Get Organized Debbie Williams is an organizing strategist and founder of OrganizedTimes.com. She is the author of  "Common Sense Organizing" from Champion Press. Organizing small house Question: I need advice on how to organize a small house with three children 15, 9 and 6. The utility room needs organizing too. It contain the washer & dryer and the kids toys amongst other stored junk. Sheila Answer: Sheila, You CAN conquer the kid clutter in your home, and the best way I know of is to enlist the help of your three mother's helpers. Otherwise, decluttering your home can become your new full-time job! Here are some tips that have helped my clients and may help you as well: 1. Create a home for all that laundry. Since your kids are older and generate a lot of dirty clothes, place a hamper in their bedrooms. Let them be responsible for bringing a full basket to the laundry room on laundry day. With a family of 4, you will probably need to create a schedule for laundry, rather than letting it just happen. This can prevent daily crises from occurring such as "it's picture day Mom-- I have nothing to wear!". If space is indeed at a premium, consider using a hanging mesh bag for your hampers-- many hang on the doorknob or on a hook over the closet door. Just grab and go! Set up a hamper in the bathroom as well for towels and cast-off items that just don't quite find their way to the bedroom. Use a daily system for towel use, such as one or two towels per week (say 1 towel for drying hair, the other towel for drying wet bodies). Or if this idea totally grosses out your kids, then buy each child a different colored towel and let them use only their color -- when kids are younger, this color-coding concept works for toothbrushes and hairdryers, too. Place clean clothes in their laundry basket (or if there isn't room for yet another container, just make a nice stack). They are now responsible for putting their clean clothes away. Now if they don't have a thing to wear, the burden is on THEM, not their overworked underpaid mom! Some of my clients have quite a bit of space in their laundry areas and place clean clothes in stacking bins or on a shelf over the washer/dryer. This eliminates the need for yet another laundry basket, and each family member has a designated area. (Feel free to use the color-coding system again) 2. As for those various and sundry items that find their way all over the kitchen and family room, create a home for those things as well. Hang backpacks on shaker pegs near the mudroom, inside the coat closet, or store them in a plastic milk crate beside the back door. Assign a home for lunch bags in the kitchen, either in the pantry or in a basket by the fridge. Everyone pitches in, whether it's putting away or filling up for the next day's scooby snack. And what to do with all those papers? Just set up a simple filing system in the kitchen with a small plastic milk crate and folders. These come in various sizes, and can fit just about any space in your home. Buy some dayglow folders, label with each child's name, and viola! You have a filing system for tests, handouts, and even a pending file for permission slips. 3. Now that the kids have gotten into the habit of being responsible for their bathroom items and laundry, it's time to carry it throughout the house: into the family room, kitchen, and bedrooms. (Easier said than done, right?) Feel free to ask them for help with the new system- they just may surprise you! Good luck, Debbie Williams Also see: More ideas on containing kid clutter Ask Debbie your questions Recently answered questions