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The Get It Together Plan  

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Woman and kids in closetLucas Allen Page 1 of 24

De-Cluttering Solutions for Your Home

By Nicole Sforza, with additional reporting by Nubia Duvall and Martha C. White

Pros weigh in on how to tackle five everyday issues when it comes to clutter control.

Who Doesn’t Have Organizing Problems?

It seems everyone wants to get organized, but no one knows quite how to do it—and that includes the staff of Real Simple. Sure, the editors know all about the newest and niftiest shelving units and storage containers, but they don’t always put the strategies they’ve developed into practice. In an informal office poll, certain stumbling blocks—from spouses who won’t follow house rules to drawers that runneth over with last year’s Halloween costumes—repeatedly surfaced. Sound familiar? Overcome your own barriers to organizational bliss with the following expert tips for real-life problems from RS staffers.

Next: The Problem: “I Start Projects, But Then I Get Overwhelmed”
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Woman and kids in closet
Woman taking clothes out of closet
Woman and child organizing their home
plastic box with magazines and dvd
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A messy hallway
Stacks of boxes
Entryway
Basket balls, racquets, and other sports equipment on hooks in a garage
Plastic food containers
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Packed ornaments
Organized linen closet
Open dresser drawer
Room with green walls
Spices and knives on a magnetic strip in an organized kitchen
Workspace in Emily Mencken's garage
Shoe box used store old bills
Disorganized files and folders
Clothes donations in basket
Woman unwrapping a gift in front of a fireplace

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