Erica, my dear friend and professional organizer, hates the way I file. Well, perhaps it’s not quite that strong an emotion, but she does shake her head at my complex filing system and (occasionally) sighs deeply.

I micro file, you see.

It’s the only way I can find things after I file them (this of course assumes that I actually force myself to endure the single most boring job in the universe: filing semi-important papers).

I need to separate things that live together from those that don’t. Gold star for Linda: that’s Organizing 101. But I have discovered that my definition of "things that live together" is a bit peculiar - at least to the organizing world.

For instance, Erica (mistakenly) believes that Life Insurance, Investments and Retirement can be lumped together in one drawer of my filing cabinet. ACK! NO!

In my ADDiva brain, Life Insurance is about Death and gets filed with the Wills and Five Wishes (really important documents about End of Life wishes).

Investments are about Money and go with the (very skinny) Financial Planning files.

And Retirement has two distinct sections: before 65 and after 65. The ‘young’ retirement files go up front with tantalizing articles about places to visit and pay stubs that show much we are contributing to the 401k. The ‘old’ retirement files go behind with the Social Security statements and a summary of all the different places we have little bits of money for retirement.

See? Complicated. Even a little OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder). But it makes sense to me. I wrote this entire post without even getting out of my chair to look at the files in person, yet I knew exactly where Retirement, Investments and Life Insurance were located. That’s how intuitive it all is to my ADDiva brain.

It took me a while to get to this point. I have to think HARD about what is intuitive for me. Where would I look for Life Insurance? What does that mean to me? What’s similar in my mind?

Then I try out the system. Does it work? Can I find things? Does it take me 30 minutes to remember my previous "intuition?" If so, it’s probably not that intuitive, after all. So I adjust. To make it work FOR ME.

And that’s the point. No matter what your system is, if it works for YOU, it works. Period.

Let yourself off the hook - stop trying to follow the "rules" of Organizing.

Create your own system and let it work for YOU.

Whew - what a relief, eh?

More travel tips from ADDiva One:

7) Use travel tight screw lid bottles to pack only a week’s worth of shampoo, conditioner and other products. I refill them when I get back home so they are travel-ready again.

Anything that could spills inside my suitcase goes in plastic. My cosmetic bag is plastic-lined and I have several smaller plastic-lined bags for hair products, medication, hair dryer and brushes.

9) Buy a duplicate set of cosmetics and hair products just for travel. It’s less expensive to buy your favorites at home then to try to replace them in a strange city (where you have to first FIND the right store and then GET there and back).

10) Carry 2-3 days worth of meds in your carry-on just in case your luggage gets lost in transit. In my experience, medications do not need to be in their original bottles or labeled as long as you pack a reasonable quantity for your trip.

11) Pack some lightweight snacks in your carry-on: pretzels, energy bars, nuts, dried fruit. And buy a bottle of water after you get through security. You never know when you might end up sitting on the tarmac for hours because of weather or other delays.

12) Take a lightweight bag for dirty undies and socks. Mine is a Tyvek bag designed as a super light bag to bring home souvenirs. Find them at travel stores or online shops.

13) Pack only two pairs of shoes - they add a tremendous amount of weight to your suitcase.

14) Wear slip-on shoes that are comfortable - you will have to remove them in the security line so make it easy to get them on and off. I prefer to wear socks so I am not barefoot on those dirty airport floors, but hey that’s just me.

15) Don’t drag along heavy books. If you want something to read, try magazines that can be discarded along the way (tear out all the pages with ads only before you leave to lighten your load). And don’t BUY books to bring home. You can ship them home if you like, but unless it’s something you can’t find at home, leave it at the bookstore. Or buy it and pass it along.

16) Think black coordinates for clothing. Everything goes with black, even in the summer. You really don’t have to be a fashionista when you travel. If a special occasion calls for something fabulous, pack a crushable black dress or dressy pants, then decide whether you’re willing to sacrifice one of your "shoe slots" for shoes you may wear only once.

