How to fight the tide of clutter on surfaces...

[linspins]

I am despairing of keeping surfaces free from clutter. I don't even know how to describe this stuff...it's just bits and pieces from daily life. I seem to spend my time playing that not-much-fun game where you go in to a room, take out things that don't belong in it, put them away in another room, remove clutter from that room etc. Then an hour later there is stuff everywhere again. ARGHHHHH!
My DD, 5, is a whirlwind of mess (all in the name of fun play, which is fine!) and my DS, 2, just leaves lots of random things about. There are too many things in the house that don't have homes, but can't be thrown out. I can deal with the whole coats/shoes/bags saga, but what about all the STUFF...sigh.

If you have clear surfaces, please, how do you do it?? [pleading].

filing blanket box

LeQueen once said that she has a scrapbook for both of her girls so all the paper crap they accumulate could go in them.

I once read an interview with Shirley Conran, who said that she had a big box under the kitchen table and any stuff of her children's left lying about not in its proper place got chucked in the box. One of her sons had a favourite toy that got broken by all the stuff chucked on top and he learned his lesson and started putting stuff away, as did the others.
I hate the tide of clutter that accumulates. There is a drawer in the kitchen, and my desk in the sitting room. When I can no longer shut them they get sorted.

I have recently started to declutter, have sold 4 items this morning on the local groups on FB and it feels good!

I have way to much stuff and it's going to take a little while to get sorted but I agree with others you need to be ruthless and just get rid :)

Thanks for all the suggestions and moral support. I Like the idea of making the surfaces so beautiful that clutter looks wrong. I am now thinking that I need to get on and DO some of the things that need doing on order to declutter. For example, there are two ceramic tiles lying around with my children's handprints on, that need to be put in a frame on the wall. The tiles have been lying around making clutter for a year now. I have no idea where to get the right type of frame, (anyone?) but I need to get a move on.
The ikea paperwork rack looks useful too...god, i hate paper, it breeds.

IKEA were doing an empty frame, for mounting baby shoes or leaves or small items in - would that be the sort of thing you were after?

I want to add that this thread has helped me too, to declutter so I can create lovely clear spaces and display things properly too.