We take a few minutes a night, or at least every other day, to make sure the main spaces are picked up. During the patrol I start identifying categories of things without their own spots. Once I identify a category, I can try to assign space for those items. Long-term, I make sure every room is fully cleaned and organized over the course of a month or so. Some people have suggested that I don't want to move because it's so much work.
Nightly patrol is the most important.
During the nightly mission, I assign some things to piles, containing the clutter to deal with later. This investment of five or ten minutes gives me the illusion of order that I desperately need. A good time for all The result of my program is that we have a stack of the latest books, homework assignments, papers, and art projects still out and ready to be worked on. We know where other stuff is, or where it should be. In fact, we have a pretty good time.