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Of all the books I have read on organizing, Sandra Felton's books have been fantastic for me. She really nailed me over and over describing the "Messie". After my life long quest of order, I think I have finally learned how these people with the perfectly kept homes do it.

My problem was if I was going to clean a room, it would be done so perfect that it required hours. I would have this one really fantastic room, beautiful, fresh and awesome looking, but just around the corner may be piles of clutter shifted to get this room to perfection.

Now, you may be one of those that has it all together, which I think you were born that way, but for me, I have had to work at it. Now, I do the unthinkable...instead of detailing a room at a time (which I still do occasionally), I do touch up cleaning. Since my new habit is to keep things picked up, cleaning is easy. I have often thought when hiring a maid that we had to get everything picked up before the maid came the next day. Then, I thought, wow, if all I had to do now is come in and just clean, it would be a snap.

"..spot cleaning as part of your regular routines keeps things from building into big, discouraging jobs." Smart Organizing

The truth is, keeping things picked up is really key. It is amazing to me how touch up cleaning really works. Here are a few ideas I do to keep things really looking great: Vacuum heavy traffic areas. This may be the hallway, traffic paths in your living room and busier paths in your kitchen. Keep your kitchen counters clean. I love Clorox Clean Up. It has a fresh smell I like. Not everyone likes the smell of Clorox, but it smells really fresh to me.

Straighten the pillows on your couch. Make up your bed. Keep floors clutter free. For great ideas, go to Sandra's website and plan to read her book collections. The ones I have personally read are: Messie No More, The Messies Manual, Living Organized and Smart Organizing.