Get Organized Debbie Williams is an organizing strategist and founder of OrganizedTimes.com. She is the author of  "Common Sense Organizing" from Champion Press. Staying Organized Question: My assistant's desk is a disaster. She has stacks of papers piled up everywhere. Not only is it unsightly to look at but I can never find important files when she isn't around. How can I nudge her into getting her desk straightened up? Rosalie Answer: Although it's tough enough to organize our own desks, much less someone else's, I can give you a few ideas to get your assistant motivated. If she is truly a *stacker*, then she must like things out in plain view rather than neatly filed away. For traditional organizers, filing papers in file cabinets or away in drawers seems like the logical and only way to handle paper clutter. But for some people, out of sight means out of mind. And if they file papers away, they will forget about them entirely. Create alternatives for file cabinets that will respect her neat for visual reminders, while containing the clutter and creating more desk space in which she can work. Clear acrylic wall packets hold folders but free up valuable desk space. Stair-step file racks store manila folders vertically rather than horizontally, eliminating the temptation to add to the evergrowing stack piles. Colorful manilla folders (even neon green and yellow) organize works in progress, bills to be paid, clients to call, and messages to be returned -- all in an attractive yet organized manner. Set up a phone center or Communication Zone for your assistant that is co-worker friendly. That is, put a tray or file rack on her desk, clearly labeled, where you can find important papers in a hurry when she's not around. Keeping this information near the phone, complete with message pad, ensures that it is an active area and is probably worked on frequently. In other words, you are fairly sure that this report or roster is current and not fished out of the area under the desk or behind the file cabinet where old files crawl off to die an agonizing death. Lastly, encourage your assistant to create a simple clipboard or binder to serve as an operations manual, where you or anyone filling in during her absence, can find out how she processes mail, handles client files, and so forth. This is crucial in an office of any size-- large offices with a lot of policy changes, or small offices with only a few employees. Keep the lines of communication open and share your need for organization with her, and try to come up with a simple working system that you both can use. Good luck, Debbie Williams Also see: Ask Debbie your questions Recently answered questions Use technology to simplify your life