Would you like to have an organized home but don't know where to begin?
Does the task of reorganizing seem overwhelming?
Here is a step by step solution for creating organizational systems in your home to help simplify and unclutter your life. 
photo courtesy of Rubbermaid flickr.com/photos/rubbermaid/7203339996
Clean & Purge
Start with your least messy room so you can make quick progress at organizing your home.
Sort through all of the items in your room and make 4 groupings.
The first grouping is for items that belong in that room.
The second grouping is for items that belong in a different room in your home.
The third grouping is trash that goes directly into a trash an that you have brought into the room.
The fourth grouping is for items to donate and should be put in a box that you plan to give to your donation center.
Once everything is sorted, clean your room from top to bottom.
Home Decor & Art
Only put back the decor and art that look the best in that particular room.
Make sure that your items have been dusted before putting them back.
Collections and smaller pieces of art should be grouped together in one portion of one room, not scattered throughout your room or home.
The more accessories you have in a room, the less perceived value each piece has, so only showcase your best.
Avoid using easel picture frames that tend to look messy - opt for wall mounted frames instead.
Consider keeping the most treasured and valuable accessories and donate the less impressive.
Not every surface needs an accessory.
Move on to all other rooms once the first room is completed.
Storage Containers
Get storage containers for under your sinks in the kitchen, laundry room, bathroom, closets, and anywhere else that could be more organized.
Storage containers that are visible in your room should be decorative.
Storage containers that are hidden in a cabinet, closet, or piece of furniture should be more functional than beautiful. You might want to purchase your storage containers to be the same throughout your home so you can move them around as needed (avoid pink ones in your daughter's room, blue ones in your son's room, and green ones in that bathroom). You can purchase several identical large containers, medium containers, and a small containers to be more versatile (perhaps all clear with a white lid).
For items you use everyday that are stored in ca cabinet, get one container that you take out of the cabinet each day then return underneath once finished to keep your countertop clutter free and your items organized and under control.
Clothing
Remove all of your clothes from your closet.
Organize your clothes in stacks to donate, mend, and keep.
Clothes that you have not worn in a year or more should be donated.
Clothes that need mending should be removed until fixed.
Good clothes can be put back in your closet, however hang them on the rod with the coat hanger facing backwards.
After you launder an item that you have worn, hang it forwards like normal.
At the end of the year, donate the clothes on hangers that are still backwards because they were not worn.
Only keep what you use in order to keep your home organized and tidy.
Fake Plants
Artificial plants collect dust and usually don't look very good, especially those above your kitchen cabinets.
They tend to shed dust onto your countertops and floor every time you shut your upper cabinets.
Put nothing on top of your kitchen cabinets except concealed lighting.
If you must use the space above your cabinets for storage, put pretty boxes or baskets up there to hide your stuff.
Mail
Sort mail immediately when it enters the house since most mail is usually junk mail. Don't put it down on a countertop to do later - sort it while you are standing up near the trash can.
Throw away junk mail immediately and sort your mail per person.
Consider getting a decorative storage basket to contain mail that needs to be distributed to help organize your home.
Functional Accessories
Make sure all of your accessories in your kitchen, bathroom, and laundry room are functional since you do not want to clutter your countertops.
Use clear glass jars and canisters to display items that you actually use in an organized fashion.
Remove from your countertops decorative jars, platters, or figurines that are not functional.
Sort through all of your cooking utencils for duplicates or specialized items that you don't use.
Kid Art
Remove your children's artwork from the refrigerator.
Make the front of your refrigerator free of all clutter, magnets, and everything else.
Consider hanging the best pieces in frames in their rooms, the bathroom, laundry room, or play room.
If you have to hang something on the refrigerator, try to keep it organized and hang it on the least visible side only.
See the article How to Display Children's Art in a More Organized and Sophisticated Manner for more information.
Toys
Create boundaries in your home for your childrens' toys so they don't end up throughout your entire home.
Perhaps create a rule that toys are only allowed upstairs or only allowed in the playroom.
Go through your children's toys at least twice a year (maybe after Christmas or their birthdays) and donate those that have been outgrown.
Throw away those that are damaged.
Consider the one in, one out rule. If a new toy comes in, an old toy needs to go out.
Designated Place
I'm sure you have heard "a place for everything and everything in its place" in order to have an organized home.
Some items that seem to never have a designated place in a home are remote controls, cell phones, backpacks, lunch kits, briefcases, purses, wallets, and laptop computers.
Purchase shelving units, bookshelves, storage units, built in shelving, charging stations, and any other storage device that will help organize your home.
If you have tall ceilings, make sure you take advantage of storage opportunities up high.
Everything should be well labeled.
Tips
In order to keep from getting overwhelmed, you can work on one room at a time or set a timer and work for a certain period of time before taking a break.
Organizing a home is something that should be completed 1 to 4 times per year. You might choose to do it yearly at the beginning of the year or every time the season changes.
If you have decided to donate items, consider putting them in your car to get them out of your house. Also, the next time you pass the place where you donate items, you will have your items with you so you can donate immediately.
