Five years ago I won the CHAOS contest, for “Can’t Have Anyone Over Syndrome,” because my house was so cluttered and disorganized. When my sister suggested that my husband and I enter the competition, I laughed because we were so deserving. Walking through our house, my family automatically stepped over everything from CD cases to diaper wipe containers. If a plastic toy broke underfoot, we didn’t even flinch.

The contest sponsors, Pam Young and Peggy Jones, professional organizers known as the SLOB sisters, say my family suffered from a condition known as “organizationally impaired” or “domestically challenged.” They believe that “too much clutter” is a problem in at least 60 percent of families.

Here are suggestions from professional organizers to help the domestically challenged among us:

‹ Be creative
The sisters suggested our family model our organization after the highway department in Portland, Ore. The department tags cars that are left abandoned.

After 24 hours, the cars are impounded. We used bright orange stickers for tagging any belonging that was out of place. If it was still there 24 hours later, the abandoner would be charged 25 cents. Our kids loved telling on us and each other, and collecting a quarter every time.

‹ Plan ahead
Tackle those harried, disorganized mornings the night before by packing lunches and backpacks and choosing the next day’s clothes, suggests Marie Ramirez, owner of I Simply Organize. Ramirez hangs a clear plastic organizer with 24 pockets—two rows for each child— on her pantry door.

“I put socks in there, along with brushes, goggles, mittens and library cards. Anything a child might need quickly in the morning goes in one of the pockets,” she says.

‹ Opt for simplicity
Amy Karatz, owner of Natural Order, says, “Quantity is the culprit. The more kids have, the messier their playrooms and bedrooms will be.” Make it the policy that when you bring home one new toy, one old one goes out, suggests home organizer Stephanie Denton. Let the child choose which toys to give away. Take him to the thrift store so he can see that his old toys are going somewhere where they are needed, she says.

An alternative to the one-in, one-out method is Karatz’ “all at once clean” approach. “Seeing all your stuff lumped in one place gives you a perspective on what is useful and what you can live without,” she says. Ask kids to give away what they don’t use, rather than what they don’t want, since kids want everything, she says.

‹ Make it easy to organize
If closet bars and shelves are too high, or dresser drawers are hard to open, kids won’t bother. Luci Gutman of What’s Organized suggests a box or basket system for kids’ closets. Label each box with words for older children or a picture for nonreaders. “That way, husbands, play dates’ moms and household staff can all figure out that the ball must go in the bin marked ‘ball,’ “ Gutman says.

‹ Get kids invested in the process
Kids’ rooms can be fun to organize. Whether you do it with their participation or not is open to debate. Besides, Karatz says, if kids know a parent will insist on cleaning out the room, they are less likely to hoard or collect unwanted stuff.

‹ Take it one toy at a time
Playrooms or play areas are challenging to organize because there is often a myriad of toys, many with small parts, says Kathy Zima, owner of the Organized Advantage. Her best advice: “Teach children to pick up and put away one toy or activity before going to another. This concept takes practice and, most importantly, patience.”

Denton suggests keeping a small toy basket in each room where kids play. At the end of the day, toss toys in the bin for a quick cleanup. If there are more toys than will fit in the basket, put some away for another day.

And Kim Cosentino of Declutter Box suggests enlisting children in the cleanup 15 minutes before the end of play time. Assign each child one thing to pick up and one place to put it, she says. “Say, ‘John, pick up all the LEGOs and put them in this container.’ Make it a game by having a race to see who picks up the most toys the fastest.”

Cosentino concludes that adding a little organization, maximizing your space, containing like items together as well as setting up routines for processing your stuff as it comes in the door can be life-altering.

“Change is not always easy,” says Cosentino. “But try it for three weeks. It might become habit to keep you organized.”

‹ Carolyn Campbell is a mother of four and a freelance writer living in Salt Lake City, Utah.