Decluttering with ADHD: Finding Calm with Megs Crawford

Ever felt like you're constantly juggling everything but never quite catching up? If traditional organising advice hasn't worked for you, this episode might just change everything.

Megs Crawford, professional organizing coach and host of "Organizing an ADHD Brain," joins me to discuss a refreshingly different approach to organisation, especially for those whose brains work differently. As a recovering "clutter human" with ADHD herself, Megs shares how she transitioned from corporate life to helping others find calm in their chaos through gentle, sustainable methods.

We dive deep into why the perfect Pinterest pantries often remain elusive despite our best efforts and how understanding your unique brain wiring changes everything. Rather than fighting against your natural tendencies, Megs and Mel advocate working with them like placing a container exactly where your family naturally drops items instead of battling ingrained habits.

The conversation takes fascinating turns as we explore concepts like "body doubling" (having someone present while you organise), understanding your nervous system's reaction to clutter and breaking free from what Megs calls "doom piles" (Didn't Organise, Only Moved). You'll learn why manifestation and vision-setting form the foundation of lasting organisation and how addressing limiting beliefs often matters more than knowing which containers to buy.

What stands out most is our shared philosophy that organising isn't just about creating picture-perfect spaces, it's about believing you can do things differently. The transformation begins not with perfect systems but with a mindset shift that makes those systems possible.

Whether you have ADHD or simply feel overwhelmed by life's demands, this episode offers practical wisdom for creating order that works with your life, not against it. Connect with Megs through her podcast "Organizing an ADHD Brain" or visit her community at organizinganADHDbrain.com/community to continue your journey toward organised peace.

Chapters

• 0:18 Welcome to Beyond Organised
• 1:10 Meet Megs Crawford: ADHD Organizing Coach
• 3:30 From Corporate Life to Professional Organizer
• 9:00 Working With Your Habits, Not Against Them
• 11:20 Manifestation and Nervous System Awareness
• 16:54 Body Doubling: Support Through Presence
• 22:00 Mindset Shifts and Belief Changes
• 25:20 Final Thoughts and Community Connection

Transcript

Mel: 0:18

Welcome to Beyond Organized, the podcast that helps you simplify your life and amplify your purpose. I'm Mel Shenker, life coach, speaker, founder of she's Organized, but, more importantly, a wife and mum of four little kids, if you've ever felt overwhelmed like you're constantly juggling everything but never quite catching up.

Mel: 0:37

This is the place for you. Here we go beyond just the tidying up and creating systems.

Mel: 0:42

We're talking about real life strategies that bring order to your life, but also we talk about the things beyond the organizing, the things that really matter, like your parenting relationships and so much more. So grab your coffee and let's dive in.

Mel: 0:58

Welcome to another episode of Beyond Organised. I have the lovely Megs Crawford here with us today. Megs is a professional organizing coach with ADHD and hosts of Organizing an ADHD Brain. So a bit of background on her. So she's a recovering clutter human herself. Megs knows firsthand how overwhelming it can feel to get organized when your brain works differently. After leaving the corporate world to create a life that felt more aligned, she now helps women with ADHD find calm in the chaos through one-on-one coaching and a supportive online community. She's married with two energetic daughters and believes lasting change starts with meeting yourself right where you are. Her work blends nervous system awareness, gentle structure and a whole lot of compassion, because organizing isn't just about stuff. It's about believing you can do things differently. I love that Megs, Welcome.

Mel: 1:55

Meg,

Megs: 1:56

Thank you for having me. I'm so happy to be here.

Mel: 1:59

It's so good to have you. It's so nice to be able to talk and connect with someone that is in the same space as me. I think it's so good.

Megs: 2:09

Yeah, absolutely.

Mel: 2:10

And like not one of us can help the whole world, so we need our community of organizers to support one another

Mel: 2:20

coac when I brought it up ti you know I've got you coming on, and that they were a little bit hesitant because they're like oh, but you're in the same space and you know then, like you're competing, and I was like competing, there's no competing, I'm not in any kind of competition, I'm running my own race, like I think, you know, it's just about complimenting each other and working together, and why can't my audience and your audience be the same audience.

