I have always been on who would love to say that everything in my home has its own place. I cannot seem to figure out how to get this done or even really how to start. I feel all I do is shuffle stuff around to make the area I am working on clean, but never seem to really get anywhere. Not to mention DH doesn't place things back where he found them.

What do you ladies do to make sure everything has a place. Do you label every drawer, shelf cupboard with what is supposed to be there? Do you have boxes, baskets, shelving, or totes? What do you do with the items you are not sure where they should go? Do you get rid of them, or place them in a "junk drawer" for the time somewhere in the future when you may need it?

Help I feel like I am losing this battle.

I think the key to finding a place for everything is having enough space.... and to have enough space you have to either have a really big house or less stuff. I have found that decluttering has given me more space than I need, and it is a pleasure to open a kitchen cabinet and see only what I need and use neatly arranged. In my kitchen, I did a major purge last January. I decided to keep only what I used, and then of that only what I had room for. I had to let go of somethings- like a wooden salad bowl set- that I liked but didn't use often enough and didn't have room for.

With more space and less stuff, it is much easier to keep things organized. Start small- look at what you have and take away a few things each day that you know you can part with easily. Once you get into the "declutter mode", it gets easier and easier to purge.

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I don't believe in miracles; I depend on them

I don't label anything. I did get rid of a lot of things I didn't use to make room for the things I do use. In my linen closet I've pared down to only the sheets I'd actually put on the beds. I donated half of that closet to Goodwill. I washed everything, folded and rolled everything neatly and fit them into storage boxes. The storage boxes made it so I could actually put more into the closet, and it freed up space for things like the stepping stool, fans and heaters that used to not have a place in my home.

You have to take it slowly and evaluate what you need in your house, what you use, what your habits (and everyone else's) are when putting things away. Everyone used to dump their shoes at the front door in my house. So when I got a shoe cubby, I put it near the front door. In the drawer that is on top of the cubby I put things that I'd need quickly, bug off spray, my notary stamp, fly swatters, notepads, etc. To the untrained eye, that's a junk drawer. But I don't keep junk, so I know better. It's organized to my standards, and when someone says, "Do you have a notepad?" I can easily say, "in the drawer by the front door".

It doesn't have to be a high tech kind of thing, and it took me about a week to go through all of our drawers and closets, the pantry/storage room and get rid of all these "extras" or to find a place for like items (school supplies, photos, tools each have drawers in the storage room). I even went through the kids' room and got rid of unloved toys. I had the drawer sets in there for their stuff, I just hadn't put them to use properly. Now when they clean up, they know where everything goes. Take your time. I can almost guarantee you'll find a way that suits you too a tee.

Also* don't buy storage boxes until you *know* what you need them for. Then you'll get the right sizes and shapes for your needs. If you're going to do an underbed storage, measure the height from the floor to the bed frame before getting a box. I've actuall had boxes that were too deep but claimed to be underbed storage boxes.

I find it a lot easier for everything to have a place after you have gone therw and decluttered. Also keep things minimal. I have found that if I don't use it often I put it in the back of the shelf. Keep things that I use all the time accessable it also makes it easier to put back. Also as for my dh. I have found if I ask a few times things end up back where they are supose to but then agian he keeps his garage things clean and I just ask the same of the house "things" .... I just tell him last week when I went out to get a screw driver I put it back can you please do the same with my things "since it seems dd's and everything else in the house is mine" But it seems to work. HTH Also we have a routine that after we put dd ot sleep all the toys go in their place. if it is nice and clean you will tend to keep it that way more and more. Start off small and work your way up. one area at a time.

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Thanks for all the suggestions. I have officially started the declutter phase. I am sorting, throwing out, giving to good will and figureing out where things need to go. Then I am going to splurge and buy baskets/plastic tubs for things so they appear to be even more neat and tidy. They shoe holder idea by the door is a great idea, I am tired of stepping over all my kids shoes and boots. I also plan on using the all in one notebook/tote bag that goes everywhere with me. I can't tell you how many times I have left the house and have forgotten to bring the mail that needed to go to the post office. Thanks again and I will posting my progress and please keep the ideas coming.

www.organizedhome.com is where i go for support and advice on anything to do with organizing.