Peter Walsh's 3 Rules for Getting Organized This Summer

A Chaotic Catchall...

Walsh has been enlisted to help "summerize" Tobin's house—in other words, to de-clutter, add storage for winter items, and incorporate a few key brightening accents. As Walsh sees it, the problem is that much of the family's stuff has no permanent home. Since no one knows where to put anything, it spreads across all available real estate (the coffee table, the counters, the floor).

The kitchen, where Tobin mans her laptop and prepares meals, is the family's hub, but when Tobin enters it each morning, she feels panicked. Bills go unpaid, jury summonses ignored. She is perpetually behind and overwhelmed. "When the house is clean, I have this feeling of freedom," she admits.