BECAUSE we tend to embark on organising frenzies with more enthusiasm than knowledge, it's helpful to take a look at what doesn't work. Take care not to let yourself trip over these pitfalls and let your good intentions end up in the same pile with all the other things you've misplaced!

Mistake # 1: Spending More Time On The Method Than The Madness

Start out by getting in-trays or just plain bamboo baskets or even plastic tubs and you'll find that you automatically don't need to have so much time for the actual organising! Of course, you have to know what you need to contain before you buy these containers or get them from around the house. Just weed things out first; it'll cut down on the number of containers you actually need. This way, you will find that after some time, you will not even need these containers - whether you are sorting out toys, craft items, food stuff or clothes piles.

Get your 'little elves' to help you out. Once the toy basket is half full, ask them to make the bad stuff disappear into the right places - stuffed toys on the shelf, Lego in the bins, Barbies into the dollhouse, etc.

Mistake # 2: Thinking You Have To Do It All At Once

If one look at your room makes you want to run for cover, try turning mountains into molehills - otherwise you're going to try and avoid the mountains. Make your goal one cupboard or one shelf or even one drawer at a time. Then make sure you do the job. Give yourself plenty of time to take care of it - tell yourself, 'Before the weekend is out, the top drawer will be taken care of'. This will ensure success.

Mistake # 3: Getting Distracted

When I finally get my husband to agree to sort out the 'junk' cluttering up his desk, he starts off going through maybe three papers, then sees that the pencil needs sharpening, so opens the drawer to take out the sharpener... There, he sees his little chits of telephone numbers scribbled haphazardly, picks them up to add them into the phone book (looks for the phone book, cannot find it - naturally, because it's somewhere in that junk pile!). Then he starts scrabbling about like crazy, dislodges the pile which slithers on to the floor... and so on. Here's another one... You're putting some flowers into a vase, when you notice toys underfoot, so you scoop them up and put them away. When you do, you find the Lego mixed in with the toy cars, so you take some time to sort things out. All well and good, but what about those flowers you left on the table?

Force yourself to stay in the room you're putting in order. Keep a basket and trash bag handy for stuff that belongs somewhere else and for junk that needs to trashed. When you've finished with what you started out with, just toss the trash and take the basket around and put things away. You'll be amazed at how quickly you can unclutter this way.

Mistake # 4: Not Sticking With It

Remember that nothing stays organised; you have to keep it organised. The trick to maintaining order is to find an on-going plan that's simple and mindless. The best one is to keep clutter from piling up in the first place. Force yourself to go through your kids' school bags every day as soon as they come home... or go through the mail the minute it comes through the slot. Throw junk in the trash, bills in the 'to be paid' file, magazines onto the magazine rack.... Voila, it's done!

Understand that maintaining a system takes far less time than reorganising from scratch. If you open a closet, or cupboard and see something in the wrong place, try and put it right immediately.

Mistake # 5: Keeping Things You Don't Need

The more you have, the more space you need and the more organising you'll need to do. You buy something on impulse and then realise that you already have a similar piece and no space for that 'cute' thing! We do the same with paper. We worry that we'll need it again, instead of acting decisively. Be ruthless in weeding things out, and exercise more willpower when shopping. At the least, insist that for every new item that comes in, two old ones must go out!

Mistake # 6: Not Solving The Real Problem

What drives you nuts the most? If it is that you never remember to bring your shopping list for the grocery store, then organising your closet is not going to help you. If 'kitchen' is on your list, make sure you know why. Is it that you have not stocked up on all your 'masalas'? Or are they just put all so higgledy-piggledy that you cannot find the right one you want, when you want it? Figure out what really irks you and deal with it. Whenever something bugs me, I write it down so I know I'll take care of it.

Mistake # 7: Promising Yourself You Will Tackle Your List Soon

I can list all the things I need to do... but if I am not going to tackle them soon, why bother writing them at all? The key is to assign tasks to a specific date or deadline on a running to-do list that you will look at every day. But make yourself tackle at least one or two items from it every day too. Here's a little secret: If you find one item on your list for a long, long time, think of someone else who can do it for you and ask them to give you one of their tasks to do instead!

Mistake # 8: Don't Fill Up Handy Spaces With Rarely Used Items

If you only use something around once a month, store it high or low or in another room. Frequently used things must be stored within reach, and between hip and eye level. If you wear the same clothes most of the time, don't cram your closet up with evening gowns and warm sweaters - make space for them elsewhere.

Mistake # 9: Don't Do It For The Wrong Reasons.

Do you want a tidy kitchen, because you will work more efficiently or because of some unwritten rule says that kitchens ought to be tidy? If the clutter is not impeding your effectiveness, let it be! Instead spend time on what will make a difference to you. My husband used to empty his pockets out onto the shelf in the front hall the minute he got home. I nagged, but he still did it every day. Finally, I put a gorgeous crystal bowl on the shelf for his stuff. He still empties his pockets, but he now does it into a pretty crystal bowl, so I'm happy. It doesn't look so awful and I have a smile, instead of a frown, when he says, Honey, I'm home!".