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Time has flown. It's been six months since you came back from your relaxing holiday over Xmas and New Year.

Remember when you charged into the office that first day, all primed to make the new year the best ever. You made a New Year's Resolution that you would definitely get organised to start the coming year with a bang! So what did you do? You cleaned out all the clutter that had accumulated throughout 2002 and in some instances, since 1992!

And once you had completed this mammoth task, you felt fantastic. The office never looked so good. No more buckling bookcases, overflowing filing cabinets, wall to wall and desk to door piles of paper.

In fact, your colleagues couldn't believe what they saw. The CEO walked in and thought he was in the wrong office!

Six months later*

Let's have a look at your office now * six months later.

What does it look like? Is it still in pristine condition or does it look like a teenager's bedroom again?

A quick test*

Is your desktop hidden under a mountain of paper?

Do your fingers bleed each time you access your filing cabinet?

Do you risk an avalanche when you open the cupboard doors?

The Solution for the Clutterers

If you answered yes to any of those questions, here's what you need to do.

Clean out the Clutter*

Put the voicemail or answering machine on, inform your colleagues you will be working on a high priority project for the morning/afternoon/day/week or month, grab a jumbo bin or three, close the door (if you have one) and get to work.

Yes. It's that simple. Start with the floor, then the cupboards, bookcases, filing cabinets, desk and anywhere else.

Not sure what to toss or keep?

Follow The Office Organiser's Golden Rules of Cleaning out the Clutter*

Ask yourself:

Do I really need or want this?

Will my life change in any way if I got rid of it?

Would someone else benefit from having it?

If I am going to keep it, where's the most logical place to find it again?

What's in it for you?

Why do you put yourself through this process? Well it's quite simple. You will find things more easily,you'll feel better, you'll look like you've got your work under control (even if you haven't), you'll have heaps more space, you'll be able to focus, you'll save time and your boss will be very happy as you'll save your company a fortune on stationery because you hoarded enough to supply the whole organisation.

Controlling the clutter forever

There's only one way to do that - regularly clean up. A little clean each day will keep you focussed and sane! All you need to do is *do it!

Have a great week!

Lorraine Pirihi