I know a couple whose apartment is always picture perfect. They both work full time outside the home and have no children. There has always been something missing in their environment. A mutual friend of ours put her finger on it one day when she said casually: "Jean and Tom's apartment looks like nobody lives there. In fact, it looks like a hotel room!" Indeed it does. You won’t find books, magazines, music or catalogs -- in other words, signs of life -- anywhere. Without them, there was a sterile quality to Jean's and Tom's surroundings.

Are you surprised to discover I feel this way? I’m certain many of you assume that as a professional organizer, I'd probably suggest you eliminate all of these items from your home. In truth, I want you to organize them in a way that enables you to enjoy them and, if appropriate, share them with others. I do not want you to be controlled or overwhelmed by these items. Brought into the average home or office without rhyme or reason, magazines, books and catalogs will take over like a plague of locusts.