The best way to beat the "Back to School Blues" is to do everything you can to start off the year with a great start is to make sure your work/study space is free of clutter. Frankly, there is no easy way to do this. But I can give you some tips that will help you start the process of clutter reduction.

• First, lay three good-sized towels or blankets on the floor. These represent the piles of stuff you will make as you start sorting through your clutter. One pile will be for things you will keep, another for things you will give away/recycle, and the third pile will be for things that you toss out.
  
• As you begin sorting through things, keep this one thought in the forefront of your mind--if you haven't used an item in two years and it hasn't seen the light of day for at least a year, it's very likely that you do not need this item.
  
• Now give yourself 30 minutes on a timer and start sorting. This short time span prevents you from stopping and thinking too hard or too long about the importance of an item. It requires you to make a quick, administrative decision regarding the item's relative worth to you and forces you to categorize its value immediately.
  
• Once you've sorted things out, do not move things from one pile to another. If, after giving the reuse/recycle and toss piles a cursory once-over, you see one item you simply cannot live without, go ahead and pull it out and put it in your "keep" pile.
  
• Quickly assign someone, preferably not you, to take the "toss" items out to the dumpster and toss them. It's really better if you're not the one tossing these items out as you won't be tempted to keep them.
  
• If you have space at your residence to hold a yard sale, start marking your reuse/recycle items now. It never hurts to have a little extra cash around. If you do not have adequate space or aren't in a good location for a yard sale, consider gifting your items to your favorite non-profit organization--get a receipt for tax purposes.

If this method of clutter reduction doesn't work for you, try asking a friend or group of friends to do this for you. I cried the first time I tried this, so my husband sent me out for the day and took over the job--not that I'll admit to lovingly hoarding objects or anything.

Until next time!

Lynn Byrne

Preparing for college admissions? Trying to find direction? Need a little help with the planning? Check out my college planning series:

• College Planning Made Easy--the planning and preparation workbook for the take charge, college-bound student,
  
• Paying for College Made Easy--a college financing guide designed to assist students and families in preparing and planning for higher education expenses; and
  
• The Great Scholarship Search--my guide for students and parents researching and applying for scholarship funding.