This is all from the point of view of a guy who does not have or want a totally neat house. But I don’t want a dirty house either. It needs to be at least somewhat organized, and definitely free of dust n dirt, mostly.
Papers: Put in 3 piles: Very Important, Somewhat Important, and Long Term Storage
Then find a place for the piles that is both convenient and out-of-sight. Closets are good.
Clothes: If you ever have clothes on your floor, it means they need a Place. Usually a simple box in the closet will suffice. I have 5 boxes: Shirts, Pants, Socks, Underwear, and To Be Laundered (The other stuff is on shelves, and important shirts are hanging).
Everything needs a place. If you find that you find recyclables or other things just floating about, they need a box to go to. And you need a plan on when that box gets emptied. (Usually the day before trash day).
All clothes that you know you won’t wear again, because you haven’t worn them in a long time already…. put ‘em in a box and put the box in your car. Next time you drive by a thrift shop, give it to them.
Here is the biggest mistake when people clean: Going into Denial.
One form of denial is thinking that you will somehow change your behavior. That’s why I put my clothes in boxes in the closet. Because I figured out about myself: I’m not gonna sort and hang my clothes. with a few exceptions. And so instead of hanging all my shirts now, pretending that I’ll keep doing it forever when in reality i won’t and they’ll end up on the floor again, I just use the boxes, and take time out to at least hang up my 5 most important shirts. So that’s just one example of me overcoming my denial. Other people have different denials, and they need to be identified when cleaning.