I've been married since I was 18 and honestly good luck LOL. I finally just started doing it myself and it really doesn't make a huge difference since I am cleaning up after the kids all day anyhow. I realized that his socks will always be on the floor in the morning and that his plate will sit in the same spot until he is planning on sitting there again and I love him for it. That's him; I love him and all of his idiosyncrasies and once I realized that it actually made me much less frustrated with his habits. Every once in a while I will say something like "thanks babe for leaving your plate on the table I was worried I would run out house work" and he smiles and then there is no way I can want to change his silly little messy habits.

Amy,

It sounds like your husband may not have his own space in the house. There's the "yours, mine, and ours" rule where he has his space where he keeps his mess, you have your organized space, and then you have ours space where things mingle. Perhaps if he has his own spaces, he'll respect your organized space.

My husband and I have been married for over 30 years and all you can do it organize as best you can, put baskets, magazine racks, etc. out, and keep the communication open. Bottom line is, clutter is not the end of the world. We all have habits that the other person must overlook in the long run.