How do you keep organized?

i use baskets for stuff, especially when it comes to kids toys - storage boxes and baskets are essential. if i get junk mail, it goes right into the recycling bin; we have files set up for stuff that has to be payed right away, in a month etc. its not that hard really, just takes time.

I am too just the same like you. Stay at home/work at home mother. I have two kids to take care of and my day starts at 5.00am in the morning. I get time only after the kids are off to school and my youngest come back by mid noon. So I have to be organized and do things at a steady pace. I really take all the help that I could get from my husband before he starts to work and I have a part time maid who helps me out in cleaning the vessels and mopping the floor. Though her help is just for an hour, that gives me one hour of my time and I do the cleaning along with her on alternate days and on the other days I finish off my filing works and writing works. Time management is absolutely necessary and I just try to follow the timetable I have set for myself. But if I am unable to finish off a particular work in the time I have allotted, I make sure that I finish it off and I go to the other work, so that atleast one work is finished fully. But at times, when I feel really worked out by following the strict timetable, I just let things take its own course and do just when it comes.

One of the best things you can do is to make a place for everything, and ALWAYS put things back in their proper place after using them. Also, get rid of clutter and things you don't use. Take all the stuff laying around that you don't use, put it in a box in storage. If after 6 months you haven't used that stuff, throw it out or donate it. In your house, use lots of little clear plastic storage boxes with labels. This way things are easy to find.

I hate clutter and i like everything to have it's own place and a method to the madness! I sort the mail when it comes every day and throw the junk mail away right away, then open all the bills and pay them as needed. Install shelves or cabinets in the bathroom and/or kitchen to hold smaller items so that it doesn't look cluttered. I don't let the house get out of control, but rather clean as I go. I don't really have a method, but there are a ton of websites online. A good one to check out is http://orgjunkie.com which is a personal blog of all things organizational :)