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that you don't waste time each morning trying to figure out what to do. Tackle a project each day. For example, Mondays and Fridays could be for doing the laundry, Tuesdays for dusting the house and ironing clothes, Wednesdays for cleaning the bathrooms and Thursdays for vacuuming and mopping floors.

STOP TECHNIQUE:
This technique works for each room in your home. What is essentially translates as is Sorting, Tossing, Organizing and Putting away items. Select a room a day to be transformed, and when you're ready, enter the room with boxes and a garbage/plastic bag. Sort through each room, closet and drawer and using the STOP technique, put items in 3 piles- to be given away/donated, to be stored and to be put away immediately in its appropriate place.

CLUTTER PREVENTION TECHNIQUES:
Once you've sorted each room and got it organized, the question that follows is how do I keep the clutter from coming back?

1. Firstly, make sure that each and every item in your home has an appropriate place. Newspapers and magazines can have a rack, which will be emptied periodically. Keys, cell phones, iPod and other smaller gadgets can be given an entryway basket.

2. Secondly, go with the one in one out rule. For every new item you purchase, give away one old item. This works with shoes, DVD's, clothes, books..just about everything.

3. Rent it before you buy it: Look to see if you can swap, borrow or rent an item, before you buy it. This holds especially true for items such as games, DVD's and books.

4. Spring clean as often as you need to. Don't wait for spring to give your home a thorough cleaning. Summer, autumn and winter work just as well. Doing periodic clean ups will ensure you always have a chance to get rid of that extra clutter.

5. Buy appropriate tools such as book racks and baskets for each room in your home. This way, every evening before you go to bed, you can toss extra items in their boxes, such as bills lying on the table and magazines on the floor, and sort it out when you have the time.

Learn more about this author, Usha Krishnan.
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