Start with one zone

Pick the spot that bothers you most — the junk drawer, the entryway, the closet floor. Finish it completely before moving on. One finished zone builds momentum; five half-done rooms build frustration.

Give everything a home

Clutter is just stuff without a designated spot. For each item you touch, decide: keep and assign a home, or let it go. If you can't name its home in five seconds, it doesn't have one yet.

The ten-minute reset

Set a timer for ten minutes each evening and return things to their homes. It's the single highest-leverage habit in home organization — maintenance beats marathons.