Controlling Clutter

If you need help organizing the clutter in your house, our friends at Pottery Barn will show you the latest and smartest ideas to get it together.

Many of us have too much stuff, everywhere, whether it's toys, papers, whatever.

We seem and feel overwhelmed by clutter in our homes.

But, on The Early Show Monday, design expert Susanna Salk offered ideas on organizing your home, in part, to get rid of that clutter.

She held forth in Pottery Barn's New York City flagship store.

Salk points out that spring-cleaning is as good a time as any to get things straight.

For more on this, visit the Pottery Barn Web site.

Salk noted that few of us live in rooms with perfect storage options. We have to create them. We don't want to put away too many things, because then we may not be able to find them. And we want to be surrounded by our favorite stuff, but there's also a basic desire to have a place for everything and everything in its place. Sometimes you want more of one item, sometimes another. The key is finding the right balance. How can you?

Many of us keep stuff everywhere, whether it's closets, the garage, or even the family room.

Buying an organizing tool isn't helpful unless you really tackle the big picture: Figure out what you need and what you don't, and what you need your room to do for you.

Salk tackled the family room, as an example. It's a room could easily be overwhelmed, with toys and things everywhere. But the family room should be much more than that, comfortable for group TV watching, or even a room where you can store important family papers, etc. It should have multiple functions, for adkults and kids. But it can be overwhelming when everything is piled up and strewn all over.

So, controlling clutter really forces you to determine your needs – and not just your immediate ones.

Among Salk's "rules":

Give items a home: You can't stay neat unless everything has a designated place. Develop a habit of putting things away immediately.

"Neaten" twice a day: Take a few minutes in the morning and at night to pick things up and put them away. This will really get your day off to a positive start, and you won't feel overwhelmed at the end of the week.

Discard: Really think about what you have, and what you need. Purge things you don't want, you don't need, or no longer use.

Other "rules" Salk suggests:

Make it your mantra to condense and contain.
Choose solutions that complement your belongings.
Play down what looks awkward and highlight what's beautiful.
Arrange symmetrically for a calming effect and asymmetrically for the unique.
Arrange by color, theme, size, material.
Make storage personal and practical.

And: If you can't find it or don't see it, you won't use it.

Let's look at the busiest and most challenging room in the house to find solutions that are practical and stylish: the family room. We want to create a room that adults can use. The family room should be viewed as "command central" so it needs to be functional for adults and kids. You want it to be friendly for kids, but not look like romper room either.

Among the things to consider: the size of room and how much storage you have as opposed to how much you need, and how much needs to be concealed (wires, etc.) and how much you want displayed.

Also, try to separate the kids' part of the room from the grownups'.