17) Take one super comfy outfit to hang around the hotel room. I pack a pair of cotton sweat pants and a casual T-shirt that won’t be worn "out" but let me feel completely relaxed.

18) If you’re taking your laptop pack it in an easily accessible place so you don’t hold up the security line fishing for it. It must go in a "tub" by itself on the conveyor belt.

19) Buy an Eagle Creek padded bag to contain your computer charger, travel mouse, earbuds, flash drive, blank CD, USB cord, camera charger and battery, three-pronged plug expander and USB hub if you need it.

20) Eagle Creek also makes mesh bags in various sizes which are wonderful for packing underwear, socks, hose, swimsuit, etc.

21) Don’t forget the charger for your digital camera. Otherwise, when the battery goes you are stuck using disposable cameras. Ditto for the camera download wire to your computer … to avoid using all your memory card the first day.

22) A featherweight umbrella used only for travel will seem like an extravagance…until it rains on the entire tour of the prehistoric ruins you were eager to see.

Foreign travel

23) Check the electricity voltage before you leave. No sense taking your 110v curling iron if the 220V will burn it up the first day. There are good dual-current appliances on the market at reasonable cost.

24) Check the connector type, too. New Zealand and Hong Kong both use 220v current but the plugs are vastly different. Get a converter kit before you leave home; don’t expect to find them in the country you are visiting!

25) If you need a break from local food, try stocking your hotel room from the nearest convenience store. Sometimes a few cookies and beef jerky tastes good after spicy hot kim chi or heavy cream soups.

For long trips that require crossing several time zones (my internal clock goes beserk) allow several days to readjust. Don’t plan BIG events the day after you arrive. Be gentle with yourself.

It’s a fact of my life. I always have ‘too many’ projects going on at once.

Juggling them can be a challenge - sometimes an absurd goal. But recently, my little ADDiva brain came up with an idea for corralling them that feels, well, organized!

I have created a series of ‘buckets’ that contain everything about a particular project. For instance, I have a ‘bucket’ for Retreats, one for Coaching, one for my Website, one for GardenSpirit, one for Finances, one for New Products. You get the picture.

Since I am trying to gain control of the paper critters in my office (they breed shamelessly when they think I’m not looking), I literally set out plastic containers (’buckets’ by name if not by design) and started filing papers, software, equipment, notebooks into each one. Oh — really important: labeled each one of them immediately. I have about 18 of them — so it’s crucial to be able to glance at them and know what’s inside.

Now I have a place to look to find my retreat handouts, for instance. Granted, the retreat handouts have a home in my file cabinet and eventually they will live there again. But in the meantime, I can go to the bucket to search for an errant folder.

The challenge, of course, is to get the ‘buckets’ emptied one at a time. For me, that requires time set aside specifically to focus on filing, labeling and often reorganizing (am I the only ADDiva who reorganizes CONSTANTLY?).

It’s not perfect. But for now, it seems to be working for me.

It’s a good shoe day on Heather Ridge Court

Translation: there are only four pairs of shoes sitting around the house, tossed exactly where I stepped out of them when I walked through the room, a “shoe dropping” event.

Which room? Could be any room. Prime shoe dropping locations are the kitchen, where I come in from the garage (there’s a special shoe catcher there, but it’s already full so I use the floor); and right in front of “my” part of the sectional sofa where I park myself after a reeaaaaallly long day to zone out with a little TV.

But there are other locations, too. Shoe droppings can happen under my desks - I have three workstations - or on the stairs where I stash shoes with the honest intention of returning them to my closet. Truthfully, my closet is a prime shoe dropping arena — I get them into the closet, but they stay on the floor, quickly covered up by piles of clothes I am sorting for the laundry.

The net result is the same: I can never find the pair of shoes I am looking for. And I am constantly scouting the house trying to get “those shoes” — which then makes me late leaving…ah, the old “I’ll never be on time” syndrome.

I’ve tried all kinds of systems to capture those naughty shoes and get them back into their boxes. And to a certain extent, they work. For instance, I leave most of my “good ” shoes - those that I wear only occasionally - in their original boxes. I can keep them straight most of the time by memorizing the colors of the boxes, their location on the shelf, etc.

