The Rules of Organizing

1. Don't overcrowd your storage and don't keep adding more storage—reduce your inventory.
2. Make your things easy to access and easier to put away.
3. Only touch it once. Sort or toss mail as soon as you open it, don't add it to a pile you'll have to sort again later.
4. Keep things where you use them. Arrange possessions within activity areas or "zones."
5. Duplicate the things used in several areas. Buy a toilet bowl brush for every bathroom.
6. But eliminate items that unnecessarily duplicate functions. You don't need a hand-powered can opener and an electric can opener. Keep only one.
7. Name your cabinets and shelves: dish cabinet, sock drawer, etc.) to remind yourself that only those items are stored there.
8. Make sure the "rough storage" areas in your home are well lit and easily accessible. Value these spaces because they guard against long-term storage items cluttering your living.