Reply To: The agony of constantly losing things

[rabbitpossm]

I can totally empathize.  I lose things constantly and every time it results in the worst feeling that always turns into self blame.  Something that’s helped me prevent losing small, more often used things is having a “launchpad” of sorts.  I have a small bin that stays on my dresser (alternatively kitchen table/counter, table near a front hall)  It took me a while but if you’re able to get into the habit of tossing things in there it really helps.  It doesn’t even need to be for specific things or stay organized, the idea is to just have something you can toss all the small things when you first come in, like keys, headphones, or whatever you happen to have and if you can’t find it you know there’s a pretty good chance it’s in that bin.  Even if you have to go looking through it it’s better then being lost in a messy room!

Depending on how you want to do it you can either have one for daily used things, like keys, headphones, buss pass, wallet, and a second one to just throw whatever random things you accumulate in the week and then they’re gathered until you’re able to sort them.  I find this one helps to prevent losing things like important papers and just helping keep up with clutter.

For specific items bright, noticeable colours are helpful.  I never lose my laptop case since I got a bright blue one.  It helps you see it in the first place as well as notice it if you ever see it around.

Anyways, strategies (for me at least) always depend on what thing I’m always losing.  I try to find patterns in what I lose/when/how and then adjust for that.  I attempt to use this to stop the awful feelings, sort of to try and force myself to be proactive rather than submit to the initial reaction.It can be a huge struggle though, especially at first, considering the biggest factor is organization/staying on top of things and that is definitely not one of adhd’s strong suits.  To be honest it’s probably taken me years to actually be able to use these strategies (mostly because I tended to ignore them) but it’s so worth the hard work/struggle to get to that point!  I hope some of these strategies can hep the both of you!

 

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