With tax time come and gone, this is your chance to get - and stay - organized in time for your next big paperwork project. We've tried to go as paperless as possible around our house. Here's how we did it.

Step 1 - Death to banking. Using our bank's iPhone app (we use Chase, but other banks support these features), we're able to make deposits simply by signing and taking pictures of paper checks that come into the house. I also have most of my bill-paying set up through the app.

I do, however, always like to get paper copies of my bills rather than emails. It's a bit easier to organize that way and then I simply shred the offending bill when we're done paying. I haven't been into a bank branch in years and, as a technophile, I foresee a day when many branches will be totally robotic. 

Ok -- be honest. Is your bedroom closet all nice and neat and organized? Or does it more closely resemble the aftermath of a major natural disaster (like mine does)?

Every single time the seasons change, I vow to clean out the walk-in closet in my master bedroom (that you can't even walk into anymore because of all the stuff on the floor), but somehow the task never gets done. And honestly, it's because I go in there with every intention of clearing things out, but then I get overwhelmed and have no idea where to start, so I give up entirely.

But luckily for unorganized gals like me, there are people out there like Coriann Bright, a professional organizer with her own company Bright Living, who can help take the stress and guesswork out of getting a closet in order.

I'm a sucker for smart design, which is probably why I love built-in-anything so much. Built-in beds for kids are especially awesome because not only do they maximize space, but they add extra storage as well. What's not to love about that?

See 5 more fantastic built-in beds for kids below:

You're a good person, and you work hard for your family. So, of course, you deserve the best around your home! Sadly, the best can be awfully expensive, can't it? Well, not to worry. Some of the dreamiest "little luxuries" in life are totally doable on a budget and can make home life all the more satisfying.

Fresh flowers, crazy soft cotton sheets, those pricey but amazing-smelling candles -- today we're celebrating 9 simple, super-satisfying splurges for the home. After all, every household needs at least one guilty delight.

Top image via Amanda Soule

Kim Kardashian is not the first person I'd go to for home decor inspiration, but maybe she should be. Have you seen her shoe closet? Oh the sweet rainbow of orderly hues! Girlfriend's got all 18 bajillion of her shoes neatly arranged by color. This photo is just one of three pretty, pretty shoe closet pictures she posted via Instagram.

Inspiring, no? Not that I have as many shoes as that. It takes exactly 30 seconds for me to arrange the three burlap-and-rope bundles I wear as shoes (just kidding, sort of). But as a home design motif, the rainbow is the way to go.

A few weeks ago, I wrote a post on how Pinterest makes me feel like a failure. My food never comes out like the pictures, my organizational skills are lacking, and my house is a complete mess. The beautiful photos pinned are just unattainable and, in turn, make me feel like shit. But that's not the only reason why I haven't jumped on the Pinterest bandwagon. Here's the full story:

I would dearly love to be organized. I go to friends’ houses and think, “Everything has its place.” By contrast, in my home, everything has its place, and that place is … everywhere.
 
I'm a sucker for articles on sites like Houzz.com about getting clutter under control, but they always show magazine-ready rooms bathed in gentle morning light with hardwood floors and plenty of room. When Remodelista starts putting out a weekly newsletter called “closet-sized rentals with ugly carpeting made to look kinda cute despite themselves,” I will jettison the self-flagellation and sign right up.
 
And then sometimes, I just get snarky and sit around thinking up obnoxious comebacks for perfectly nice organizing tips. Cue my mom: “If you spent this much energy following those Flylady tips, your house would look like Gwyneth Paltrow’s!”
 
Maybe so. But this is what you get from Sister Slacker-Snark. So enjoy.

I just can't get into shows like Hoarders and How Clean Is Your House? They terrify me and stress me out. But I understand how some people like to watch them in the same way they can't help looking at a car accident as they drive by. The disastrous images on that show are enough to invoke fear in the hearts of anyone even remotely organized. 

In what appears to be a commentary on a "hoarder's life," artist Carrie Becker recently used her commercial photography skills to shoot 1/6 scale miniatures to create a project called "Barbie Trashes Her Dreamhouse." Being that Barbie has been around since the '50s and worked hundreds of jobs and collected tons of clothes, makeup, hair accessories, it wouldn't be a total shock if her home looked like this.