CALL TO ORDER

"We encourage our customers to take inventory of what they have and what they can purge," she says.

But many lack the skills, time and volition to know where to start to maintain their homes in an orderly way. In a consumer society that accumulates goods as quickly as you can say "Target" and junk mail clogs all manner of mailboxes, Americans are increasingly overwhelmed by their stuff.

"When I was growing up, the entire family went to the furniture store and picked out a sofa that would last for 20 years," says Ellen Damaschino, who runs NeatOrganizer.com. "Now, we're convinced we have to have the newest and latest thing. The genius of companies like Ikea (is that they) recognize that their furniture is disposable, and that you'll only have it a few years."

In 1970, she points out, the average new home had 1,400 square feet. In 2004, that figure was 2,300 square feet.

Somehow, all that space gets filled. Tackling all that clutter at once is a recipe for madness, the experts say. Start small, with a pantry or even a drawer, and work at a manageable pace. Here are some tips on how to approach things methodically.

How to take down your Christmas decorations

Categorize, says Jennifer Carey Davis, owner of Ducks In A Row. "Group collections such as snowmen or angels separately. Take things down room by room; label it and store it as such."

Store all decorations in the same place and give yourself a take-down date, says Norris, author of "Restoring Order: Organizing Strategies to Reclaim Your Life" (Harvest House, $11.99, 253 pages). "If you don't have time to do it all at once, give yourself a date to get the tree down and get it to recycling; another to get your lights off and away."

Wind lights around a cardboard paddle or empty wrapping paper tube and keep them all together, says Damaschino. Use marked zippered storage bags to separate small light strings for wreathes or small trees. For ornaments, use soft-sided wine-glass storage boxes like the ones for china to store odd-shaped ornaments. Place these inside large, clear, marked boxes.

Look at the decorations you used this year and which ones never came out of boxes. Donate anything you didn't use; toss anything broken or made of candy.

Linen closet

Labeling is key, Damaschino says. Have one shelf for twin sheet sets, one for queen. When folding sheets, place the pillowcases and top sheet into the last fold of the bottom sheet; sets are in "packages" and you don't waste time searching for matching linens. Leave one shelf for towels and washcloths, another for tablecloths and napkins.

Clothes closets

"When I load up my closet at the beginning of the season, I take the hanger and face it toward me," says Storey of Storables. "If at the end of the season there are still items facing toward me, I ought to rethink that item. It's taking up valuable space in my closet, and valuable space in my life. Maybe it's an opportunity to donate to my favorite charity."

Home office

Divide paper into four categories, says Carey Davis. The categories are: current, which should be handled within a day or a week; pending, which needs handling in less than a month; reference/resource, which are checked occasionally; and archived, for future reference. "Too often, people just put their papers in indiscriminate piles. I tell my clients, 'It's OK to be a pile person; you just ought to have four different piles for the four different types of paper.' "

Set up a system for bills and files you can stick to, says Norris. "Don't go buy a bunch of plastic trays or a filing system you won't use. We call that a 'product panacea.' "

Kid stuff

Norris tells her clients to have children cull their artwork monthly, saving one or two items. "That means that at the end of the year, with two kids, you'll still have 24 items," she says. For one client with three daughters, she set up three bulletin boards. It held only enough items for one month. Each month, they must start clean. "It helps them learn the process of prioritizing, as well," Norris says. Other special projects can be mailed to grandparents, she says.

As with artwork, says Carey Davis, have kids choose the sports trophies that mean the most. "It's a good lesson in boundaries," she says. "In life, you can't have everything, either."

Involve kids in trips to Goodwill, Damaschino says. "Learning to be organized is a process, and if we teach children this process early, they learn to live with less." Rotate toys for small children, and observe what gets used. Make a "maybe box" for older kids with that day's date, and look at it weeks later. "You'll be surprised at what your kids are willing to let go in a month," she says.

Pegboard is useful for some people, bins work well for others. "I don't recommend workbenches for garages unless the homeowner is very handy," Norris says. "It just becomes an empty surface to put things on." Organize by frequency of use.

Old "heirlooms"

"If we let stuff go, it enables us to allow healthier new energy to come into our lives," says Carey Davis. That means ditching Grammie's flowered candy dish if you don't like it, and letting go of sacred doilies you have no intention of using. Furniture should not be exempt, either. "It can become a white elephant you just walk around. . . . Find out if someone else in the family would like it, and offer it to them."

"Prune to give yourself purpose," says Norris. "If you don't prune things back, nothing new can grow. Hanging on to items you don't like or use prevents you from getting momentum in your own home. Donate, donate, donate."

Sometimes even the mavens must take their own advice. Damaschino loved Nancy Drew books as a child and saved all 54 to pass on to her daughter, who was underwhelmed by the idea of a detective in a skirt. "I was crushed," she says. But her 8-year-old niece got hooked when she picked one up during a summer visit.