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When you are trying to keep yourself organized you need to train yourself to do things differently. This means you actually have to make an effort to not do the same things you have been doing every day. Subscribe to Type-A Mom articles

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A good way to stay organized is to take care of things right away. Don't put things off until later, doing that will just make more work for you later.

Here are some things you can do to help you stay organized.

• Put it away-don't put it down! Before you even dare try to put something down ask, Does this beling here? At first it might seem like a lot of work but soon it will become second nature to you.

• Have the whole family follow the rules. Whoever makes the mess should have to clean it up right away. This means family members need to clean up the messes they make in the bathroom, bedroom and kitchen. Set the standard low until everyone gets the hang of it, then start to be a little harder on them.

• Pick things up. Pick a certain time every day to go around your house with a basket, picking up things and putting them back where they belong. Do it first thing in the morning or right before you go to bed. It shouldn't take longer than 15 minutes but if it does it means you have fallen behind on your other regular chores.

• Use uncluttering time wisely. If you need to go into the basement or garage take an item with you that needs to be put away.

• Leave the room cleaner than when you went into it. Never leave one of the rooms in your house without helping it look better. Get rid of the extra magazines laying around, dust the picture frames or straighten the lampshades. Do this everytime you enter and exit a room.

• Have an easy system that will help you stay organized. Make a place in your home for all of the library books so when you need to return them you know where to look to find them. Make putting away things to their right places everybody's daily chore.

• Use "to do" lists. Make a list for everything you do all the time like going to the beach or camping. Make a file in your filing cabinet for all of these lists.

• Consider the things that you buy. Do you really need all that extra stuff around? Do you need that extra shirt that needs to be drycleaned? Or that extra cute thing that will sit on a shelf so that you'll need to dust it? When you are buying souvenirs take pictures or write about it in a journal instead.

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