Megs: 2:50

Yeah, totally fine um, we can learn stuff from each other too, right?

Mel: 2:54

the more we talk and the more we share stories and lived experiences yeah, that's it, and I'm constantly learning, even in what I'm doing, and I'm sure you are too. We can all keep learning and growing, and I think the day we stop learning is probably the day we should stop doing this, right? Yeah, for sure. Oh well, let's get in. I've got a few questions for you, and I'm sure the more you talk, the more my brain's going to keep going. So what inspired you to get into this space of organizing, and particularly with the ADHD?

Megs: 3:29

yeah, absolutely so. I left the corporate world. I was in leadership and I was getting my project management master's degree, and so there was a lot of things I wanted to do, but I felt lost in the corporate world. I had been doing it for almost nine years climbing the ladder. I knew I could go further, but there was something about me that needed to leave. I felt like I was in a really toxic position, so I left.

Megs: 3:53

I was working with a career coach at the time, which I highly recommend. Coaches are so amazing because they just help you see things from a new perspective and she helped me understand some of the things that I really loved to do. And one thing I had been focused on in my own home was starting to let go of all of the stuff. Now I had done like a lot of selling stuff online and like you know, cause I had kids and so as soon as they grew out of something, I'm like well, how can?

Megs: 4:20

I make this work? How can I make it into something that makes sense for me? But I wanted to create Pinterest perfect pantries. I wanted to create the spaces that were envious of the home edit, you know, and really condo.

Mel: 4:35

I love those shows.

Megs: 4:36

Oh, my gosh, me too Right and like they're so aesthetically pleasing and they're beautiful, the colors, oh yes, it's amazing pleasing and they're beautiful. It's amazing and I realized pretty quickly that, in order to get there there was a lot of work involved and there was a lot of change involved, and there was a lot of understanding your own uniqueness and how you work in order to get to those spaces.

Megs: 5:01

So I asked other organizers when you go into someone's home, do you work with them or do you work for them, Right Like, do you go into? The space for them, or do you work alongside with them? And they said well, it just depends, Like we'd let them decide. But then sometimes we'll come back and the space isn't the way that we put it in the first place and I was like, well, yeah, of course it's not going to be the way that you put it in the first place.

Megs: 5:26

Yeah, they have no idea what you did and now they have to work in their own brain to figure it out.

Megs: 5:32

So as I started to understand how I wanted to operate in my own business and as I started to understand my own ADHD brain, it just so happened that I started to work with a lot of people with ADHD by chance and people who also like self-diagnosed through listening to my podcast or you know, they're starting to realize so many of the signs, so many of the things that show up for themselves, and so I started to get really passionate about helping people with ADHD learn how to let go, because I have a very strong emotional connection to my stuff.

Megs: 6:04

And so when I started to learn how to let go because I have a very strong emotional connection to my stuff, and so when I started to learn how to let go in a way that made sense for me I just wanted to help others do the same, and I wanted others others to know that just because you've been clutter full your whole life doesn't mean that that's going to be your normal forever. So that's a little bit about how I broke into this space, but it's also the podcast like learning through people who had ADHD and have ADHD. Their journeys have helped me a ton in discovering my own, so that I can help people that I help discover how their brain works. It's been fascinating.

Mel: 6:42

I love it, I love all of it, and I did listen to some of your podcasts and it's funny because I don't have ADHD but my eldest son does and since he got diagnosed I started seeing signs. I guess you could say. But then I think it's just because I mean I've got four kids now. I think it's just being overstimulated and just so much going on all the time that, okay, it's the season I'm in, it's not a formal diagnosis, but I can so relate to the stuff you're saying, just as an overstimulated mom, you know, with so much going on. So you cater not only to those that have been, you know, diagnosed, it's for all the rest of us that are just trying to get through the day. So it's great. I think what you're doing is really, really good.

