Artful organizing for your home's trouble spots

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I love to pore over magazine articles that tell you how to make your home an organized marvel. It's like some glorious piece of fiction -- wonderful to dream about but hard to imagine in my chaotic corner of the world.Through the years, I've figured out a way to trick myself into seeing room organization as a fun decorating challenge, not a time-consuming chore. Instead of thinking of the disorganized room as a mess to be cleaned up, I imagine it as a prime place to add style while I restore order.If organizing isn't your favorite job, here are a few ideas you can use to add beauty to your home as you tame two of the most troublesome spots.Back EntranceDan and I are incorrigible dumpers. The minute we walk in the back door, the kitchen table becomes a landfill, piled under with the mail, newspaper and car keys. To make matters worse, this congested space is also pet central, home of the food dishes and leash.Do you have similar challenges with your back entry? If so, take heart. This high-traffic area can be very attractive if you call on the help of a few organizational tools.If your back door is like mine and opens directly into your kitchen area, conscript the wall by the door into service. Install some gorgeous hooks to hold your coats and a purse. Then, put a large, lidded basket on the floor under the hooks to hold your shoes. Finally, rest a silver tray atop the basket to collect your mail, paper and keys.If you have a closet near your back door, transform it into a family drop zone that holds everything you'll need as you come and go. First, decide what this small space must accomplish. Will it hold the kids' backpacks, your tennis gear, the dog's food and leash?Now, empty the closet and start to dream. What would you do if money and time were no object? Construct lockers to hold the kids' school and sports stuff? Install a bench with storage bins underneath so you can sit down, take off your shoes and tuck them away? Fill the space with shelves lined with cute fabric-covered storage boxes?KitchenMy small kitchen is the greatest thing that's ever happened to my organizational skills. When you have a shortage of cupboard and counter space, you have no choice but to use it attractively and efficiently.I am a dish addict and would gladly toss food out of the cabinets to make more space for dishes. But Dan gets crabby when we don't have food in the house, so I've been forced to take a long, hard look at space allocation in my cupboards.After some self-reflection, I realized that my desire to acquire new dishes was stronger than my need to hoard old pieces I no longer loved. So my era of healthy purging began.Is your kitchen in need of a good purging? Take a hard look at everything from dishes to gadgets, and get rid of stuff you no longer use or love. You'll be amazed at how much space opens up. Then, invest in an organizational system that will help you efficiently stack and store everything left in your cabinets and drawers.Another decorating decision that has kept me well organized is installing glass-front cabinets. Since my dishes are now on view, I've mended my ways and store them in an orderly fashion.Finally, find an attractive way to display the items that must sit on your counters. For instance, I've put my gourmet oils, vinegars and spices in interesting containers and corralled them in a stately iron planter next to my stove. I keep root vegetables in an antique potato basket. Napkins are stacked in a glass compote. And an epergne holds table necessities like the salt and pepper shakers and the sugar dish.(Mary Carol Garrity is the proprietor of three successful home-furnishings stores in Atchison, Kan., and the author of several best-selling books on home decorating. Write to Mary Carol at nellhills(at)mail.lvnworth.com. For more stories, visit scrippsnews.com.)(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, http://www.scrippsnews.com)