Get Ready to Toss
5. What pile should this go into? Ask yourself whether you want to keep it, throw it out, donate it or recycle it. After deciding what to do with each item, place it on one of the piles.

6. Am I done with this? Consider whether you’ve gotten your value from a given item. If so, toss it. If you are not sure, ask, “Does this item still work for me? Will I ever use it again?�?/P>

7. Who needs this more than me? Make a list of organizations that accept noncash donations. Some chapters of Big Brothers Big Sisters of America or the Salvation Army will pick up anything you no longer need: clothes, furniture, appliances and books. “Eighty percent of what people save never gets looked at again,�?says Mary Hughes, a professional organizer.

Put an End to Paper Madness
8. What are my clutter zones? What parts of your home or workplace tend to hold piles of catalogs, newspapers and bills? In which closets do you waste time looking for something to wear? How many bottles of ketchup are in your refrigerator? People whose refrigerators are disorganized often waste money buying additional condiments when they can’t find the jar that’s already there.

9. Where can I throw this? Use attractive baskets to hold mail you don’t have time to read. “Throw bills in one basket, letters in another. When they’re overflowing, sit down and sort them,�?says Cathy Costello, a legal secretary in Hampton Bays, New York. Recycle, shred or throw out third-class mail and any magazines you won’t read. If your Sunday paper sits around your house unread, stop buying it.

10. Can you find that receipt? Store receipts and important papers in folders, or set up a binder with clear plastic sleeves. Label each sleeve with the name of a store where you frequently shop. When you come back from shopping, put the prescription receipt in the drugstore folder, the grocery receipt in the grocery store folder, etc. Place the most recent receipts in front of the others so that they’re organized chronologically. This system also works for appliance warranties, car documents and repair bills.

Make the Kitchen Work for You
11. What do I use the most? Ask yourself how many glasses or plates you need on a daily basis. Put the ones you don’t use as much on a high shelf and the dinner dishes up front within easy reach. “People have a major problem with plastic containers,�?Savino notes. Separate containers and lids, then organize them by size. And about those junk drawers: Keep only those items you use regularly in an accessible drawer. “If you need your melon baller only once every three years, put it in a clear plastic bin and store it on a high shelf,�?says Savino.

12. What products go together? Categorize jars, bottles and cans. Put all the soup in the same section of the same shelf. Ditto for spices, canned food and jars. It seems obvious, but we don’t always do this when we’re in a hurry to unpack the groceries and start cooking dinner.

13. Where’s that frying pan? Put the pots you use regularly in a section of your kitchen that’s within easy reach. Place the pots you rarely use on a high shelf or in the back of a cabinet. The trick to making this system work is taking a few minutes to put each item back in the same order. It takes about five minutes but it’s worth it.

A Few Final Touches
14. Do you even know what’s in your car trunk? Keep jumper cables, windshield wiper fluid, antifreeze and your tool kit in a large plastic crate. Store an extra pair of sneakers, socks, a sweater or sweatshirt, rain gear and a blanket in a clear plastic bin with a lid to keep them dry. Don’t forget to pack a heavy-duty roadside light and emergency flares.

15. Have you won the Lotto? A cluttered wallet can cost you money. If you’ve lost clothes because you couldn’t find your dry-cleaning tickets, missed your doctors�?appointments or misplaced important phone numbers, purge your wallet once a week. “One of my clients never claimed her lottery winnings because she hadn’t cleaned out her wallet for more than a year,�?says Savino. Put your credit cards in some type of order, with the most frequently used facing you so that they’re more accessible. Put those you use only occasionally in back, facing away from you. Separate personal and business credit cards. If you can’t get around to sorting through those receipts once a week, do it twice a month.

16. Where’s that file? If your computer desktop is too cluttered and confusing, start organizing documents. Consult your computer’s manual about creating electronic folders: On most systems you can save files to folders and subfolders, just as you would file paper documents in paper folders. If you share your computer with the kids, set up folders for each of them, too.