Megs: 7:31

Thank you, and like to that point. I think sometimes we feel like we need to stop the world and just get a week to ourselves so that we can get everything organized. And then, once we have that week, we're going to do everything, we're going to get it all organized and then we can live our life and it'll be easier. But that's not the reality Life never stops.

Mel: 7:48

No, that's it. I mean to be honest. If I had a week off everything, I probably wouldn't be at home organising my stuff.

Megs: 7:57

Yes, exactly, that is the last thing you would be doing.

Mel: 8:00

Yeah, that's it, and I think it's so important to start little and create these little routines and ways of going about things and make things work for you. I love how you said how you go into people's homes and like you're working with them. You're working with these people with whatever situation it is, and you know it's not just for them, it's with them. And I love that because I'm the kind of person as well that you know if you end up putting something down in a particular spot, don't try and change that habit. Make that habit work for you.

Mel: 8:38

Like there's a particular spot on the kitchen bench where my husband and kids and everyone loves to dump stuff and I don't particularly like it there, but that's the spot that it is and it is in the corner. So I got a container, that kind of blended in everything dumps in there and then if we have a party or something, I literally just take the container and move it away and then for the every day with the rest of the stuff, I'll just pop it back, I go. You know what I'm going to work with the family habits instead of against it, and it just makes my life so much easier and I'm all about just making things simple easier, and it sounds like you're on that same train of thought, so yes, absolutely yeah, just like working with yourself instead of against.

Mel: 9:23

So how like? What's your particular process in the way that you go about things?

Megs: 9:30

So I'm now, I'm now working with women solely online, um, and men too, because that's just the way that it happens.

Mel: 9:37

They need it too.

Megs: 9:38

Absolutely so. he way that I start my process is through manifestation and truly understanding what you want your space to be, getting a true vision of what the future holds, because oftentimes we get really excited about organizing or doing a project but then we lose momentum because we don't know where it's going. And taking small and tiny actions toward that bigger project is something that can hold us back because we don't see the efforts put in right away. That's why before and after pictures are so important right, yes.

Megs: 10:15

I love them, starting with manifestation and then truly understanding some of the beliefs you need to hold on to in order to get to the other side. So part of what holds us back, like I remember my first client ever working coaching coaching her over the phone, she was telling me I've never really put so much effort into it because I never believed that I could truly keep a space organized, and so she just didn't start because she's like, why would I start if I'm just going to do it all over again? And I felt that so much because there were so many times where I would spend a weekend emptying an entire closet and then trying to put it all back together and then not being able to remember what I did. So then of course, the closet got messy again, like two days later.

Megs: 11:04

Yeah, and then it started. So that's the first part of it is like truly understanding what you're trying to achieve and the feeling you're trying to get to. On the other side, most of the people I talk to are seeking peace in one way, shape form or another. Right, peace with four kids. Peace with you know, eight animals, peace with, like a crazy chaotic life where your stuff is chaotic too, and then it from there.

Megs: 11:30

It's just about truly understanding some of the things that are holding us back, because with ADHD sometimes we go into this paralysis state or it's our nervous system is. We go into all of these different like fight, flight, freeze or fawn and we have a certain reaction that we handle clutter and it's normal. It's something that we've done our whole lives and we avoid it, right, until we get to the point that someone's coming over and we have no choice but to face it head on. The frenzy yeah or, or we're, we're in a, in a rage, and we're like I can't believe I've let it get to this point and I'm just gonna clean up, I'm gonna throw things in places and I'm not gonna have a method to my madness, but don't go in that door, right, it's like um, did you ever watch friends like Monica's closet, where she would shove everything?

Mel: 12:18

yes, oh my gosh we all need a closet that used to be me, that used to be me. I was like do not go in there. , od I'm free from that now right.

Megs: 12:28

But then, like now you've got all of this stuff and of course you're not going to try to attack that. Now you've got like this gigantic doom closet or doom piles every there, everywhere, and doom stands for if you don't know, didn't organize, only moved, and so now we're moving all of our shit all over the place instead of making any real lasting change.

