Culling vs. Keeping (Wendy Samson, Curt Swenson, 2017)
Mothers often have words of advice that stick with us for many years. One such piece of advice is, ”except for Christmas decorations, throw or give away anything you have not used for a year.” Mothers often spend time teaching their children about systems of organization beginning with closets, bookshelves, and toy boxes. They can see that things that no longer fit, are no longer useful, or may be appreciated more in another’s hands need to move on. The idea of culling vs. keeping leads to organizational strategies that mothers around the globe can be proud of.
For those of you who are keepers and are sometimes embarrassed to have people look in your file cabinets, under your desks or in that office closet that used to be a place to hang coats, we want to encourage you to re-think saving items that are not directly related to the auditing or programmatic needs of your organization. Remember the rule, “throw or give away anything you have not used for a year.” Consider the following reasons why:
- Disorganization can affect your credibility;
- Giving away usable items can develop important relationships;
- Organized environments correlate with better thought processing;
- By emphasizing the importance of taking time to organize your environment, you role model professionalism to your entire team; and
- Keeping items tucked away and unused is wasteful.
If culling is a particularly difficult task for you and is simply not something you have learned to do well, bring someone else in who can help you. Additionally, if you need to leave the environment in order to allow effective culling to occur, do so. Remember, whether you do it yourself or hire it out, by only keeping the necessary items and disposing of or disseminating the rest, you are increasing your organization’s efficiency and creating a professional environment for your co-workers and customers. For more information on professionalizing your work environment, contact FutureSYNC International at (406) 254-2326.