I tend to buy a lot of Enzo shoes, though, and the boxes look the same. I hate spending time READING the labels every time I want a pair of shoes, so I started scribbling a crayon of the color of the shoes on the outside of the box. I worked with an organizer who had me take pictures of all my shoes. The goal was to print the pictures and paste them on the boxes for easy identification. I still haven’t gotten around to Step Two - printing the photos.

My often-worn shoes, like tennies and my all time favorite, Merrell clogs, I throw in wire baskets above the neatly stacked boxes. And, as I mentioned, I have a plastic basket for gardening shoes just inside the back door–it’s full of slip on ragged tennis shoes that can be sacrified for paint and mud and other messy activities.

With such great organizing ideas, you’d think finding my shoes would be a snap. There’s only one glitch in the mix: ME.

When I am in a hurry- and when am I NOT in a hurry? - I slip off my shoes wherever I am. And because of my ADD memory (or lack thereof), I instantly forget the shoes. After all, I am on a mission of another sort..and it doesn’t involve shoes. Until I need to leave the house again.

I don’t think there’s a cure for the Shoe Dropping Disease (SDD). Occasionally I am diligent about putting my shoes away. Then I fall back into my normal habits again. I have learned to live with it. And I doubt that I’m the only ADD Woman with SDD. Ah, another alphabet soup disorder to add to my collection. You gotta love it!

Whew - talk about three absolutely incongruent topics!

Let’s be candid: even the terms “ADD” and “Mail” are difficult to get out in the same breath (note I did not say “male”). Sorting is not one of our strong points. And that’s what dealing with mail is all about. Heck, they even have a job description at the USPS that has the word “sorter” in it! I’m sure it is not filled by someone with ADD — unless they have a strong dose of OCD thrown in (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder for those who have forgotten their alphabet soup definitions).

So when you throw in protecting your identity - locked mailboxes, dropping outgoing mail at the post office instead of your home mailbox, shredding anything with your name and address - well that’s tantamount to treason. And a recipe for yet another … failure.

Let’s fix part of that right now, OK? Shredding 101.

I have a coaching client who lets the mail pile up - literally. Even when he manages to sort it out, there’s a pile of junk mail that needs opening and shredding, but who wants to stop and shred a huge pile of mail that never should have made an appearance in your mailbox to begin with? It’s like a conspiracy that sneaks in to steal our precious time…ah, I hear a tirade coming on. Better stick with shredding.

Here’s a simple solution. First - buy a decent shredder, one that will chew up layers of paper without choking (even better if it eats plastic credit cards and CDs).

Second, stick it in a place that is either: right next to the recycling bin that receives the no-need-to-shred envelopes, papers, etc. OR in an easily accessible location in your office.

Third, leave the shredder plugged in and turned on ALL THE TIME. You will not waste much electricity and it will not wear out the shredder - most of the wear and tear on the electrical components comes from turning it on and off.

Then, when you sort the mail simply feed the shredder as you go. If the shredder is in another room, make a stack (aka pile) of shreddables, take it with you before you go on to another task, and you’re D-O-N-E (my favorite four letter word) and protected. Ta-da!

Now…where’s that shredder going to live? OK, where do you FIND that shredder? Or…do you have to BUY a shredder? Put it on the To-Do list! Now that’s another topic for the ADDiva!

I thought seriously about uploading a “before” and “after” photo of my clutter cleanup. Then I thought better of it. Why revisit that humilitation again? Why not enjoy the clean, calmness of my desk, my freshly-made bed, my bathroom sink and vanity, now one smooth plane of pseudo-marble?

Well, although I adore the new look — have worked hard (for months) to make it so — I am finding that things look a little…dull. Lifeless even. Sterile and bland. And those are not words I use about myself. Ever.

Suddenly it feels a little creepy to be so clean and organized. Like it isn’t my house any longer. Perhaps someone has crept in during the night (or more accurately, the last four months) and silently, stealthily cleaned my house and put things away. Where I will NEVER find them. Oh dastardly organizer!

