Stow or toss it? Tough decisions keep clutter at bay.(LIFE - HOME)

Byline: Christian Toto, THE WASHINGTON TIMES

Arlington resident Danny McGibney knows clutter is public enemy No. 1 for studio apartment dwellers. So a few calculated trips to Ikea gave him a wall unit and computer desk to help manage his papers and bric-a-brac.

Winning the battle against clutter isn't always solved with a savvy department-store purchase. The number of professional organizers is rising rapidly, and entire TV shows are dedicated to simplifying our lives - HGTV's "Mission: Organization" and the Style Network's "Clean House," for example.

Clutter rarely is the life-threatening problem it was for the infamous Collyer brothers. The New Yorkers lived like hermits in the 1940s until a towering stack of newspapers fell and crushed brother Langley, leaving his paralyzed and blind sibling, Homer, alone to starve to death.

Today's clutter warrior is more likely a hardworking type whose occasional sloppiness comes back to haunt him or …