There are times when you just have to clean up the messy desk. Are you a pack rat? Here's some tips to help break the hoarding habit.

1. TAKE INVENTORY.
Walk around your house and visually inventory all of your stuff. Look in your cabinets, closets, bookshelves, storage containers, and garage. Do you have things you haven't used in a year or more? Ask yourself, when will I use that item again? If the answer is 'someday,' lose it! Call The Salvation Army, recycle it or pass it on to someone who can use it now.

2. SHARE YOUR KNOWLEDGE.
People love to save books and magazines even after they've read them. Recycle those that you don't plan on reading or using again. Donate them to a local charity, a school, hospital or retirement home, where others can enjoy and learn from your books.

3. DON'T TURN INTO 'THE PICKLE GUY.'
Do you know someone who has a garage that was filled with empty jars that they are going to use to make homemade pickles 'someday.' Empty food containers make great storage containers, but how many do you need? If you have more than five or six empty plastic food containers stuck in a cabinet and collecting dust, it's time for a trip to the recycling bin.

4. ASK YOURSELF THE IMPORTANT QUESTION.
Ask yourself, 'Is my life going to change if I get rid of this thing?' Almost always, the answer is, 'No.'