffering from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
An A.D.H.D. marriage? It may sound like a punch line, but the idea that attention problems can take a toll on adult relationships is getting more attention from mental health experts. In a marriage, the common symptoms of the disorder — distraction, disorganization, forgetfulness — can easily be misinterpreted as laziness, selfishness, and a lack of love and concern.
Experts suggest that at least 4 percent of adults have the disorder, that as many as half of all children with A.D.H.D. do not fully outgrow it and continue to struggle with symptoms as adults, and that many adults with the disorder never received the diagnosis as children.
Adults with attention disorders often learn coping skills to help them stay organized and focused at work, but experts say many of them struggle at home, where their tendency to become distracted is a constant source of conflict. Some research suggests that these adults are twice as likely to be divorced; another study found high levels of distress in 60 percent of marriages where one spouse had the disorder.

The main thing to remember is there is help available. There are many ways to address ADHD and improve your situation.

How Cool is That?

Between her husband and herself they had 8 children.  Every child had been part of the packing, hauling, tossing, and moving process to get their parents out of the three-bedroom house into the two-bedroom apartment. And still there was a whole garage full of stuff to get rid of. 

That’s where we came in. We took a look at the garage and said “sure”.  The truth is we never know what we are saying “sure” to. Robert and I arrived wearing our I-don’t-care-if-they-get-trashed-clothes expecting lumber and paint. There was plenty of that.  But underneath that there was the box of Victorian paintings, the beautiful art books, the “Hitler Invades Poland” newspaper, the old license  plates, the silver spoons, many nice tools, and the beautiful old dresser.

We sat knee-to-knee eating our lunchtime sandwiches surveying the lumber and treasures and talked about finding the best outlet for all we had uncovered.  After lunch we made a series of calls.

By ten o’clock the next morning the garage was spick and span. The auctioneer had arrived and taken half the items, an old buddy of the owner took all the wood and all the paint. Habitat had come and gone; we made three visits to the dump and a final stop at Goodwill.

Everyone was happy. The friend was grateful. Habitat wrote a receipt with a smile.  The auctioneer shook our hands vigorously. We felt pride in our job. The owners were relieved and it is likely they will make enough from the auction to pay our fee. How cool is that?

Mother's Day

Great gift for Mother's Day is a Gift Certificate for a closet, kitchen, garage or home makeover!

GREEN SPRING CLEANING

GOOD Instructions: How to Spring Clean With Nontoxic Home-made Products

Tackling spring-cleaning this month? Us too. But there's no sense in doing it if you're going to create a big mess for the planet (and your body) in the process. Cleaning up your act isn't as straightforward as running to the pharmacy and picking out a bottle covered in claims of eco-friendliness and biodegradability, however. When it comes to home cleaning products a lot of eco claims are unverified and—worse—unverifiable, with rare exceptions like Seventh Generation.

Instead of wondering what kinds of toxic chemicals you're flushing down the toilet or dumping down the drain every time you decide your apartment's gotten a little grungy, stock up on a few things listed below, and keep these easy recipes handy. You'll probably notice you already have a lot of these ingredients in your house, and the ones you don't are way cheaper than any pre-made, environmentally unsound cleaner you can buy at the store.

What you'll need: White vinegar (kills most mold, bacteria, and germs); baking soda (deodorizes, scours surfaces, and is a natural cleaning agent); lemon juice (it has antibacterial and antiseptic qualities, is a natural bleach, and it controls odors); olive oil (polishes); salt (scours, cleans, and deodorizes); tea tree oil (kills germs); hydrogen peroxide (kills bacteria and mold); pure castile soap, such as Dr. Bronner’s (cleanses); empty spray bottles and reusable rags; essential oils you like the smell of.

• All-purpose cleaner. Equal parts vinegar and water. The vinegar smell dissipates as soon as it dries, but if it bothers you add a few drops of lemon juice. Put into a spray bottle and use for almost all of your cleaning.

• Windows and mirror cleaner. Pour a quarter of a cup of vinegar in a spray bottle, and fill the rest with with warm water. A bit of Eucalyptus oil rubbed on the mirrors will prevent them from fogging up.

• Floor soap. Fill a bucket with warm or hot water, add a quarter of a cup of vinegar and a dash of castile soap. Dunk your rag in the bucket, ring out, and wipe down the floors.

• Carpet deodorizer. For general cleaning on light colored rugs, sprinkle baking soda before you vacuum. For stains, mix equal parts borax or baking soda, salt, and white vinegar. Apply the paste to the stain and let dry, then vacuum.

• Tubs, countertops, and sink scrub. Mix baking soda with a bit of castile soap. You can add an essential oil for fragrance if you’d like. Scrub and rinse.

• Oven cleaner. Combone three parts baking soda, one part salt, and one part water. Spread the mixture across the oven surface and let sit for eight hours. Scrape and wipe clean.

• Natural drain cleaner. Take a half a cup of baking soda and pour it down the drain, followed by half a cup of vinegar. Let it fizz, then flush with hot water.

• Wood cleaner. Mix two parts olive oil with one part lemon juice. Rub the mixture into the furniture with a soft cloth and wipe away excess.

• Moldy grout remover. Mix a half a cup of hydrogen peroxide with one cup of water. Spray it on the moldy area, let it sit for 1 hour, and rinse.

