Adulting is Hard

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*this meeting could have been an email voice* this cgi could have been a puppet

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a comic about cuddles

[hackingexecutivedysfunction-blog]

Storage - Winter Coats

Winter coats can take up a lot of space - when you’re not using them, store them away in your suitcases.

Most of the time, the space inside a suitcase goes unused between trips - some suitcases fold/compress down a little, but most don’t - especially if you have the ever-increasingly-popular hard-style cases.

You do your best, with them, but if you’re in a small space (studio/small apartment), they basically end up as empty, unused voids on top of a wardrobe until you head off on vacation again.

So...use the space. :P Just look at what’s taking up space in your wardrobe that you aren’t currently using (and/or won’t be using for months).

Winter coats during summer.

Beach clothes during winter.

Cosplay outfits between cons.

Specialised outfits (clothes you only wear to weddings/funerals/court/etc).

If you’re worried about the smell clothes tend to accumulate when packed away, just pop in a bar of cheap soap with the clothes.

[hackingexecutivedysfunction-blog]

Lush Hack: Squeezing

A quick one today, but Lush recently-ish changed the formula of their shower gels from very liquid-y to something much more deserving of the title of “gel”, however, unlike the old formula, you actually need to squeeze the bottle for these to come out.

I have issues with tendonitis, so squeezing can be hard sometimes - especially when - like in this case, the bottle is a firm plastic.

Enter the hack:

Decant your shower gels into these, and you won’t have any more problems. :) I got a two-pack for about $12 from Big W - there are far cheaper options on eBay, including these cuties:

So be kind to yourself, even if it’s only a minor inconvenience, fix the issue and it’s one less thing to worry about. :)

Bonus 1: They feel so nice, and with the gel inside, they’re fun to stim with.

Bonus 2: You’re never going to get all the gel out, so when you’re down to one thin coating, do the trick of adding a bit of water (then it pours out like the old formula) and you’ve stretched the supply a little further. :)

[hackingexecutivedysfunction-blog]

Travel: Luggage Tags

So, unless you’re inclined to get that custom luggage which a picture of your face...

You’ve probably got fairly standard luggage - you went down to Kmart, Strandbags or Vinnies and grabbed whatever was on sale, or whatever pattern you liked.

This, however, leads to the problem of many people having the same or similar luggage - for a while it seemed like everyone had a bag from this Lanza range:

And it can lead to confusion when you’re standing at the luggage carousel, or the driver is pulling out all the bags from the bus. “Grey Lanza Bag #4, come and get it!”.

So luggage tags are a thing, duh.

But if you’re like me, you’re never actually going to put your info on these, and you just want something to differentiate your bags from someone with the same excellent taste as yourself.

The problem is the same as the bags though - if you’re buying new luggage, you’re probably going to be grabbing tags at the same time (last time I flew, every second bag seemed to have the cute rainbow/unicorn tags from Kmart).

So here’s my simple-and-obvious answer - just use some ribbon. You’ve probably got some around the place (stashed in your craft/DIY box, hopefully), it’s not commonly done, and because of that, you’re not likely to come across someone with the same bag/ribbon combination.

[It also tends to be cheaper - 5m of ribbon from a cheap shop is $2, each luggage tag is usually $2-5 dollars; and the unused ribbon can be saved for other uses.]

If you’re travelling in a larger party (ie, family) and everyone is using a common pool of luggage, you could even use multiple colours of ribbon for each person to be able to ID their bags from the pile when you get to your hotel/great aunt’s farm/etc. Jesse has red, James has blue, etc, etc.

It’s simple, but it’s not stupid if it works.

[hackingexecutivedysfunction-blog]

B.E.I.S.

First, if you’re looking for the BPRD, you’re in the wrong place.

With that said, let’s deal with what’s probably the most important thing if you’ve got executive dysfunction: Break Everything Into Steps.

A neutrotypical (NT) person can look at a job and go “do the dishes, okay, watch me gooooo”. Us executive dysfunctionals on the other hand, can get overwhelmed by what we know should be a simple task.

But it’s not, because brains are stupid.

A recipe for disaster dishes:

Decide if you’re A) just dealing with what’s on the sink or B) going for a dish hunt.

If B), walk around the house looking for dishes everywhere.

Likely get distracted or overwhelmed. Spend an hour playing Pokemon Go, finally come back.

Look at dishes on sink. Cry.

Soak what needs soaking. Start first load.

Finish first load, tip out soaked dishes. Do second load.

Drip dry or manual dry. (I prefer drip drying).

Come back and put dishes away.

So this is at least eight steps for what NTs see as a “simple” job. Recognise whether or not this is the case for you, and work accordingly. Work with the grain of your stupid brain, don’t fight against it, it just makes the whole situation even more tiring.

It’s not cheating to BEIS. It’s not lazy. It’s dealing with your reality and making it work for you, which is, after all, what you should be aiming for in all aspects of your life.

For my own experience doing things this way...I’ve found that I get more done (at least when I’m having good days).

To follow on with the dishes example, my BEIS usually looks like this:

Put away clean/dry dishes from yesterday.

Go on a dish hunt.

Fill washing up tub (I don’t have double sinks in this apartment). 

Leave dishes to soak.

Go on second dish hunt.

If I’m feeling good, have a trash bag with me and empty trash cans whilst on second dish hunt.

Do dishes before water gets cold.

Leave dishes to drip dry.

Stare at remaining dishes (if any). Decide if any are needed for that day.

(Optional) Say “fuck it”.

Empty & clean washing up tub.

Reward self with Netflix.

BEIS works. It make everything less...scary and overwhelming.

