As a working mother of two very active boys, my house can quickly become cluttered if left unattended. After many years, I finally learned how to manage our home and keep it clean and organized at the same time.  Here are seventeen simple steps for people to follow to help alleviate the stress from all the mess.

• Make a commitment to yourself that this is the year to finally become clutter-free.
• Be realistic and realize you have limitations, and you are not a super hero.
• Have an overall game plan stating your goals and their estimated completion time.
• Create a master list including the problem areas and the specific details of what you intend to accomplish for each room.
• If the project is too big for you to tackle yourself, hire a professional organizer or ask family and/or friends for help.
• For great tips, research the topic of organization by reading books from experts or visiting web sites on the subject matter.
• Set a starting date and mark your calendar with future dates to be set aside.
• If possible, arrange for a sitter to take the children out for the day, leaving you to focus all of your attention to the job at hand.
• Make the toughest room first priority. Now, you are ready to begin!
• Turn off all phones and television sets eliminating as many distractions as possible.
• Play some music to help motivate you and create a perfect environment conducive to cleaning.
• Sort through your clutter and categorize it into specific groups, such as, garbage, rummage sale, storage, etc.
• Put the piles of clutter into bags or boxes. Then, make sure to label each package with the appropriate classification.
• Never give up! Keep telling yourself there is a light at the end of the tunnel.
• Always reward yourself after reaching a goal, and treat yourself to something nice.
• After you goals have been achieved, reduce future clutter by always putting things back where they belong when you are finished using them.
• Simplify your life by using a daily planner to keep your new clutter-free home stress-free this upcoming year.

By: Patty Grenda - Creator of The Family PlannerDesigned with the busy family in mind, The Family Planner is a full-size daily planner with numerous features. Visit us at http://www.thefamilyplanner.com