by Elizabeth Scott, M.S.

Cull The Clutter: There are many books and even websites dedicated to helping you de-clutter your home, but there are some basic steps that work well:

1. Going room by room, divide your things into four boxes: things to donate, things to throw away, things to keep, and things to store. If you don’t need it or love it, consider getting rid of it.
2. Go through your box of things to keep and find a place for everything. Make it a logical place that’s in the same area where it’ll need to be used. For example, keep keys by the door.
3. Finish one room before moving on to the next.

Note: This can all be done in a day, or can be spread out over several weeks in 30-minute increments, if you work quickly. If you can only do it in "baby steps," Flylady.net has a good system that can help.

Organize What’s Left: As you find places to keep what you’re keeping, be sure that you’re storing things in a way that makes sense and looks nice. For example, kids’ toys can be stored very neatly in tubs, which provide quick cleanup and keep toy clutter out of sight. Getting drawer organizers for your bathrooms and kitchen can keep drawers from overflowing with extra items. Having a filing system for papers makes it easy to put them away and find them when you need them. Putting a little extra effort into organizing your things now will save you time in cleaning up and maintaining order for years to come.

Create Beauty: Once you have your home de-cluttered and organized, you can add a few nice touches that can make your home the ideal haven for you to relax. I strongly recommend that you have a system in place for playing music, as it carries such amazing relaxation benefits. You may also want to have some aromatherapy candles or diffusers out. Home spa supplies are a must for the bathroom, and a soothing bedroom can help with sleep. Finally, I would recommend that you create a small space for yourself to use while journaling or for meditation--it may become your favorite part of your home.

Create Positive Chi: You may also want to learn incorporate some of the principles of Feng Shui, the ancient art of placement, to decorate your home in a way that will reduce daily stress and may help you build the type of life you want.