The prime locations in your house need to be top priority for organization.  Keep these in shape and it will make your life more organized, less cluttered and much easier.

What you use daily should have the prime location – everywhere.  If you’re going to look at something every day, make sure you use it every day.  You have plenty of storage places that are less visible for non-essential or less used items, make sure you store everything accordingly to how often it is used. We keep our main meal preparation ingredients in the kitchen and all of our extra food storage items are stored the pantry.

Clear tables are important. This tip is from my husband – the tops of your tables, especially your coffee table, should be 75% clear – try storing items underneath for more prime space.  If you use a table regularly, don’t ever let it become a storage space – instead keep it as an active zone so it’s always ready for action and you don’t have to mess with cleaning it first.

Less is more.  Even your big room can look cluttered with too much furniture. Stick to the essentials and move or donate the rest. A clean, clear room will seem more relaxing and will be less work to keep clean and clear. We just purchased new furniture for Christmas and we decided to buy less stuff – instead of a living room set with unnecessary extras, we purchased two couches – exactly what we’d use.

Group similar items together.  This is an easy tip to make clutter disappear.  When you have similar items and you store them together, you end up buying less because you know what you have and it looks less cluttered because you see the order in your storage system. Be creative with containers – if you can reuse something and it works for you – then it works!

Keep Kitchen Essentials Visible.  Sure, gadgets may make kitchen work easier, but the storage can be burdensome. The more gadgets you have, the less precious space you keep. Keep the items in the kitchen that are most essential. And, if it’s on the counter top and in plain sight, make sure you use it every day.

Being more organized takes time and effort, but it doesn’t have to be a major life change immediately.  Make small, purposeful steps – even 15 minutes a day – devoted to organizing your life and you’ll see what you can accomplish.