If you haven't seen the top of your kitchen counters in months and the garage is an area where you fear to tread, you're not alone. In fact, those two places are problem areas for most homeowners, according to Standolyn Robertson, president of the National Association of Professional Organizers.

"The kitchen is a challenge because of all the countertops. When you have a big horizontal surface, it's easy to lay things down and have them accumulate. The garage can be a problem area, because it's a good place to hide things away. It's pretty common to have $80,000 worth of cars in the driveway and a baby stroller that hasn't been used in 20 years in the garage," Robertson says.

Think Before You Leap
Before you put on your Indiana Jones fedora and venture out to the garage, experts like Robertson advocate a studied approach. "What I tell my clients is to have a plan first. That is so important, and it's the step that people commonly avoid. They want to shop first for plastic containers and shelving. Those are nice tools to have down the road, but not where you should start.

"When I begin, I first ask the client about the functionality of the room. They may initially say that the dining room is for dining, and then after talking it through, realize that it's also serving as a home office and a place where they sew. Once you establish what the space is really for, it's easy to see what it's not for. If you don't intend to iron in the bedroom, for example, the ironing board doesn't belong there. So we look at things in the room and place them in categories - things that go and things that stay."

What To Store
Roberts has her clients carefully allocate the room's real estate, placing things you use most where they are most convenient. "I'll ask questions like do you want to keep the holiday dishes in the buffet when you will only use them once a year, or would they be better kept on a shelf in the basement or maybe the hard-to-reach shelf over the refrigerator and that space devoted to Sunday dishes that are used 52 times a year."

Once you fully understand what will stay and how you need to store it, that's the time to shop. "You can then make an investment in things that you will use in that space. If you know you want to display your prized tea cups, then it's time to get the perfect shelf for it. Another reason to delay shopping is that you may discover that you already have a suitable shelf or container somewhere else in your house," she says.

Bear in mind that once the room is complete, the project is not over. "You have to live with the room for at least a month and see where you can tweak it to better work for you," she says.

Do You Need Professional Help?
While you can tackle an organizing project on your own, professional organizers like Robertson are a godsend to their clients. "I say that we're the eyes of a stranger. When we come into your home, we can see things that clients may have overlooked for years, because they've just grown accustomed to them.

"Professional organizers are also people who are not emotionally tied to any of your things. A good professional organizer with never ask a client to throw anything away. They help you see what is important to how you will use the space, and then you decide what to do," she says.

Consulting with a professional organizer is often the push clients need. "For my clients, I'm also an energy pack. I get them excited about the project and keep them focused. I tell them that I don't have a magic bullet, but the fact that we put an appointment to do this on the calendar often jump starts the process. I'm often surprised at what they have accomplished before we even show up," Robertson says.