• Shower spray. Fill a spray bottle with water and five to 10 drops of tea tree oil. Keep this in your shower. Shake up and spray after each shower. This will keep mold and mildew at bay. Replace it biweekly.

• Toilet. Mix a quarter of a cup of baking soda with one cup of vinegar. Pour the liquid into the basin and let sit for a few minutes. Scrub and flush.

• Stainless steel polish. Rub a little olive oil on the surface to remove streaks and prints.

• Marble, granite, or stone countertop cleaner. These materials require a different cleanser because the acidity of vinegar can etch the surface. Instead, substitute rubbing alcohol or vodka for vinegar in your all-purpose cleaner.

• Air freshener. Simmer a pot of water with cinnamon sticks and cloves or and a few drops of an essential oil you like on the stove.

• Read more: http://www.good.is/post/good-instructions-how-to-spring-clean-with-nontoxic-home-made-products/#ixzz0ivtsgRNv

credit: Millissa Skoro http://www.nrdc.org/

A four-step guide for organizing any room, plus strategies to prevent procrastination.

Are you overwhelmed thinking about how to get your entire house in order? First, put away the notion that it will happen overnight, or even in a week. And keep in mind the goal isn't to end up with a sparkling space where everything is always in its place. The key to a more organized home isn't just about tossing most of your stuff and stashing the rest in cute containers (although they do help when the time is right) – it's more about recognizing and replacing bad practices with better habits that'll help you dig out from the mess on a daily basis.

The best part about the organizing process is that no matter what room you're wanting to straighten up, the rules are essentially the same — here's a four-step guide to get started, which also includes 13 strategies to prevent you from procrastinating along the way.

1. Define Your Space
For each room you want to organize, organizing expert Charlotte Steill says to take a notebook and sit down in each space, making notes on the following questions:

* How will the room be used by your family? A shared family space for games, toys and movies? An office for one or all? Be sure to account for all of the various activities because it will dictate what stays and what will get the boot when it comes time to sort the room's contents.
* What storage is available in the room? Built-in shelves, drawers, cabinets, a closet, baskets and bins? An ottoman with storage? A coffee table with drawers?
* What needs to be stored in the room to support its use? Toys, video games? Books, magazines? Computer equipment?
* What is your goal for the room?
* Does the furniture suit the room, or should it be rearranged or cleared out?

2. Sort Your Stuff
Once you have a plan, tackle only one room at a time and if you're still overwhelmed, narrow it down to one corner at a time. Then, says organizing expert Liz Witts, begin the organizing process by sorting the items into the following categories:

Keep: Items used on a regular basis.

Donate/Sell: Items that are no longer used or are duplicates — things that you can do without and would rather give it to someone else for them to benefit from.

Store: These are sentimental things that you want to hold on to but don't need to have cluttering up your daily living space.

Trash/Recyle: Things that are no longer usable. Worried about how to decide what gets tossed? Follow Liz's suggestion, "If you need to spend more than 15 seconds thinking about what something is, or when you last used it, or why you even have it, then you probably don't need it."

One caveat before you rid yourself of excess: Consider a secondary use for things you're thinking of pitching. Plastic ware can be turned into storage in drawers and cabinets and even old towels can be used for cushioning in a dog bed.

3. Set Up Storage Systems
Now that you're left with only the items you intend to keep, it's essential to set up "homes" or "zones" to maintain organization. "If you are forever misplacing your car keys, create a home for them," says organizing expert Pam Socolow. "Hang hooks near the door, or put an attractive box in a convenient place — whatever works for you. Try to establish a routine of always placing the keys in the designated spot."

Use well-labeled containers to create a storage system, and let your family know where things are located. If space is at a premium, add shelves inside closets to make use of the vertical wall space, says Liz Witts. If you have small children, attach hooks at lower heights so they can hang up their jackets and bags. Adjustable shelving, such as a closet system, is ideal because it can be moved to accommodate various storage needs. Use plastic shoeboxes — or again, even extra plastic ware normally used for food storage — to create kits for things such as sewing items, shoe repair and extension cords.

4. Stay Focused
Procrastination can have a snowball effect — the little things you put off each day can pile up to the point where you're at a loss as to how you'll ever whittle down your perpetually growing to-do list. To help you avoid the inevitable moment when your organizing efforts begin to slide, take note of these 13 strategies from organizing expert Monica Ricci:

Mental Strategies
1. Vividly imagine the way you'll feel inside after the task or project is complete.
2. Focus on your desired result, not your fear or inaction.
3. Imagine yourself completing the task or project easily, quickly and with no setbacks.
4. Tune into your procrastination language in your head and derail it with positive thoughts of "I want to," "I can," and "I enjoy" instead.
5. Let go of perfectionism. Many things aren't worth doing perfectly, so just start and do your best.

Physical Strategies
1. Get an accountability buddy to keep you on task along the way.
2. Work out the steps to the project on paper in advance to clarify your thoughts and eliminate all the emotional whirlwind around why you don't want to begin the task or project.
3. Master the art of starting. Over and over again.
4. Do the hard parts first. Or...
5. Do the easy parts first. Whichever motivates you more is the one you should choose.
6. Keep a progress log so you don't lose sight of how much you've accomplished.
7. Break your project into small, manageable chunks and create interim deadlines for yourself along the way.
8. Build in rewards for yourself as you finish each step or as you complete the project.

Source: HGTV.com