[ronprovence]

I am a pastor of a small Baptist church in Mississippi. I also preside over a small seminary which is owned and operated by this church. Totop this all off, I am active in men's activities, youth activities, and in promotions for this school. Therefore, my office is usually a mess!! I have absolutely NO organizational skills which makes life a bit rough at times.

My small office (14'X15') is cluttered with a desk, hutch, file cabinet, 3 book cases, and a table which holds my coffee pot. I am anxious to hear ideas from more organized people. Thanks!

[Robin Holtson]

Hi Ron and welcome! For me, the first rule of getting any space organized (office, kitchen, closet, etc.), is to throw out everything that you are not using. If you need to keep information from prior years, pack it away in a storage box, and make sure to label it properly. After that, I would break down the tasks by 'areas'. Start with the book cases - make that one project. Once that is completed, move onto the hutch, etc. Don't feel as though you have to do it all in one day. Another idea for your many different activities is to use color-coded file folders to seperate men's activities, youth activities, etc. If you have a lot of magazines or periodicals, invest in some magazine holders (they're really quite inexpensive) to organize them on your bookshelves. Lastly, since spring is just around the corner for those of us in the south, think about a adding a fresh coat of paint to your office!