Megs: 12:48

And, of course, we're frustrated by it because we've just burnt ourselves out trying to clean our home and now we don't even have something to truly go back and say wow, look what I did, like it looks nice for a moment, but then chaos ensues because we have families and homes we're trying to take care of and life continues to happen. So it's about understanding those regular routines, understanding your nervous system reaction to the clutter and then continuously making, like itsy bitsy, small changes along the way to see how they compound upon one another. So, yeah, that's a little bit of it, but like I've got a lot of tools and different things that work with you along the way. And then community is so key to this because, like it's like having body doubling sessions and having other people that are going through the same thing as you and understanding that you're not alone. Everything like it's just such a beautiful experience.

Mel: 13:46

yeah, I am gonna ask for everyone out there and a little bit o me, I'll admit what is body doubling?

Megs: 13:53

Oh my gosh, yeah, so body doubling oh it's so cool. So it's, it's a proven technique to support people in the ADHD community, but I can imagine that it supports humans in general.

Megs: 14:03

So, it's this idea that you can invite a friend over and just their natural presence of having them there is going to help you get things done. And so if you're struggling with something in the home and you need to do something, invite someone over. They don't have to tell you what to do, they don't have to do it for you, they just have to be there. They're not twisting your arm, you're just telling them this is what I'm doing and for some reason, instead of being in the back of our mind, we're like we're ruminating or we're constantly flying from one project to another. We stick on that project because we have someone there who's holding us accountable to being in our conscious brain, and so that's really cool. So we do it on zoom. So, on zoom, we body double, where we come in and we say what we're going to do, and then we turn our cameras off, we mute ourselves, and then we come back at five minutes to the end of the hour and we talk about what we did.

Mel: 14:54

Awesome.

Megs: 14:55

Yeah, it's so fun. And then we do body doubling d we body we do decluttering sessions the same way. So we come in and we talk about what we're gonna do and then we all declutter together and then that way, if someone's struggling with something like, say they, they know they want to let go of something, but they're not sure the method they want to use to let it go, and they're trying to find that reason or like that thing that's going to make them feel better, sometimes it's just about the fact that, hey, this is going to hurt a little bit, it might feel a little yucky to let it go, but is it going to make space in your life to let new opportunities in? Yes, absolutely. So that's body doubling. In a nutshell, it's love it.

Mel: 15:37

Yeah, I had not heard of that term before now, so there you go. Even I'm learning something.

Megs: 15:44

Absolutely. Oh my God, it's good, it's a game changer, yeah.

Mel: 15:48

I mean I I guess I already knew that having someone there and having support and all that is definitely great. I just didn't know the term. I didn't know it was an actual thing, having support and all that is definitely great. I just didn't know the term.

Megs: 15:59

I d k i w a a t, otally. It's funny. My husband even body doubles with me, like if he sees me cleaning he will start to clean because I'm doing it. So then we're body doubling together. We didn't even realize that's what we were doing until like a couple months ago, and he's like, oh my gosh, I'm body doubling with you and I'm like, yes, that's crazy my gosh, I'm body doubling with you and I'm like, yes, that's crazy.

Mel: 16:21

Now I just need to train my husband to do that. But look, I'll admit, he deals with the kids, so then I can clean. So that's kind of our arrangement at this point in time. Brilliant, I have got the baby and the toddler and all of that. So it's like, please just handle them and let me clean, and then we're all good and let me clean and then we're all good?

Mel: 16:39

Yes, absolutely so. In your experience as a coach so far, what do you feel like is one of the biggest things? Holding people back even just from getting help and dealing with clutter, or getting on top of the organizing? What's your experience?

Megs: 17:02

I think one of the biggest things that I've seen is that people are just so busy Like we live in this world where we're just go, go, go all the time and, instead of trying to take things off our plate, we just add more on and it's almost like trying to keep up with the Joneses right, like we see all these other mom friends with us, all their kids are.

Megs: 17:24

They're signed up for like eight different activities and they seem to still have it all together and then they're also like keeping this perfect calendar and they're keep like everything is working out.

