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Do you want to know the fastest way to get back a chunk of time? Get back money? Get back your life? PURGE. That's right folks; Spring Cleaning is way over due. I wouldn't have tackled it but for my move, but I can safely say that it has been astounding what I have found taking up space, time, and money.

It is easy to understand how it takes up space, but I bet you're wondering what I mean when I say time and money. Consider this, most of us have a finite amount of space and when that is full what do we do? We store it! This is got to be one of the greatest errors we make both in business and personally. Unless it is business records needed for tax purposes, if you are storing it you aren't using it, get rid of it.

And time, how does it cost us each time to have too much stuff? Because we can rarely find what we need when we need so we lose valuable time looking for it. Imagine the time you would gain by never looking for a letter misfiled, a quote in the wrong pile, a resource that you managed to bury amongst others you felt sure you'd need but don't. You could gain hours a week, weeks a year, and years in your life!

So remember LESS IS MORE! Use these 5 guidelines for getting rid of what you don't need.

• If it is outdated, get rid of it.

(Hmm, betting that pricelist from 2001 and 2005 isn't valid!)

• If you can find it online, get rid of it in reality.

(Yes, I did have a lot of catalogues that are obsolete now.)

• If you haven't opened it in 2 years and don't know what it is, get rid of it.

(You will lose more time going through junk or getting nostalgic over stuff.)

• If you are storing it, chances are good you don't need it, reevaluate that expense.

(This is the perfect time to cut loose old equipment, ancient furnishings, professional learning materials and more.)

• If your paper files duplicate your online files, get a guaranteed remote back up and save the space, and your peace of mind.

(I've had one of these for over a year and never worry about losing data for any reason.)

With the time, money, and space you save, you can enjoy a lighter, freer life and take a well deserved vacation!

© Copyright Melissa Galt 2008