Latest / More Organised Less Clutter / 257. Moving house tips: Creating a Neurodivergent-Friendly home after a move
Transcript
- Narelle King: Welcome to More Organized Less Clutter, a podcast to empower individuals and neurodivergent families with practical, realistic tools to create a more organized, sensory-friendly, clutter-free, and intentional home that works with your lifestyle and brain, not against it. I'm Norelle King, a professional organizer and neurodivergent mum who understands the unique challenges of family life. I help people just like you simplify your space. Build sustainable organizational systems and create more breathing room physically and mentally. Every fortnight you'll hear solo episodes and guest conversations filled with practical strategies on decluttering, home organization, routines for neurodivergent families, mindful living, and how to build a home that feels safe, calm and functional. You'll walk away with actionable takeaways you can implement even if you only have 10 minutes to spare. Moving is one of the most stressful things that you can do in your life. And it's even more stressful even after moving day. Today on more organized less clutter. I want to help you create a neurodivergent friendly home after a move. I'll share some practical strategies to set up a new home in a way that reduces overwhelm, helps with rhythms, and creates a safe and calm home from day one. If you're someone who wants more than just unpacking advice, But to create a functional home that supports your needs, then stick with me for this episode of More Organized, Less Clutter. Thanks for joining me for today's solo episode where I'll be sharing how you can approach unpacking and organizing your new home with intention, kindness towards yourself, so that you can create a neurodivergent-friendly home. Whether you're neurodivergent yourself or maybe supporting someone who is, this episode is full of practice. Practical strategies to help you make your new space feel safe, calm, and functional without the overwhelm. Moving is stressful for everyone, but when routines get disrupted and your space feels cluttered or even chaotic, it can really increase anxiety and also then shutdowns and sensory meltdowns for neurodivergent folk. So the way you set up your home after a move is going to really matter. It's about more than just putting things away. It's about creating a functional home that actually supports your brain and how you're going to use the space. I'm going to break this down into three different parts. Number one is unpacking. Number two is creating functional zones. And number three is building those rhythms or routines, if you'd like to call them routines. So unpacking, this can be a really huge, overwhelming task. Almost like a mountain you need to climb. Especially if you're juggling all the emotions and logistics of the move and maybe other people around you and their emotions. So breaking it down into tiny manageable tasks. Instead of trying to unpack everything in one go, you need to focus on one small area or even a category at a time. For example, the other week I helped a client unpack in her home and so we just focused on the kitchen. So for example, we started with just the mugs and only the glasses. And then for her, it was just keeping it in bite sizes so that she didn't feel like it was just really overwhelming and daunting. Another strategy you could use is set a timer for 15 or 20 minutes and tell yourself all you're going to do is unpack during that time. And when the timer goes off, just take a break or even switch tasks. This can really help. with preventing burnout, but also stops you feeling really overwhelmed because you know it's only going to be the 15 or 20 minutes. This removes the pressure because you know that there is a stopping point. Another way of doing this unpacking is prioritizing the spaces you need most right away. So generally that might be the kitchen, it's maybe the bedroom where you're going to be sleeping and a bathroom. And these are your comfort zones where your daily needs are going to be met. So having these areas settled first and unpacked is going to help you to feel a little bit more grounded and therefore not so overwhelmed. Really going to help for you to recharge again, ready for the next day. Maybe also having a stocked kitchen of food is going to also help you with the next day getting up and moving forward again. The next thing that I would do with a family is create functional zones. So look closely at the storage and also creating the functional areas that they're going to be needing. So when they move in, things might need to live in different spots than where they used to. So you're not just replicating your old setup. We're going to look at how these practical zones match how you actually use the space. So an example could be in the kitchen is that we put all the things that you use for your morning rhythm and we put those items in one spot. So it might be your coffee, your mugs, your breakfast bowls, and everything you need just to start the day. Maybe it's even includes medication. This is then going to help you have one area that's organized and