Clutter Busters

Ready to tackle your home's messy zones? Start by making simple changes so that your family knows where things belong.

Keeping your refrigerator organized is one of the bigger challenges in the kitchen. Everyone in the house uses the refrigerator, and the contents change day by day. You can maintain order by being diligent about where things are put, and by establishing a logical organization within the refrigerator.

Do your cabinets have a lot of extra room that is not being used efficiently? If so, the highest shelves might be best for rarely used items such as special-occasion platters. Was everything crammed into the cabinet? In this case, you'll need to find new places for much of what was there.

Flat, open surfaces provide the opportunity for "display" storage. So much of what is stored in the kitchen is attractive, and shelves and countertops give you a chance to use storage containers that double as decorative pieces. This lets you use your countertop to accent your decor while freeing up storage elsewhere.

Young kids love their toys. The presence of toys is one of the key elements that separates a child's bedroom from an adult's. Given the diversity of sizes and shapes, the amount of small, removable pieces, and frequency of use, it's no wonder that toys are the largest source of clutter in any young child's room.