Horizontal Surface crap magnet

• Coffee table - covered in mail to go through, mail to shred, mail to recycle, mail to read, mail to mail
• Entertainment Center top - contents of E's pockets at some point in the last 6 months, Netflix DVD's (been there since March), bowl of keys and change, books and magazine that can't fit on the coffee table because it's covered in mail
• Kitchen Table - fruit bowl is the only thing "allowed" but alas I'm sure there are a pair of pruners, a backpack, baking ingredients I didn't put away, and other random stuff that comes in the door and finds a home on the table.
• Kitchen Counter - pantry items that won't fit (I love Costco, and you never know when you'll need a whole case of canned diced tomatoes), drying dishes (that have been drying for 2 days), and various kitchen things that are supposed to be there.
• Dresser - Eee-Gads! A sealed box of Christmas cards from last year. MERRY CHRISTMAS Everyone! Books, magazines, random papers that were important not to throw out for some reason, binoculars (for bird watching, get your head out of the gutter), travel toiletry bag over flowith with sample sized everything
• Office desk - not going there

Please help us! How do you find homes for all of the stuff? How do you stop the habit of putting stuff anywhere convenient? And when you do pick it up, how do you not just take the crap from a visible location, to a non-visible location. (say the attic, which is E's favorite solution for the mess).

This list has made me want to go home and clean. But this list also feels so overwhelming that I tend to not do anything to make it better. I used to think it was good to be able to see the big picture, but when it comes to the cleaning, it might be better to have tunnel vision so as not to get overwhelmed to the point of not being able to start.

How is your Horizontal Surface crap magnet?