I love to watch those TV shows that arm you with scads of clever ways to organize your entire home. I watch them with awe, because my home borders on chaos.

After watching them, I'm inspired to turn over a new leaf. Unfortunately, about the same time, I notice how sleepy I am and take a well-earned nap.

But I vow to organize my home this spring. Want to do the same? Here are a few tools I'll use as I organize with style.

• Cute containers. Years ago, I realized that one of the only ways to get myself to sit down at my desk was to make my workspace as beautiful as possible. So I went shopping in my china cabinet and kitchen drawers to find fabulous containers that could corral my office supplies in style.

How about using a silver toast holder to sort mail or hold books? Arrange pens in a silver vase like a bouquet? Collect supplies like paper clips or staples in teacups?

Cute containers aren't just for the office. Use them all over your home. In your kitchen, put dish soap in a fabulous olive-oil jar. Store coupons in an apothecary jar. Use silver-lidded jars to corral the mess in your craft closet.

• Hooks and rods. After years of pleading with my family to hang their wet towels on towel bars, I replaced the towel bars with hooks. If you have a mudroom, line a wall with hooks for coats and purses or backpacks and sports bags.

A great way to keep track of gloves, scarves and other easily lost items is to clip them to curtain rings hung on small curtain rods installed inside your coat closet. Pick a beautiful brass or pewter rod and matching curtain rings with clips on the ends.

• Message centers. Create a family message center in your kitchen. Transform part of a wall or the pantry door into a chalkboard with blackboard paint. Or make a fabric-covered memo board and use funky thumbtacks.

• Stealth storage. If you lack storage space, hide items in decorative containers that double as accent pieces in your home decor. If you have built-in bookcases, use them as storage spots by tucking in a few lidded baskets containing family photos or board games.

Mary Carol Garrity is the proprietor of three home furnishings stores in Atchison, Kan., and the author of several best-selling books on home decorating.