Peter, Ellington and Chandler get to work.

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Tip 6: Teach your kids how to sort.

Just like millions of other moms, Ella, a Chicago wife and mother, has a few organizational problem areas in her house. She says her husband, Alberto, and her two sons, Ellington and Chandler, are the main clutter creators.

Peter says the secret to having clutter-free kids starts with teaching them how to sort. He gives Ella's boys one trash bag and two boxes. He tells them to fill the bag with garbage, and put anything they want to sell at a yard sale in one box and charitable donations in the other.

Peter also encourages Ellington and Chandler to make cleaning fun—even boring chores like putting away clothes. "Here's what you have to do every night before you go to bed," Peter says. "You have to shoot baskets with your clothes."

The boys also get a lesson in using baskets and containers to organize their things and learn the important "in-out rule." With their very own label maker in hand and bins at their disposal, the boys start sorting!