Now excuse me, I have to do the dishes. :)

[hackingexecutivedysfunction-blog]

Tip: For PS4 Gamers

So if you have a PS4 and use the controller, buy a set of thumb stick grips immediately. Stop reading this, run to eBay and spend the entire dollar on a set.

Look, they even come in kitty paw designs. :D

These will help protect the thumb sticks from weathering/cracking/becoming a pain to use.

However, if that has already happened, don’t despair, and don’t throw out the controller (don’t laugh, some people are extreme).

Double-sided-tape dots. These are your friend. I got a packet of 200 from Daiso for $2.80. Keep them in your DIY/home repair box (we’ll talk about this box later). Stick the dots over the weathered rubber, then stick the grips on top - they’ll stick and hold without issue.

[hackingexecutivedysfunction-blog]

Moving: Boxes

We’re currently in the process of packing to move. This has been kind of hellish, as we’re currently in a three-room studio apartment, so it’s been a little like a game of Tetris finding the room to both move and pack whilst maintaining enough floor space to have a path from room to room.

This problem intensified when I was looking at getting boxes - because even empty they take up a lot of space.

Initially, I was using 60L plastic tubs like this:

And these were...problematic for a few reasons. First - transporting them home - I could carry 1 or 2 on the bus at a time, unless I paid for an Uber home (and when you do that you get some really weird looks).

And, as I said above, they take up a lot of room, even before you’ve packed them. Not great. So I wanted another solution

Friends, my dear friends, let me tell you of the wonders of archive boxes.

1) They are flatpacked, so you can stash them behind a door until you are ready for them. And you can fold them back down after the move, and store them in a garage corner if you have space, or get rid of the whole lot of them with one car trip to the dump.

2) Cheaper than plastic tubs (approx. $2/ea rather than $6-8/ea).

3) They are a standard, known size that moving companies can easily calculate, whereas “yeah, I got a bunch of plastic tubs” can have them erring on the larger size, and can lead to inaccurate quotes.

4) Study, so packing books/comics/etc is no problem (I tend to half-fill with books, then pack the top half with clothes, to cut down on the number of boxes just filled with clothes).

5) They are cardboard and easy to label. (I recommend a Sharpie Laundry Marker, thin tip for easy writing, smooth on cardboard, and you should have one or three of these anyway for other tasks.)

Whilst packing your lovely, lovely archive boxes, you should stay organised - there’s two basic options, both of which I can heartily recommend.

Option 1 - The Obvious: Write on the boxes. I like using this format:

Month - Item Type 1/Item Type 2

So it comes out something like:

August - Comics/Fill [Fill here being clothes/soft packing].

I like adding the month, because if you get to the other end, and dump the boxes in a corner, you may leave it so long you question your labelling, but with the month, it gives it an extra hook in your memory.

Option 2 - The Detailed: This is probably the more...retentive option, but you can simply label the box with a number, and then create a spreadsheet register of its contents.

This takes some extra work, but can make the unpacking process quite a bit smoother, as you can print your register, and as boxes are coming off the truck, you can more readily direct them to their destination room, rather than relying on a couple of simple keywords (as per Option 1), or stopping to open each box.

[hackingexecutivedysfunction-blog]

Losing Your Keys

I have always had a problem with losing my keys. Walk into house, drop on table, desk, near TV, couch, floor, crack between realities...

This has never been a problem, until I moved into an apartment that had a single lock that can be turned with a key - no twist-able locking mechanism or handle, something that you need to open with a key.

A problem for someone who loses keys.

Option 1: On entering your home, place your keys in the lock. (Depends on lock type). This didn’t work for me, as we store my partner’s keys in the door.

Option 2: A hook next to the door - this is a good piece of associative organizing. Look at door, see keys. This can work, but requires you to always be on top of your actions. Therefore, it works really well with...

Option 3: This is my current option. Use a lanyard. You can get them from for like $2. It’s an investment well worth the money. (Alternatively, you can spend a bit more and get one that matches your current fandom - I say as my Sombra (Overwatch) lanyard hangs around my neck.

A lanyard is great, because wherever you put down your keys, you have a (usually bright) point of reference to look for - it also increases the relative size of your keys - it’s far easier to lose two-inch-long keys than it is to lose a loop of fabric nearly two feet long.

Option 3: Bonus - Transit Pass: If you have a smart card for public transit (eg go!card, myki, Oyster, etc), buy one of these for a dollar and clip it to your lanyard. Keys and transit, all in one place. It’s been a lifesaver for me, as I’m now a lot less stressed about losing my keys and transit card. 

And if you think your transit card is ugly, do a search for “card stickers” and you can get cute stuff like this to cover up the standard designs.

[hackingexecutivedysfunction-blog]

What is This/Who I am

I’m Stormy, I’m 33, and my brain is stupid.

Among other things, I’ve got anxiety, depression, and executive dysfunction.This kind of makes adulting hard. Like stupid hard. But until Jareth whisks me off to the Labyrinth, I kind of don’t have a choice but to deal with things as I go.

In the last few years (ok, 7-10 years), I’ve moved from a basically barely-functional mess (sniff testing leggings before going to work) to a somewhat functional mess (I haven’t run out of clean underwear in six months! Organisation, yay!).

In this journey (oh, fuck I hate that word, makes me think of being a pretty Dream-Life-Live Insta model), I’ve come up with a number of ways of dealing with my stupid brain, and I’m going to share them with you.

Among these things will be:

Scheduling and why you need one

To Do lists and why you will love them

Links to shit I find useful (products, how tos, videos)

Your “mum friend” bag and what should be in it

And other stuff

Most posts will be short, bite-sized info, and I’ll tag heavily so you can explore a certain topic (eg: moving) if it’s what you need help with at the time.