Actually, it’s true. I have been working with a professional organizer, much to my embarrassment. Why couldn’t I do this myself? I know how. I am a terrific organizer. I love to find little boxes just perfect for the cancelled checks or cunning little drawers that hold paper clips and thumb tacks (even though I rarely use thumb tacks).

What I am not so great at is the bigger stuff: when I sort through the pile and there is still a pile left. The stuff that doesn’t really have a home, but that I still want to keep. Clippings about online resources for writers that are pertinent to Macintosh users (always a rebel, eh?). A quilted wall hanging from a dear friend that hasn’t been displayed in the three years since I received it for Christmas. A clay pot my son made in third grade (let’s see, that was 17 years ago now) moved from its original shelf to make room for more books that needed to moved from off the floor. Stuff that I need to KEEP, right? Maybe, maybe not.

Erica the professional organizer has patiently and kindly helped me figure out what goes where. She struggled with my brain’s logic for a long time before we came to an agreement that I could file things in a weird way because it worked for me. For instance, names in my Rolodex are filed mostly by first names rather than last. It’s easier for me!

So now my files are sorted and (equally importantly) labeled and the desktop is clear, the kitchen island is bare and the vanity is empty. And I am feeling uneasy.

A horrible thought enters the back of my mind and drills its way to the front of my consciousness: what if I secretly LIKE my clutter? What if all these years I have been paying lip service to getting things organized…and I really wanted to hang onto it? Ouch.

A psychologist would have a field day with that insight. Sure would explain why I hung on so dearly, why I simply could not get it done all by myself. But this year, I have hired someone (it still galls me at some level that I am paying someone to help me do this–grrrr). I have met the enemy and moved the mountains…to mix several cliched metaphors.

What I notice is that my clean surfaces - which I am committed to keeping clear - show that my house could use a little interior design. I guess I was using my clutter as decoration! When the piles are gone, I can see what needs a little facelift, a plant, a nice painting.

I have a couple of options. I could allow the clutter to cave in me again. Oh boy, would that be easy to do. I am an expert at creating clutter–all I have to do is stand still, live my life and not put things away. It happens like magic. And I wouldn’t have to worry about decorating my house.

OR, I could keep up the calm, clean facade. And start watching “Divine Design” or “Design on a Dime” (easier on my budget) and fluff up my house without the clutter. Yeah. That sounds better. Decorating means NEW. I LIKE new. ADD is really lovely after all…

For an ADD woman like me, travel is an both a thrilling prospect and a disheartening lesson in my own disorganization.

I just hate calling myself disorganized. It’s so…so, unladylike. Of course, I was always a little less than ladylike, I suppose. Back to travel.

I have learned a few things about travel that help, however. They might be useful for you, too.

I have decided that the only way to travel is in comfort. So I take care of myself in extremely kind ways. To wit:

1) I always carry a small travel pillow with me. It’s squishy and soft and recently laundered (in complete contrast to airline pillows). I am always running behind, staying up late to pack, etc. So I am usually tired. A pillow makes it easier to sleep on the plane.

2) I always reserve a window seat. Not as convenient for bathroom trips, but that little extra space where the plane curves outward is a Big Deal when you are trying to sleep. Plus I like to snuggle the pillow against the window - don’t have to worry about falling onto someone’s shoulder.

3) I have honed my packing to a science: three pieces that fit airline regulations and fit my needs:
a) my main suitcase with my clothes, shoes and makeup/toiletries - all of which can be replaced (checked through to my destination);

b) my rolling carry-on with my laptop, computer accessories, camera and manila folder containing my travel documents (and water bottles)

c) my featherweight carry-on bag that has my pillow, my purse, my book (s), iPod and headphones.

4) I downsized my big 29″ suitcase (which was always too heavy to lift anyway) to a 24″ that is ultra lightweight. Mine is a TravelPro Walkabout — a decision reached after a LOT of investigation and lots of poor choices. (Hint - do NOT buy tapestry covered luggage — it is heavy before you even put clothes in it).

