Out with the old

With Ann Humphries, ETICON

(CNN) -- Daniela Berretta just called from CNN Italia -- that's our Italian CNN.com site, molta bella -- looking for a fax she'd passed along from Burberry designer Roberto Menichetti's people in Europe.

Of course it's here, un minuto, prego.

Well, no, not just a minute, after all. Make that dieci minuti, prego, 10 minutes. And you'd never guess all the other things that were turned up during the search. No ballots, but just about everything else gone uncounted for a few months.

What a lot of stuff. Stuff from 2000. The false millennium. Cluttering up everything, you could hardly see the real millennium approaching over the piles of books, endless papers, clippings, screen cleaner, things tacked on the wall, calendars, clocks, interview tapes, notebooks, dictionaries and style manuals.

QUICK VOTE

Do you still have some clutter to get rid of in your workplace as we enter this new year, century and millennium?
Nope, I've gotten it all taken care of, I'm lean (not mean) and running light.
Just getting there, tidying up now, finishing off the paper clip box now.
Sorry, what was the question? -- I couldn't see the end of it over this huge pile of stuff on my desk here.
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In fact, it wasn't until after those forklift people had left that the phone was visible. No question who to call, of course.

Pronto?

CNN: We asked Ann Humphries, etiquette expert and president of ETICON, what to do about all this year-end clutter.

Ann Humphries: Clear it out. I'm talking about that cellophane tape that's peeling off. The file folders that are too old. The computer files hogging your hard drive. That corsage from seventh grade you still have posted on your tack board.

There's a difference in being messy during the rush. When you're on a project and don't have time to put things away and re-file, that's fine.

But I'm talking about the incremental clutter. The "that looks good, let me put it on this bookcase" stuff. Sometimes you just have to part with something. And it's like inventory clearance: Once you get started, it feels good.

These toys. You want to personalize your space but you don't want people to wonder if they're in a professional setting or a day care center. We all respect play because it keeps you creative. But when you have to dig through a toy chest to find things, then it's too much. You have to spend too much time dusting the toys. Save your money for experiential things. Go to wrestling matches.

It's true you can go too far. But you have to risk that. Ask yourself if something is worth lugging around. Ask how long it's been since you touched it. Ask yourself if you even knew you had it.

And yes, some people will ridicule anyone they can classify as a "neat freak." We need a new phrase for that. (Daniela offers maniaco della pulizia. This should catch on quickly. You read it here first.)

What I'd like to have a reading on is whether people who put down "neat freaks" aren't just excusing themselves for being messy. The way you know a true "neat freak" is that when you get up to do something, you come back and your tea is gone. That's not what we're advocating here.

Now as you work on your own clutter, one of the good things is that your neighbor, who's a slob, might get the idea, too. You know how hard it is to suggest to somebody that a cleanup is in order. Lead by example.

Better yet, if you're in a management position, have your department or whole company do a big cleanup together. Allocate a half-day. Then no one gets personally singled out, everybody pitches in.

Remember that this is no waste of time. It's as valuable to your company as sending out a brochure because of what it can save you in terms of lost-stuff time. Set a date by which the staff has to have purged old things.

Don't forget the lobby, hallways, bathrooms -- these spaces the public can get into at your business -- are all part of your image.

If your refrigerator in the break room needs attention, get to that. Even your board room can become a catch-all. See what's been left in there from that meeting back in June.

CLEARANCE

While you're clearing out that clutter from your work space, why not get a few questions off your chest, too? We don't get to answer all our e-mail but we'd sure like to know what's on your mind in terms of career etiquette issues and we'll consider what you tell us for possible subject matter in Corporate Class. Use our handy submission form to regale us with your best thoughts of the old and new years. In with the new.

It's a good donation outlet for charity, too. Prisons and libraries and shelters can use books. Even some toys can go to charitable outfits -- you know, those "Star Wars" action figures and Pokemons on those cubicle walls?

In fact, that's a whole topic here, in itself. These toys. You want to personalize your space but you don't want people to wonder if they're in a professional setting or a day care center. We all respect play because it keeps you creative. But when you have to dig through a toy chest to find things, then it's too much. You have to spend too much time dusting the toys. Save your money for experiential things. Go to wrestling matches.

Bookshelves, drawers, get all the pens together, paper clips together, good containers for your rubber bands, printer cartridges, disks, labels, enough file folders to file things. We need to be considerate of the fact that someone is paying you to do a job -- and if it takes you two hours to find something, that's both time and money wasted.

I'd like to have a reading on whether people who put down "neat freaks" aren't just excusing themselves for being messy. The way you know a true "neat freak" is that when you get up to do something, you come back and your tea is gone. That's not what we're advocating here.

Work in concentric circles. Files from 2000, you want nearest you because they're the ones you're likeliest to need. Wipe off the phone, the cradle the receiver goes into, the fax machine, the box your floppies are in, the printer, the scanner.

Don't forget to clear out your voice mail, your e-mail, your mailing lists. Rule of thumb: If you haven't used it in a year, do you need it? Could you replace it if you needed it and had thrown it out? Could you borrow it? -- maybe you don't need your own.

Don't forget the plants. That trailing ivy.

And finally that box of magazines you've meant to read. Aren't they just making you feel guilty because you can never get to them? You're carrying that box around like an anvil, beating yourself up for not getting to it.

It comes down to something like office bloating. Not good. Charity or trash can, choose one and let them enjoy your clutter. You want it out of your work space. Happy New Year.

(Same to you, Ann. And to CNN Italia, Buon Anno.)

Ann Humphries, founder and president of ETICON, Inc. and a Certified Professional Consultant to Management, includes several Fortune 500 companies among her clients. She's been featured in the Wall Street Journal, Fortune and Money, and on CNN, CBS and Lifetime TV. You can contact her at www.eticon.com.

-- Interview, Porter Anderson