Back in the day, a young summer student reporter was looking for a place to sit. Looking around she saw an abandoned desk buried in stacks of old papers, coffee cups and newspapers that pre-dated her birth.

?If I clear all that old junk away, can I sit there?? asked the summer student. ?I?m sure I could get the computer department to find a computer for me.?

The reporter, who has long since left the Island, glowered at her and said, ?That?s not a bunch of junk, that?s my desk! And there is a computer under there, somewhere.?

This story does have a happy ending. Eventually, the summer student grew up and became a reporter, with a giant mess of her own. She had one, that is, until she decided to let professional organiser Cindy Swan work her office makeover magic on it.

On Monday morning, Mrs. Swan arrived bright and early with trainee organiser Robin Anthony. Mrs. Swan has been in business and home organisation for almost three decades. Her business and home office makeover packages start at $1,500. ?Years ago we were just ordinary business consultants,? Mrs. Swan said. ?It has only been recently that organising has been recognised as a profession.?

Mrs. Swan is a member of the National Association of Professional Organisers (NAPO) in the United States. She is also well known for her work with the charity Project Action.

?You have to be practising for two and a half years,? said Mrs. Swan. ?NAPO requires that you attend conferences once a year and that you take workshops. It gives credibility to the profession.?

What is surprising about having your desk ?made-over? is just how disturbing it is on a psychological level, particularly if you are a private person.

To begin the process of reorganisation, these professional organisers take everything that you hold dear, your maxi-pads, the 20 cat pictures, threatening letters from famous lawyers, and pile them around your desk. Apparently, in order to get rid of a mess, you have to first create an even bigger mess.

The next step is even more painful ? purging. Do you really need these press releases from 2002? Do you still need a telephone bill you paid six months ago? Do you really need the $12 Christmas nutcracker man you bought as a Secret Santa gift two Christmases ago? It is a little embarrassing to have someone look into your office mug and see old batteries stuck in a film of dried coffee from several months ago. Still, if you can get past the psychological issues, the process can be quite invigorating.

One of her tips is to separate personal items from work items. In this case the nutcracker and maxi pads went in one drawer, pens, pencils and other office supplies went in the middle drawer and all office related stuff went in another drawer.

?We get into the nooks and crannies of your personal space in your office to try and enhance your productivity level along with trying to lower your stress level when you can?t find what you need when you need it,? said Mrs. Swan.

Actually, after all the press releases were filed, acted upon or tossed (FAT) (most were tossed) there wasn?t anything at all in the top drawer.

Things like business cards were gathered together with a rubber band.

?Another thing is the rolodex,? said Mrs. Swan. ?Everywhere you go someone tosses you a business card. You come in and you toss them all over the place. I tell people to have a file for business cards within your permanent action file.?

She said that filing your business cards into a rolodex can be a stress reliever during long, boring phone calls.

And Mrs. Swan said she won?t blab about the batteries at the bottom of the dirty coffee cup, or more important things either.

?NAPO has a code of ethics that we follow,? said Mrs. Swan. ?I have organised central filing systems for quite a few clients that I can?t even share with you, because of the confidentiality.?

The entire process of desk rearrangement took two hours. When Mrs. Swan and Mrs. Anthony finished the desk was spotless, inside and out. Files, notebooks and tapes were all perfectly arranged. Pens and other writing implements had been relegated to another drawer.

A huge pile of books and other personal items sat in two boxes waiting to be taken home.

?We?ll be doing a spot check again in 90 days,? said Mrs. Swan, ?just to see if you are sticking to the programme.?

?Okay,? the reporter said. ?I?ll be waiting.?

As Mrs. Swan walked away, the reporter?s colleague stuck her head up and watched.

?It?s okay,? the colleague said to the reporter, ?she?s gone. You can put things back the way they were.?

Actually, that hasn?t happened. The boxes with personal items and books destined to go home, are still sitting next to the reporter?s desk, exactly the way Mrs. Swan left them.