easy to access. Or it might be your cooking utensils. They live near the stove and snacks have their own accessible shelf for kids to be able to access easily. Maybe it's also moving bowls and cups, maybe it's plastic bowls and cups, and it's down low so that kids can actually access it and make their own breakfast or get their own snacks. Another area is your bathroom and making sure that the things that you use daily are together. So these might be on top of the bench if you're a visual person and you need to be able to see them, otherwise you completely forget they exist. Or maybe it's in a container in a drawer or a cupboard and you actually lift that out to use it in the morning and then you just place it away. Another really important thing is medications. So this might be in the kitchen, but it might be in the bathroom, or it potentially could be in your bedroom, depending where you take the actual medication. It's essential. that they're accessible for you, obviously out of reach if you have small children, but visible and easy to grab quickly when you need it. Using maybe clear containers or labels can help. One thing to keep in mind is that it's visually calming rather than overwhelming. So we don't want it to be so you can see everything and then it feels too overwhelming as well. The point of setting up your home so it's more functional is so that we reduce decision making. And we're not going to have that decision fatigue or sensory overload. When everything has a home and it actually fits the way that you live, it means there's going to be less friction in your mornings throughout your day and at nighttime. When we have friction within our home, and that is when things habits and rhythms and rituals will fall away because it's too hard. The final part is thinking about building rhythms. or rituals. And a simple one that you could think about is spending five minutes each day tidying the one surface that causes you the most stress. And you could keep clutter from piling up there. And that tiny daily habit is manageable and also prevents overwhelm. I've done this on my bedside table. I'll share a link to the video and I've placed some bowls that I'm able to put the things like my hair ties and my earplugs in at the end of the morning and then a magazine holder that holds my books. So I have a place to put those and my diary, as well as a cord for my charging. And having this small ritual after I make my bed and clean that area makes sure that I deliberately then don't have clutter every day in that same spot. I also have a end-of-day ritual in my kitchen. And it's about me setting up the day for my best self for the next day. We also have an end-of-day ritual where the bins are emptied, the bench is clean, at least enough to be able to make breakfast in the morning, the sink is clear, and the dishwasher has been put on. Even if it hasn't been full, at least then in the morning there's clean dishes and the dishwasher can be packed straight away. Another area you could consider is checklists or or visual schedules or even reminders that fit the way you think. Visual cues can be really powerful and they help to break tasks into clear steps, making them easier to do. We want to make sure though our routines are flexible. So some days it's going to be easier than others. It's going to depend on your energy levels and what other things have been going on around you. So making sure that you have self-compassion is key when things don't go perfectly. Let me just go over those takeaways for you. You're going to break unpacking into small specific tasks. You may use timers or alarms to keep your structure gentle and manageable. Maybe prioritize setting up essential spaces like the bedroom, kitchen, and bathroom first. And you're going to look at building tiny, consistent routines, rituals that prevent clutter from building up. Maybe it's using visual supports like checklists or schedules that actually work for your type of cognitive style. Maybe also allow flexibility and practice self-compassion to on those really tough days and make small mindful adjustments to your environment that promote calm. Moving doesn't have to mean chaos overwhelm long term. By setting your home up intentionally with your neurodivergent needs in mind, You can create a space that truly supports your well-being. If you want to stay organized on Moving Day, be sure to download the Moving Day Essentials checklist. It's packed with everything you need to keep close at hand during and right after your move. Just head to simplyhappy.com.au and find it in the Resources tab. Thanks for listening to More Organized, Less Clever. Moving to a new house? Make your relocation a breeze with our Free Moving Essentials checklist. You'll have everything you need for a smooth and stress-free moving day at your fingertips. Don't let the chaos of moving overwhelm you. Download your Free Moving Essential checklist from simplyhappy.com.au in the resource section. I'd like to acknowledge the Wotherong people of the Kulin Nation on which this podcast is recorded as the traditional custodians of the land. I pay my respects to their elders, past, present, and emerging.