In pioneer days, only essentials went into the Conestoga wagons. You had your spinning wheel, your everyday dress, your Sunday dress, your cup and your plate. Carrying duplicate items would have been ridiculous.

 

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Welcome to the 21st century. Our closets burgeon with clothes, our attics overflow with extras, our garages have no room for our cars. More is more — even if you can't find it.

Such excess — such clutter — makes us feel out of control. We buy a fourth bottle of ketchup because our pantry is so full, we don't know we have three others. We acquire another tape dispenser because we can't find the one we bought last week. Oops! Did I already have a black turtleneck?

Disorganization is costing us. It costs emotionally because we are not masters of our tiny universe. It costs financially because all those duplicate items add up. It costs us in space. And finally, it costs us in time. Think of all the time we spend looking for things. All the time we spend going to the store and replacing things. All the time we spend swearing that we're going to get organized — soon.

Yo-Yo Organizing

We all know getting organized is possible because we've all done it — countless times. Unfortunately, organizing has the same inherent problems as dieting. You can't just do it one week a year — it has to be a way of life or your perfectly refined system crumbles back into chaos.

Cull and Purge

No matter what system you adopt, your first step should be to get rid of the excess.

Go through everything in your house, room by room, item by item. Throw or give away anything you don't use. And don't cheat! Even if you lose 40 pounds, those old size six pants will be out of fashion. Not sure about something? Box it and store it in the garage for a year. Then throw it away next year.

Clutter Hotspots

Think about where clutter builds up in your house. Usually, you'll find it in the following places:

• By the entry door
• On the kitchen table
• On any flat surface — bureaus, dressers, coffee tables
• All over your kid's room
• In drawers, closets, attics and garages

Why does clutter accumulate in these areas? The entry door is obvious. It's where the whole family dumps the stuff they're lugging in from the car: books, backpacks, mail, briefcases, shopping bags, purses, sunglasses, coats. Entry clutter is demoralizing because it's the first thing you see when you come in.

The kitchen table is where kids do homework and play games. It's where parents pay bills, sign school papers and read the mail and the newspaper. And if you can find space, it's where the family eats.

Clutter accumulates when you don't have — or take — time to put things in their proper place. You don't mean to leave that scarf on the TV stand forever — just till you go by the closet. Two days later, it's still there.

Containment

The point? Realize that it’s human nature to dump extraneous items at convenient spots. Then work around this universal truth.

Think containment. Think baskets — ideally, one for each room.

Baskets are a good place to stash stuff attractively. Sure, you could use drawers, but you can destroy a perfectly organized drawer by stuffing in some unrelated items because the maid is coming in 10 minutes. Those items will never resurface. They're in the wrong place, and you'll never remember where you put them.

Here are some strategic places to put clutter baskets:

• The family entrance: Invest in a storage chest with a drawer or basket for each member of the family. When they come in, they just stash their stuff in their appropriate drawer or basket and distribute it later.
• Bottom of the stairs: Collect items here and take them all upstairs in one trip.
• Kids' bedrooms: Place a large basket here for quick cleanups. But make sure it's emptied within 24 hours. This is a temporary resting place. When the baskets are full or when you have time, empty them. But all items have to go directly where they belong, not on a dresser top.

Assigning Items Their Own Place

When you need an extension cord, you should know exactly where to look for one. That means extension cords need to be put in the same place every time. And that's true for all belongings. Organize all your belongings by type. Group them in containers, if feasible, and label them. Then assign them a permanent resting place — a handy, accessible place near where you will actually use them.

Maintaining Your System

Even the world's best system can't operate on its own. You need to budget a few minutes each day for maintenance: returning things to their places and tossing out papers. In short, organize your life. Start by organizing your time, plow through the paperwork, attack the house one room at a time and end up with your car.

Amaze your friends by being able to fetch your old blood pressure kit in less than two minutes. Impress your neighbors by your immaculate garage. Wow your kids by showing up on time for recitals and soccer matches.

This may not make you master of your universe. But it's the closest you'll come in this life.