Megs: 17:35

They're not human and they're keep like everything is working out, they're not human Right, and so now we're like, okay, well, I guess I should sign up my kids for eight different activities, and now I'm not even planning meals. So I think part of it is just the fact that we have so much going on and we can hardly keep up with our homes as it is. How do we possibly add decluttering to that and organizing and like buying the perfect bins, like how do we have any time to do that?

Megs: 18:03

So then a lot of it, too, is like it's interesting because a lot of it comes back to our like natural nervous system responses to certain things and what we do to comfort ourselves. I have a lot of clients who will do a ton of research. They're like I'm just going to dive in, I'm going to find out all the information, so now I'll know everything. But then they don't know where to start because they have so much going on up here.

Megs: 18:24

So now it's like, okay, I know everything to do, so now I know nothing to do because I've got too much information and not enough like action Right. So, that's part of it, but then part of it is coming back to the beliefs is like I don't even believe I can sustain it, because I've tried this before and everything's failed.

Mel: 18:47

Yeah, it's crazy so.

Megs: 18:49

I would say that's a lot of like the main stuff. And then there's a lot of people that come that just don't know how their brains work, that they're just like. There's a lot of people that come that just don't know how their brains work, but they're just like. I have ADHD and so do you. I'm not organized but you are. And now I'm very curious how those things can intersect.

Megs: 19:09

So it's just this curiosity, but I would say the biggest thing out there is like just making a decision to get out of the comfort zone that you're in, because as much as we hate our clutter as much as we hate like not having things organized, that's also the way you've lived your life, your whole life, so you're comfortable there as much as you hate it.

Megs: 19:27

Yeah, there is some comfort around it, and so when you make a change, it's naturally going to be uncomfortable. So as you're going through that discomfort which is why a coach is so important, because we can lead you through it is, as you're getting through that discomfort, how do you find that new comfort? On the other side? There's regression and there's all kinds of things that play into it, but it's fascinating.

Mel: 19:52

Yeah that's so good With my community and followers and all of that. I am like, yep, you can go, do all the research, you can learn all these things yourself. There's YouTube, there's you know, shows on Netflix, there's everything right, like you can do it all yourself. But it is overwhelming and it takes a lot of time and you know it's taken me 12 years to get to the place where all these parts of my life are organised and in balance, because I went from being completely disorganised, like could not function at all, to then getting to a point where I was so over-organised that it paralysed me too with the perfectionism and it was so far the other way.

Mel: 20:38

Yeah, paralysed me too with the perfectionism, and it was so far the other way. I was snapping at my kids and it was so bad up till maybe three years ago. And then I've sort of come back and I found that happy balance in the middle and it's just like you can learn all this stuff yourself, you can do it all yourself. But are you willing to potentially spend 12 years of your life trying to work it out and tens of thousands of dollars and all this kind of stuff and be overwhelmed with it all, or have someone in your corner that's gone through all that for you and happy to just sort of break it down to just the parts that you need right now.

Mel: 21:16

Just trust us, we know what we're doing break it down to just the parts that you need right now, just trust us, we know what we're doing.

Mel: 21:20

Let us just make it simple for you, because I love to take things off people's plate and just go. You could add more systems, you could add more things if you wanted to, but is that really going to help you? Probably not. We need to declutter all areas of our life, not just in our home, but let's remove some things off the plate first, before we try and organise everything. So, yeah, I love what you're saying and, yeah, completely agree. So, oh, my goodness, I feel like we could just go on forever, absolutely.

Mel: 21:54

We've still got more to say, but I'm like I don't even know what to say next. We've still got more to say, but I'm like I don't even know what to say next. So, beyond the organizing and everything to do with the ADHD and everything, how do you find people's mindset changes when they start getting support and help with the ADHD, or just in general, I think?

Megs: 22:20

it's so cool to see the progression right, and I think it happens a little bit differently for everyone as far as when they're ready, because some people, as much as they're ready to say, yes, here's all my money, let's do coaching, sometimes they're still not ready to take action and so it's just working through the belief system and what's going to help them get to that next step.