5) I bought a travel purse that collapses flat and that is incredibly lightweight. My regular purse is leather — too heavy to drag along on a trip. I also have a travel wallet that is lighter than my day-to-day version.

More travel tips in Part Two ….

I am reframing the piles that I, as a true ADD woman, create around me.

In fact, I have now decided to call them my visual cues. Cues to take action: on the pile of clean laundry that adorns the family room sofa, on the ripped out seams on the two caftans draped over the bar stools at the kitchen counter, on the vacuum cleaner head by the back door that awaits a trip to the vacuum cleaner doctor’s office.

I am reframing them as my three dimensional To-Do list. My Visual Queue, if you will.

At long last, I have decided to work WITH this little ADD quirk instead of against it. That was getting me nowhere anyway.

I’d drop the object of my attention in plain sight, meaning to come right back to it. But then something else demanded me RIGHT THEN and I would flit around the environment (in this case, my house) until, quite by accident, I would return to the site of the original intention and find the object once again — still waiting for me.

Now, if the object is inanimate, it lies in wait very patiently. If it lives and breathes, it has sometimes moved and is harder to find. And it is often not patient at all. In fact, it may have given up on ever seeing me again. And left the environment, sighing and shaking its head in frustration and disappointment.

Those are the hard ones to deal with. We’re not going THERE today. We’re sticking with the inanimate objects that somehow arrange themselves into not-so-neat piles. And when they reach a certain critical mass, they call to me. Sing loudly. Off key, which they know drives me crazy! My perfectionism hates anything off key, out of place, not done with exquisite excellence.

Which is what drives everyone ELSE around me crazy. How can I be a perfectionist and live with these darned PILES?

We are reframing, today, thank you. Those piles are Visual Cues/Visual Queues. They are Cues in that they remind me of what I am going to do…one of these days. And they are Queues in that they are things I am bound to get around to taking with me, or act upon, in a more timely fashion. In other words, things with deadlines.

Ned Hallowell, the famous ADD psychiatrist who wrote Driven to Distraction, says that ADD folks like me only have two times: Now and Not Now. So, deadlines work only when they reach the NOW point.

But can I do it differently? It occurs to me that I might create a small space on the kitchen table (now 100% covered with mail, magazines and other Visual Cues) for a basket or a placemat, something to delineate the space, that would be my Visual Queue for errands.

For instance, I just called the pharmacy to renew a prescription (and no, it wasn’t ADD meds, but it could have been…). Most people (those ‘normal people’) would have thrown away the empty bottle and written down (or worse, remembered without writing it down) a reminder to go by the drug store tomorrow to pick up the prescription.

Not me. I kept the bottle as a Visual Cue. I now have a three dimensional reminder of my trip to the drug store. But, how to keep track of that reminder? I took it with me into the closet to get my clothes for the day…and left the darned bottle on my dresser. Didn’t remember it until I was already downstairs in the kitchen, so had to traipse back upstairs to retrieve it. (I wonder how much time I could have saved in my life by remembering things the first time?)

And now that the clear amber plastic bottle is downstairs, will I remember to take it with me on my next trip in the car? Should I put it in the car? It might get lost, fall off the seat. So I am going to create a space –basket, placemat, box — that will be my Errand Visual Queue.

The bottle will go into that basket which will be located in my line-of-sight as I leave the house to get to my car. As will the bag of dog food that had crawly bugs inside it when I opened it up - yuck - an immediate return (but when do I find the time?). And the vacuum cleaner head (but it has to go to the next town so it will require a special trip). And the too-short clothesline that I bought at the hardware store and the write-on door hangers that I didn’t use at my retreat that go back to the craft store.

And then maybe I will set aside some time to just run around and do these time-wasting errands, which will get this stuff OUT of my house and I will have fewer PILES — excuse me, Visual Cues and Queues.

I think it’s inspired. Now if I can just make it work. I’ll let you know. Right now I have to sift through my piles to find a basket of some kind….