🎙️ Prequel Episode
What Even Is a Doom Pile?
Spoiler: it’s not trash… it’s delayed decisions, emotional luggage, and at least one hot glue gun.
🎵 [Imaginary Intro music: whimsical, slow build with soft squirrel chatter and the sound of something toppling over]
Hi. I’m Angela. Queen of Focus-ish.
And before we spiral further into this podcast… we need to talk about something important:
Doom piles. Didn’t Organize Only Moved
No, not the kind you see in fantasy shows where a dragon guards a pit of bones.
We’re talking real-life, everyday, lovingly-ignored-but-slightly-judged-by-guests doom piles.
Let me explain.
✨ A Doom Pile. Defined: Didn’t Organize Only Moved
A doom pile is a stack of deferred decisions.
It’s not trash. It’s not clutter. It’s… limbo.
I learned about it on a random Instagram scroll day. The words lit up in my brain as I watched in awe. Didn’t Organize Only Moved. Doom pile. Yes, that’s what I have everywhere.
It’s:
- That bag you brought in from the car but never unpacked
- That stack of papers labeled “URGENT” in 2019
- A bunch of objects placed together not because they belong together… but because you couldn’t deal with them separately
Doom piles are sacred.
They’re where ADHD, perimenopause, and creative brain energy all collide like glitter in a tornado.
🧠 Why We Have Doom Piles (ADHD Edition)
Because ADHD brains often struggle with:
- Object permanence ("If I put it away, will I ever see it again?”)
- Time blindness ("That was three months ago??")
- Decision fatigue ("Keep, donate, toss, cry, scream?")
- And executive dysfunction ("This item now weighs 400 emotional pounds")
So we pause.
We place.
We promise ourselves:
“I’ll come back to this when I’m in the right headspace.”
Spoiler: that headspace doesn’t exist.
🔥 Why Midlife & Menopause Make It Worse
Because on top of the usual executive overload, now we’re:
- Forgetting why we walked into the room
- Sweating for no reason
- Feeling overwhelmed by the memory of a sock
Hormones? Chaos.
Focus? Fragile.
But doom piles? Oh, they wait. Patiently. Looming. Judgmental. And also… weirdly comforting.
🎨 Why Creative People Are Especially Vulnerable
Because creatives live in loops — not lines.
You make, you tinker, you start five things at once.
You see possibilities, not just objects.
So that pile of fabric scraps and beads and old receipts?
That’s not trash. That’s a multimedia art experiment that might become a gift for a friend named Tinsel.
🌀 And Most Importantly: Doom Piles Are Not Failure
They are proof that you’ve been trying.
You’ve been:
- Parenting
- Creating
- Navigating life
- Mourning old versions of yourself
- Attempting inbox zero while simultaneously reinventing your identity in the junk drawer
The doom pile is not your enemy.
It’s your unsorted story.
And this podcast?
It’s a love letter to that story.
🎵 So if you’ve ever had a “pile corner,” a “box of mystery,” or a “drawer of shame”...
You’re not broken.
You’re brilliant.
You’re overdue for a laugh.
And you are so welcome here.
Subscribe to Doom Piles & Distractions.
Next up: I try to find a power cord… and accidentally reorganize the spice cabinet, three closets, and my sense of self.
🐿️✨
Learn more or join the squirrel squad at AngelaDiCarlo.com
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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