Megs: 22:42

But by the second month they've got some sort of routine, some sort of understanding on how they can do it. And the cool thing is is, like I asked them you know what their takeaway is and what they're working on, or or like what's made a difference in their life, and they're like I can do it, like I can actually do this, and it's like it's this realization of holy crap, like this is real. This is something that I can actually change in my life about keeping up with that momentum, because we can be very cyclical with, like the way that we believe in ourselves and then we regress and then we believe in ourselves and then we regress, and so it's just about, as you're going through this change, how do you keep up that momentum of yeah, I can do this, I really think I can.

Megs: 23:33

And it's amazing and I think that's one of the coolest things to see is that just helping people believe in themselves and understand their beliefs that have held them back for so long has been really powerful.

Mel: 23:47

Yep, and you don't even realize it's there a lot of these times, these limiting beliefs.

Mel: 23:53

I have found that with the people that I've talked to that you can give them all the tools, all the strategies, all the ways to simplify, to declutter, to organize their schedule, whatever it is.

Mel: 24:09

But if their mind is not on the right track, if they do not believe that they can do it, if they self-sabotage, things like that, you know just if their mind is not in the game, you can have all the tools in the world and it's not going to stick, it's not going to last.

Mel: 24:26

So one thing, if anything that I hope we both can get through to anyone listening, is that it really starts up here, because once you get your mind in gear, absolutely anything and everything is possible. You can get organized, you can find that peace and that intention in your life and organizing then just becomes a background thing. So the rest of your life, you know you can have that time with your family, with your friends, in your careers, whatever is important to you. You can have that time because things are working better in the background and a big part of it just starts with your mind and getting that on the right page, and that's what we're here to help you with, you know, and so I love that. So, for everyone listening, what is something that they can do to support you in what you're doing, like to follow you?

Megs: 25:35

Yeah, um. Well, I would say, come find my podcast Organizing an ADHD Brain anywhere you listen to podcasts, and let me know what you think. I'd love to hear your perspective on it, or even your stories. If you'd like to share and something that's worked or not worked for you, I'd love to hear. I loved connecting with people because I think sharing our lived experiences is so important. It helps oh, my gosh, it helps us grow. Um, aside from that, I'm not on social media too much, um, except as a lurker sometimes.

Mel: 26:09

That's not a bad thing. It could take up a lot of time and energy.

Megs: 26:14

It does. I'm actually I'm looking to make a transition off of social media eventually, so come find me on the podcast, because that's where you'll find most of it. If you are interested in community and Mel has one too so go look at Mel's community first. But if ADHD speaks to you and you're looking for what that looks like it's, my website is organizing an ADHD brain and then forward, slash community to find the community.

Mel: 26:40

Lovely. Yes, I had a look through at that and it looks fantastic with all the stuff that you're offering in there. So I think you know we can all get something out of it together, and I I love that you've created a space that is safe and easy for people that are, you know, finding it harder to get on top of the organising than probably the average. Mind you, I'm probably in that average category and it was tough, so I think it can be tough for all of us, but I love that you've created that community and safe space for people. So good on you. I got you. Thank you.

Mel: 27:23

Well, I think that we've probably covered enough things and definitely I'll put all the information in the description. So, for those of you that can't remember and don't want to have to keep going backwards and forwards throughout the episode, I'll put all the information in the description so you can find Meg's online and find her community if you wish to be part of that too. And I just I want to thank you for joining us today, because I just loved talking to you and I love your mission, what you're doing and how you're helping, how you're just helping people in the world. I love it.

Megs: 27:59

So thank you so much for being on here today. Thank you, thanks for having me and thanks for what you're doing right back. It's amazing.

Mel: 28:06

Thank you, I'll talk to you soon.

Megs: 28:09

Sounds good.

Mel: 28:10

If you love this episode, don't forget to hit subscribe so you don't miss what's coming next. And if you want to continue the conversation, you can connect with me on Instagram a sheso. rganized. organized. organized or for some over over to head over to beyondorganizedcom.

Mel: 28:23

slash toolkit. Remember organizing is a tool to live the purposeful life beyond it. See you next time.