From Coral Nafie,
Your Guide to Interior Decorating.
FREE Newsletter. Sign Up Now!

Is your home your prison? Organization expert Regina Leeds offers step-by-step and day-by-day solutions to getting "all your ducks in a row." And there's no time like the present to start working your way to that organized life.

The first thing you'll notice is that, when your life is organized, you'll be able to accomplish more in less time with little or no frustration.

One Year to an Organized Life really is a month-by-month guide. But you don't have to wait until January 1st to start your project. You can choose any day or month to be your "January." From there, just get going.

And think what a wonderful year you'll have next year with everything organized and running smoothly!

Author Regina Leeds has concluded that home and life organization comes down to 3 steps which she calls "The Magic Formula."

• Eliminate
  Anything that is old, useless, torn, broken, out of style, or disliked should find another home. Choose the trash, a charity, a friend, or another room.
• Categorize
  This means sort. Get like things together in one place. Soup goes with soup. Anne's files all go together. Sara's toys go in one box or drawer. Dad's shirts go on the same rack in the same closet. You get the idea.
• Organize
  Find containers, shelving, racks, and drawers to put things away. Each time you need to put something away, you will know exactly where it will go. And when you need to use something, you'll know exactly where to find it.

Follow Leed's schedule for total life organization:

• January: The Kitchen
• February: The Bedroom
• March: The Home Office
• April: The Bathroom
• May: The Attic, Basement, Garage, Laundry Room and Guest Room
• June: Traveling
• July: Scrapbooks, Memorabilia, Greeting Cards, and Address Books
• August: Moving
• September: Back-to-School and Kids' Rooms
• October: The Living Room, Dining Room, and Family Room
• November: Entertaining and Thanksgiving
• December: Christmas and New Year

By the end of this year, your home and your life will be in order and you'll be ready to really enjoy every day.

Keep in mind Regina Leed's secret: Everything you've gotten in order is just stuff. But by eliminating some of it, categorizing it, and organizing it, all that stuff that's left will have a purpose in your life.