We all know them. Office workers who live in grey, brown or beige cubicles with everyspace covered with a note, flyer or gadget. Are you one? Find out how to get rid of cubicle clutter.

Does it seem that your cubicle gets smaller each day? If your answer is yes, you are among the growing number of COWC's.

Look on your cloth-bound cubicle wall. Do you really need all of the notes, flyers and memos you have tacked there? What about those 'long past the raffle-drawing date' raffle tickets you bought from a co-worker? The chances are you did not win the raffle if you have not yet been contacted. It's safe to throw them away.

Are you still going to read the article on upgrading your computer to Windows 95? Articles such as this have time-value and should be read when your receive them. Whenever you come across an article concerning computer upgrades, take five minutes to read it. Then act on it, pass it on or toss it in trash. It is a good idea to have or make 20-25 "This May Be of Interest to You" notes. One sheet of 8 ½ x 11 unlined paper will make four notes.

Fold a sheet of paper in 4's. At the top of each fold type the following:

Line 1 FROM: (type your name in bold)
Line 2 TO: (leave blank).
Line 3. This May Be of Interest to You

If you make six copies of this, you will have 24 small (apprx. 4x6) memos after cutting them. Keep them near you while you are reading your daily mail. Your mantra should be read it and act on it; read it and toss it or read it and pass it on. If you are passing information on just write the persons name and a short description of the attachment on your memo. Send it out the same day.

Workshop and seminar brochures seem to multiply overnight. If you have the budget and the time sign up for the workshop or seminar you are interested in, then put it on your calendar so you don't inadvertently take a meeting for the same date and time. My advice is to be ruthless when it comes to handling brochures. If you are interested but have no budget, toss it. A similar workshop will show up at a later date. If you have no interest but know of someone who does, use your small memo to forward the brochure. You may get a thank you from a grateful recipient.

Get rid of anything broken. Does anyone have any idea why we keep broken and useless items? A broken keyboard leaning against your desk is not going to fix itself. A broken stapler will not work no matter how long you keep it on your desk or in the drawer.

It's better to have a few sharpened pencils in the holder than twenty pencils with dull or broken points. Or worst a never sharpened pencil. Have you ever grabbed a pencil at someone's desk to find a new blunt end?

Everyone hates to file. The best thing to do with filing besides filing it is to get the stack of papers in front of you with a trash can at the ready. You will be a mazed at the junk mail mixed in with legitimate correspondence for filing. An expanding alphabetical file will make your life so much easier. As
you go through papers to be filed use a yellow high-lighter to indicate the name under which the document will be filed. If it is Betty Brown, highlight Brown and place it in the "B" section of the file and so on. Using this system makes it easy to locate unfiled correspondence as easily as filed. Once you have cleaned up the 'to be filed' clutter by placing it in your expanding file make it a habit to place each document as you receive it, in the file. Plan to file a couple of times a week starting with the "A" section.

Most COWC's have a lot of pictures of friends, family and pets. Not to mention gadgets and souvenirs from past conventions. Instead of keeping all of them on your desk at one time why not rotate?

Last item to be discussed. Dead plants. No discussion - Get rid of the dead plants!

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Are You a COWC? (Cubicle Owner With Clutter) April 15, 2003 (c) by
Vannie Ryanes. Ms. Ryanes is the editor of The Independent Publicist http://www.theindependentpublicist.com and a quarterly e-magazine titled 'Skills For Living 101. She is also the moderator/facilitator of Romance Noire Book Club http://www.RomanceNoireBookClub.com