The BadgerMum's simple 3-point plan for getting your house clean and clutter-free:
1. Put the books, good furniture, and items you simply cannot part with on a U-Haul
2. Call the local charity and ask them to pick up everything that's left
3. Move into a new house

There you have it: simple, elegant, stress-free.

Also not very practical if you’re not in the military and don’t move every few years.

Yes, I know it’s dreadful, but I honestly don’t know how to deep-clean a house without moving! The easiest way for me really deal with clutter is to strip a room down to its bare necesseties, and then replace only what must be in that room according to its function.

I did just that last week in the school room. It was so messy-looking with three student desks and three sets of track-and-bracket shelves on the walls, a fish tank, a computerless computer desk, and never enough room for all the books and notebooks and other supplies, so we went to the stuff-mart and bought two white five-shelf bookcases and two matching white storage cabinets. These we placed neatly all against one wall, with the bookcases, which are taller, in the middle and one cabinet on each end. The room is just over 12 feet long so they fit with a few inches to spare.

In place of the desks, we moved in the 3’ by 5’ kitchen table, and placed it with one end up against the wall under the window. Mr. Fish is now happily residing in the corner of the room nearest to the dining room/library. The computer desk, now serving as a plant stand, and two of the student desks, sitting back-to-back, fulfill the table's former duties in the kitchen's breakfast nook.

The school room looks so much better now! One solid wall of storage and one large table provide a visual unity that is much more attractive than the cluttery disunity of three separate study areas. The table has room for the three oldest children to study at the same time, and this evening it provided a comfortable place for Elai and me to sit and chat in a relatively private spot.

And having storage behind closed doors is absolutely essential to my sanity, if you know what I mean.
;-)