You love your kids and you want them to feel like their home belongs to them as much as it belongs to you and your spouse. Got it. For many of us, however, this translates as leaving toys, artwork, scooters, Barbie dolls and building blocks on permanent display throughout the house. You know it's the truth.

But you, formerly sane adult, kind of wish that sometimes, just sometimes, all the kids stuff would disappear and the house would look clean and orderly like it used to. A long, long time ago. (4.5 years, but who’s counting?)

The good news is this: there are a couple really fast and easy ways you can restore order to your surroundings.

The key is clearing out space in your grown-up environment and giving it to the kids. Exhibit A: That cupboard in the kitchen – just to the right of the sink – that’s used solely for containing the Cuisinart? It's theirs now. With a quick move of the food processor, that cupboard can become Art Storage Central: a place to stash the paper, crayons and coloring books Jr. likes to use while you’re whipping up breakfast.

Or in the living room media center, behold Exhibit B. The drawer containing the old VHS tapes. That drawer, once you join the rest of us in 2010 and get a DVR (or at least a DVD player), can be for puzzles. Cards. Toy cars. All of the things you have a habit of stepping on (ouch!), then stepping over, in your current setup.

The best part of this? The kids notice that they are being given grown-up space, and they love it. So make them feel like a part of the process, let them decide what goes in their new space, and allow them to help you clear your old stuff out.

Then, when you are really in the mood to see the wood floor you spent all that money on last year, the kids can quickly swoop up their things and stash them away. And you, patient parent, will once again enjoy your adult living space.

Once in a while, at least.

DIY storage tips not enough for your home? California Closets can help you get organized.