Q. My office and work space usually look like a disaster with clutter. I pretty much know where everything is, butd I don’t like to throw stuff out because I think I may need it in the near future. My co-workers and boss have been joking (lightly) that I seem to be out of control. I don’t think I am, but I could use a few suggestions—if only to change my image. What do you suggest? —Bob Q.

A. It’s easy to let “stuff” pile up and get out of hand. And it doesn’t help your image if someone walks into your office, asks for something right away, and you can’t immediately put your hands on it. Worse, if you’re not there, and someone needs an important document you’ve been working on, they’re likely to get frustrated and angry having to dig though the clutter to find it.

Professional organizers Janet L. Hall and Paula Langguth (www.overhall.com) have discovered seven strategies for eliminating clutter in the workplace. They worked for me; hope you like them, too:

Seven Strategies for Eliminating Clutter In the Workplace

Start by looking over the things you’re hanging onto in your office and ask yourself the five W’s Of Organizing:

Who owns this and who needs it?

What use is it? What do you need it for?

When will you need it? Will you actually use it?

Where will you find it? Where does it belong?

Why do you have this? Do you really want it?

Once you’ve honestly answered these questions, you can take action to eliminate the clutter in your workspace before it costs you a promotion – or your job. When you get ready to sort through your piles, drawers, filing cabinets, bookcases, briefcases and anything else that needs to be sorted through, be ruthless, determined and honest, using their seven-step TEASER to help you decide what action to take on each item.

Start by getting a garbage can or bag. Move everything into one area and grab 10 boxes or make 10 piles and label them this way:

1. Toss it.

If it’s not yours, you don't know whom it belongs to, it's outdated, it can't be repaired, or you don't need it, get rid of it. Outdated trade journals, old software, old phone books or directories, dead files – drop them into the garbage bag.

2. End it.

This pile is where you put anything you don't want anymore; that you want to cancel; or that you don't read. This could be an interoffice list that doesn’t really pertain to your job, a subscription you never read or a good-‘til-cancelled product that you’re overstocked on.

3. Act on it.

This pile will contain all the items you need to take action on. It includes anything that needs your signature, a phone call or immediate attention. Don’t stop now to do these things. Put them in the "act on it" pile and keep moving.

4. Store it.

There are three boxes that fall under the "store it" category. These include Current Stuff, Things I Need to Reference, and Historical Stuff. Current stuff goes in your closest filing drawers. Things you need to reference can go in the hallway outside your office. Historical stuff can get archived in the corporate storage area.

5. Enter it.

This is where you should put any information you need to enter into your planner, calendar or computer.

6. Refer/Recycle/Read it/Repair.

If an item belongs to someone else or you think they need it, refer it to them. If you can use it again or it can be recycled, recycle it. If it’s something you want or need to read, put it in your reading pile. If it’s something that can be fixed, it goes in the repair file.

7. Schedule a date and time to act on the items that you sorted.

Once you have the date entered into your calendar, don’t make more piles to sit around until that date. Get a Tickler File and file all your new papers under the corresponding Tickler File date.

Some of the action steps you’ll need to schedule:

* Call, write, or email the items that you want to END or stop from coming into your life.

* Decide how and where you will STORE your current, reference and historical papers or “stuff.”

* Sit and ENTER all your information, or delegate it to someone else to enter.

* Pack up and do away with items that you are REFERRING to someone else, RECYCLING or taking to get REPAIRED.

* Put READING material in an area where you like to sit and read and create a TO GO reading folder to take with you whenever you leave your office. If you get stuck in traffic or a long line or are waiting for a client, or for a meeting to start, you can read your important reading material instead of someone else’s!

These seven simple steps will help you create a more productive working environment. You’ll spend less time looking for lost items and more time making profitable business decisions. And your boss is sure to notice, come review time!