Deciding which operating system and hardware to tie yourself to is undoubtably the hardest choice when buying a new phone. But once the die is cast, you're faced with an even tougher decision: how do you most efficiently lay out your home screen? Which apps are the most important, what is the fastest way to access them, do you use folders or search, do you keep your home screens relatively uncluttered? The choices are endless, but Fast Company has put together a nice set of tips for iPhone and Android users to help clean up the clutter.

The basic gist is to "think with your thumbs" and place apps where your thumb most naturally rests on the screen when holding it with one hand. This typically is the top two rows, but there's also a lot of merit in using the corners for your top apps. If you're a folder user, there's discussion on the concept of using verbs to organize your apps, rather than categories; think using "play" instead of "games," or "listen" instead of "music." While these tricks certainly may work for some, we really want to see how you make sense of your smartphone's home screen — come share your home screen shots in our forums, and make sure to tell us the strategy behind your layout.