hi beautiful - i live in suffolk if it helps?
(i would be more than willing to help if you need me?)(and not for money!)anyway my girl -
storage boxes - depends on your personal style/decor. i have lovley sea grass ones from tk maxx/habitat, but for kids toys probs plastic sturdy ones from the range or dunelm would be good.
books need proper shelves or end up looking a right mess, look around your house and try to think 'outside the box' ie. in my down stairs loo, over the loo i have put up about 4 shelves, painted with white gloss for ease of cleaning, just for books, with nice art work, a couple of candles etc this looks soooooo much more than a 'downstairs cloak'!
my home is cluttered by many standards, loads of pictures, books, lamps, cushions, rugs, china etc. its how you place it all that makes such a difference.
make sure that the kitchen is always clean, sink clutter free (wash up todays crap today, nothing is more demoralising than getting up to yesterdays shit!), cooker wiped down, surfaces clean, fridge sorted and clean.
always put washing and ironing away when you have done it, don't let washing pile amount to more than 3 loads at any one time. try and change all the beds about every 9 days (just get cheap and cheerful bed linen that can go in the tumble dryer and dosen't need ironing)
put toys (dcs can help) into toy boxes at bedtime, it can be part of your bedtime routine!, then sitting room becomes 'adult space' for the evening.
i would then put aside 20 minutes of energised tidying when dcs are in bed, every few days clean the bathroom (its for YOUR benefit, you deserve a nice place to relax )
if all this works for you, once a routine is established then move on to menu planning, weekly shopping lists etc, it may sound very boring but at the moment, for many people this sort of thing means the money saved can mean having a holiday/up-grading the car etc.
ok, am exhausted now, must take my weary bones to bed, hope iv'e helped (and not been too bossy
btw - i have perfected the above so that i can keep a large house and 3 people clean, tidy, fed and 'ready for anything' with approx 3 hrs of housework a week (it just take a will of iron [stiff upper lip emoction]