Secrets to an organized home

We have one major rule in our house...Toys must stay in the den / play area or in rooms. I know that seems really silly, but I learned something VERY valuable when I lived in a two story condo before moving into my home, if there is stairs you kid will not bring stuff down because they don't want to carry it back up (that place was the cleanest place I ever lived in lol). Other than that, I try to keep my living room tidy at all times. It's hard with my kids (there is 5 in all) and my husband and the fact that I'm not Mrs. Clean doesn't help, but I do spend every day picking up. My home is also an open area so you can see into the dining room (which is actually utelized as a computer / workout / more play area for the kids) and my kitchen. I try to keep things picked up, and organized as much as possible. My kitchen I am Mrs. Clean about so that's cleaned every day. The rest of the house I just try to make sure it keeps in order by purging as much as possible. Oh and we won't even go to the garage...let's just say that by gaining a husband I'm lucky there is still room to park in there. He was good about making sure the mess left a big space in the middle still :). Hmmm...maybe I'll garage sell next weekend.

"It's not to late to become who you've always wanted to be..."

I'm suspicious of overly well organized moms. I think the key to keeping the house relatively clutter free is simply having a place for everything, so the kids know where to put things away. Also, just staying on top of it, making sure things are tidy before you go to bed each night, so it doesn't pile up.

Karina Bland is raising her 9-year-old son in Tempe with a lot of love, humor and support from her friends and family. A longtime journalist covering child welfare and education issues for The Arizona Republic, she blogs about raising good kids.

I once read a great (and very simple) tip that I now always use: never leave a room empty-handed. There is always a pair of shoes or a toy or a sweater or a glass that can go with you and be put away at that time. It takes only a few seconds but it helps cut down on the excess "stuff" lying around at the end of the day. My home is far from perfect but that little rule really helps me.

When I start to get jealous of others organization I remember when Oprah organized peoples houses, then came back months later to check on them and the houses had returned to formal chaos in most cases.

We just have too much stuff. We are trying to reduce the extra clutter, but it is hard, especially with 75% off sales...

A place for everything and everything in it's place works for a little while and is nice while it lasts. We try to do a 3 minute clean up every night before bed and that usually keeps us from total disaster.

Lovemy4 is a discussion leader for North Central Phoenix, tired mother of 4 great kids and wife to one great husband.

Mr & Mrs Clean Freak, he more than I. Having an organized, clean home makes us feel less stressed because we can find what we need at a moments notice. When you walk in shoes off and in the closet so you can find them later, as well as keys, wallet and cell phone go in the Key Draw. Our most important rule is the mail. When you pick up the mail you need to immediately go thru it, dispose of junk in garbage then set aside a place for bills and another pile for other. These two piles need to be seen, completed or purged on a daily basis..it takes 5 minutes, place in a nice basket or container on desk. Just as unloading a dishwasher, you think it takes too long well time yourself ..takes about another 5 minutes. Then you have an empty place for dirty dishes instead of the sink. Toys ,we have a two story, most of them stay upstairs in kids rooms or playroom, if they come down they go back up the same day, regular room inspection and clean up before bed. Big decorative baskets or trunks to match your decor are a neat place for toys, shoes, books you can find a nice selection & price at Ross. Furniture serves a dual purpose, next time you are furniture shopping make sure it has storage space you can use. Each time I leave a room my hand is never empty. Countertops are cleared constantly, Goodwill gets a lot of donations (tax writeoff), closets get purged maybe 4 times a yr, garage has cabinets and a painted floor, which is mopped regularly and doesn't track in dirt. Laundry..as you watch tv, get pile of empty hangers and hang or fold then at commercial go put away. I try never to leave the house without picking up before heading out the door. Dog hair is my problem 2 dogs and I need to vacuum daily and mop at least 3 times a week. mopping time probably 30minutes, just more sweat than time. And another golden rule prior to purchasing think think think ...do you really need it or can you do without? Because mainly our organization is needed because we have too much stuff......

This year, I'm not ordering another magazine. they just pile up and create clutter. I'm ready to recycle, but my husband pulls them out so he can read, but he never reads these articles...We had one from Time magazine with Mitt Romney on it. A profile piece. I tossed it as soon as he dropped out of the presidential race, told my husband he has no need to read that now. Ha!

I'm also trying to do better about purging. When I buy new clothes, I have to get rid of at least as many older ones....I don't always follow this rule, but I have decluttered my closet and dresser some. And it does feel sooo good not to step into a cluttered closet.

I read that article, too and boy did I have the same reaction as you...Organization Fairies, where are you!!!! One of the biggest problems I have is linens. There just isn't a place for all the blankets, towels and sheets in my house. I love Arizona homes but they don't have the storage areas needed for the size of the homes. And I really don't get the countertops in the upstairs foyer...boy, is that a waste of space! Extra balnkets, pillows and sheets have to go in each boys' closets. Because of that, their closets just don't look like I imagined a child's closet should look. Bummer for me!

One thing I have done is bought those hanging shoe holders. They come in different sizes. The smaller ones I have in my closet to hold my sandals so they're not all over the floor. Bigger ones are in my little boys' closets and I put 5 sets of clothes in there for each day of school. this way, I don't have to run around looking for socks and underwear. the kids just grab and go.

We have a huge basket in our coat closet for backpacks and lunch boxes. I've been after my husband to put hooks on the door at kid height so they can hang their coats and sweatshirts on them, but he won't do it.

All our kids toys are in the upstairs foyer and in their rooms. They mostly stay there but there always a few strays that make their way downstairs. My kids are still at that age where they want to be near mom when they're playing. We do have aproblem getting everything back up to their original places.

Basically, we're a MESS and in need of an overhaul. My closet is the worst! Ugh!

Reading all these responses makes me feel a little better....evidently I am not the only one overrun by "stuff" and with a lack of storage space!!! There is only one linen closet in my house.....one! I have taken to storing towels in a big wicker hamper in the big bathroom.
It seems like my weekends are full of chores that I don't get to during the week.....I am hoping that I get a decent raise this year so I can dedicate a portion of that to a cleaning service....and a pool service....and a yard service.....I think getting rid of all the @#% chores would give me more time to organize.
We also have the dreaded dog hair problem....the dog sheds so much that if you don't sweep up every day the house looks like a barber shop, and the floor is constantly in need of mopping, you just can't keep up. I think we have found a new home for the dog, so that is one less mess I will have to deal with. I never did think we had time for a pet, but my son and husband disagreed....I was told I would not have to do a thing to care for the dog.....but guess who ended up feeding, watering, and cleaning up after puppy........lol.....

I have a good one, all of my son's clothes are earthtones (or jeans). So everything matches. He's 2.5yrs, and starting to have opinions about what to wear (I have friends who say this happens earlier with girls).

No matter what he picks out to wear, it all matches. So I never have to tell him that he can't wear that shirt with those pants. He dresses himself, and if he's pokey about it (he's often pokey), I just say if he doesn't pick something, I'm going to pick it. That usually gets him moving.

Before he had an opinion, I just had a stack of shirts and a stack of pants, and I'd pull the top one off each stack, newly cleaned ones went at the bottom of the stack. If I notice something looking small on him or something needs mended, I just pull it out of the stack.

I literally never think about what he wears, but he always looks nice.