For those looking to straighten out their environment, January is the perfect time to move ahead with those New Year's resolutions and finally get organized, says professional organizer Lynn Gross-Cerf. The National Association of Professional Organizers has dubbed January "Get Organized Month."

Being organized helps reduce stress, increase production and make people feel like they've accomplished more. But being organized is not only about being more productive in the office, it also allows people the flexibility to tend to their personal lives and interests, Gross-Cerf says.

One of those individuals is Ilse Beck, who runs a financial services company, Beck Business Services, from her Willow Glen home. During the three decades she has been in business, the 10-foot by 12-foot room she works out of become stacked with papers. Beck had a tendency to dump piles of paper in her home office, with grand plans to get to it later. Days later, she'd peer around her office and wonder, "How did things get so bad?" she says.

That's when Gross-Cerf finally came to the rescue, making her disorganized world a thing of the past. That was four years ago. The two meet as often as once a month on both organizing her office and her life.

"I'm learning a lot of little things from her," Beck says. "How to work more efficiently and when to say, 'No.' "

Gross-Cerf has helped Beck by streamlining her tasks. All non-billable work is now scheduled like phone calls, filing and running work errands. The result has Beck attacking piles of paper before they get out of hand.

Clutter is a symptom of having no place for things, Gross-Cerf says. She asks her clients what items in their offices are absolutely necessary, and whether these essentials serves the person in any way.

For instance, does a business owner need to hold on to booklets of information if they could obtain it on the Internet? If they keep that extra filing cabinet, how will they use it?

Beyond helping Beck get organized, Gross-Cerf serves as a sounding board when making decisions that could simplify her life, even on issues like firing clients. When Beck is in an uncomfortable situation with a client, Gross-Cerf tells Beck to ask herself, "Is this situation really good for me?"

"She gives me a place to vent and a possible solution," Beck says.

Another Willow Glen client, Jill Arnone, has also benefited from Gross-Cerf's expertise. When Arnone opened her own media consulting business, The Arnone Group, in 1998, she turned to Gross-Cerf to help her organize her home office.

Arnone says she was attracted to Gross-Cerf's personable and easy-going style. "She's not judgmental to people like me, who didn't inherit the clean gene," Arnone says.

Rather, Gross-Cerf observes and interviews her clients, trying to understand their thought processes and how to construct their environment in a way that makes sense to them.

Surrounded by mustard-colored walls, Arnone's home office provide challenges of its own. Working in the home, Arnone's been tempted to check her personal email during work hours or leave her work to put in a load of laundry.

Using Gross-Cerf's advice, Arnone now prioritizes her needs and has color-coded her files for easier locating. Each client has a colored folder in a hanging file basket. Recently, she's taken her organization skills to a whole new level. Since she often meets with clients in their offices or events, she devotes an individual briefcase to each client so when she has a meeting she can simply pick up the appropriate briefcase and go.

"I feel good, even when I'm out in the world with people, and my house is in order," Arnone says.

There are others who have benefited from Gross-Cerf's organized methodology like Cedar Mortgage certified mortgage consultant Debra Moore. She has utilized Gross-Cerf's services for years and her office demonstrates the effectiveness of her recommendations. Gross-Cerf recommended Moore only use her desktop for materials that she used on a daily basis, such as real estate forms, administrative and marketing materials, and information on potential clients.

Moore also color-coded her schedule using Gross-Cerf's advice, which also included specifying blocks of time for administrative work, clients and training. By mapping out her week into blocks of time, Moore was even able to set aside time during her Tuesday and Thursday lunches to exercise.

After 25 years in the real estate business, Moore also longed to take Wednesdays off to devote to her 6-year-old daughter and church. With an organized calendar, now she can.

Moore says she doesn't mind her long Mondays and Tuesdays at the office because Wednesday is her day away from work. If associates or clients have business demands on Wednesdays, Moore is comfortable saying no. "I say 'I have an appointment.' It's with myself, but it's perfectly OK. It's amazing how you can keep those appointments," she says.

Moore, Arnone and Beck are just several of Gross-Cerf's numerous clients who run the gamut from clergy to individuals working for high-tech companies.

Gross-Cerf, who began her business, Organization & More!, 12 years ago, believes her gift as an organizer surfaced long before she officially started helping people.

Gross-Cerf's first "client" was her middle-school teacher, Ralph Otte. She would clean his desk and classroom, and today, in his 80s, Otte still solicits advice from Gross-Cerf.

Although she started organizing for others early on, Gross-Cerf began her professional life in business administration. But when she met a professional organizer 12 years ago, her career path changed.

"Suddenly I had a name for something I've been doing all my life," Gross-Cerf says.

She began by organizing for friends and now specializes in helping individuals in their work environments. Her fees run from $125 to $150 an hour, for a minimum two-hour block.

With all her clients, Gross-Cerf remembers to keep it holistic and realistic. For clients who fall back into old habits, she revisits them for "tune-ups." She advises clients to leave 40 percent of their time unplanned to give them needed flexibility. In her own calendar, Gross-Cerf leaves one unplanned weekend a month and schedules everything in pencil.

"Life changes," she says. "That's why God made erasers."

Lynn Gross-Cerf can be reached at 408.266.3339 or via email at lynn@organizationandmore.com. Fore more information on Organization and More!, visit www.organizationandmore.com.

Rethinking How to Get Organized!

Organization tips from Lynn Gross-Cerf, professional organizer and owner of Organization and More!

* Every minute spent planning saves four to 10 minutes in execution.

* Color-coded files can be located 40 percent faster.

* Using a headset is 43 percent more productive because it frees up one's hands to express themselves, find items in a desk, and overall energy level is higher.

* Consider other filing systems than the alphabet, such as by subject or date.

* Keep things used daily close at hand.

* Utilize a "temporary project" folder to hold all materials being worked on.

* Set false deadlines to escape last minute cramming.

* Leave 40 percent of time unplanned to allow for greater flexibility. This also helps avoid overbooking and burn out.

* Two-thirds of phone calls made will be answered by a machine, so individuals should be prepared to leave a message and be clear about the information they need.