Does your office look like a cave filled with stalagmites? If you find yourself surrounded by paper stacks of doom, here are some suggestions for unearthing your office:

1. Start by identifying why you have so many piles of paper. Are you someone who has to see what you're working on to keep it at the front of your mind? If this is you, then find an alternative object to make this association—stick a bandage on your bulletin board representing your Johnson and Johnson account or change your desktop image to include your client's logo. Maybe you don't have a filing cabinet large enough to hold the papers you need? Only you know why you have so many piles, and identifying their cause will help you find a solution.

2. Block off a Saturday morning(s) to come into your office when no one is around and dedicate yourself to solving the problem. Taking care of the stacks is a good use of your time, but doing it while everyone else is in the office will just hamper your productivity. Trust me, they'll notice and want to stop by to see what you're doing.

3. Invest in a bulk document scanner. Use it in your office, and then take it home to tackle your papers there. My favorite, above and beyond all the others, is the Fujitsu ScanSnap (they have PC and Mac models).

4. Know your filing style. I file based on the system David Allen outlines in his book Getting Things Done, which is a single, alphabetically organized filing system. Others file by client code numbers used in their billing systems. Whatever system you end up choosing needs to be one that makes sense to you, allows you to quickly retrieve documents, and focuses on topics related to your job. You should have a solid understanding of the system you want to use before you begin sorting through your papers.

5. Ask yourself the following question about every paper in your office: Do I need to keep this paper in its physical form? If your answer is:
a) No. Then shred it or recycle it.
b) No, but I need a digital copy of it. Then scan it, file the scan appropriately on your computer, and shred or recycle the physical copy.
c) Yes. Then file the paper in your filing cabinet.
d) Oh no! I have to take care of this right now or I will be fired. Then, by all means, save your job.

6. For papers that move on and off of your desk on a regular basis like invoices or circulated memos, consider labeling a binder clip for this purpose and hanging it from a bulletin board. If you don't have a lablemaker, silver sharpies write well on black binder clips. See this post on Unclutterer for more information.

7. Stockholm Project Cases, which are available online through the Container Store, are perfect for current projects. You can put all of your files, research, and notepads for a single project in one box that can be closed up at the end of the work day. They also look nice if you're walking into a meeting with a client.

8. Be sure to utilize services like del.icio.us when you're doing research or looking for inspiration online. If you tag a file through del.icio.us, you don't have to print anything because you'll be able to easily retrieve the webpage again. The less you print, the less you have to file.

Good luck on your paper project, and enjoy the benefits of your organized space!