By Kevin Hand, Star-Bulletin

It's the time to come clean, whether it's a matter of mopping that floor or thinking pure thoughts. Trouble is, with holiday activities going on, few can make the time to clean up.

"In Hawaii I think people celebrate the holidays in a big way, so that it carries through the first week of January," said Ruth Wong, a professional organizer from Organization Plus. "New Year usually isn't the time people are thinking about cleaning because everyone's so busy, but it makes sense, especially when we receive so much at Christmas. This is the time to get rid of duplicate items and take stock of what you don't need.

"It's the Japanese that have that good idea to totally clean house," she said.

This is partly due to religious belief. Toshigamisama, the "honorable god of the New Year," is expected to visit homes this time of year to bestow blessings. Naturally, people want to make their best impression since the god might have second thoughts if there are bug parts behind the fridge and the dresser sports a doily of lint.

Cleaning house is one way of preparing to receive good fortune, according to Barbara Stephan, a freelance writer who two years ago was co-curator for the Honolulu Academy of Arts exhibition "Spirit and Symbol: The Japanese New Year."

The ritual is similar for many Asians, although the Chinese and Vietnamese get a reprieve by following the lunar calendar. They have until Feb. 7 to get their act together.

Still, Stephan says, "A lot of people try to escape (tradition). It can be a real burden."

She confesses she's making her own escape to Japan.

Office types might want to take note of another special date, Jan. 13, which is National Clean Off Your Desk Day.

For those who do want to get started before the New Year, Wong counts three areas of organization: organizing one's physical environment, organizing oneself - whether physically or psychologically - then organizing the people surrounding you, which she confesses is much easier with young children or if you work in a managerial capacity.

She said most of people's problems come from having too much stuff.

"Here, homes are small, and if your home is cluttered, it's not comfortable."

She sympathizes with "pack-rat" personalities since coming clean is never easy, she knows firsthand.

Although she said she was fairly organized when she was single, she ran into trouble during her first three years of marriage.

"I just couldn't handle the cooking, the cleaning, the husband and two kids. I was a basket case and it threw me for a loop."

That's when Wong started reading about and practicing concepts of organization, and in passing on tips to friends, she said, "I realized there is a real need for this information.

"It takes a while for things to get in the shape they're in, so it's not going to get clean overnight. The idea is to keep plugging away, and instead of thinking about cleaning a whole room, take on one drawer at a time," she said.

"The rest has to do with developing new habits, learning to put things back where they belong."

She said most clutter starts because people find they don't have a place for an object. So it stays on a counter or desk top, and pretty soon, it's joined by more of the same. She suggests finding homes for each possession.

Once physical clutter is managed, it's also wise to take account of other aspects of "clutter" in one's life, whether it's that mounting credit debt or a glut of activities that leave you overwhelmed.

"Life is a matter of making choices," Wong said. "How are you going to spend your money? How are you going to spend your time and who will you spend it with? If you don't take the time to access your situation, you will just continue on as you have been."

Taking stock of life can be a source of disappointment and anxiety at any time, but troubles are magnified at the holidays.

George Rhoades, clinical psychologist and director of Ola Hou Clinic, a community psychological services organization in Pearl City, said many people experience stress and depression this time of year, overwhelmed by the feeling that they didn't do enough during the year and left too much unfinished.

"They can't deal with all these unresolved issues by Dec. 31st. But what they can do is start thinking about what they want to accomplish by December 1997."

Psychologically, he said, new year is a time of hope. "We want to be able to believe in the fresh beginning. We need hope that things will get better, that our families will do better. That's where New Year resolutions come in."

But he said most people lack the discipline to make their goals reality. It takes planning and writing down goals. He suggests making both long- and short-term goals, breaking them down into manageable tasks, as in "what can you spend 5 minutes a day on until the end of the year?"

Whether there's a real need to clean up one's physical environment depends on an individual's personality, Rhoades said. "A person can be surrounded by clutter, but if it doesn't bother him, that person's OK. But if someone needs order and there's clutter, that can trigger depression."

Still, Wong said she notices a big change in her clients once they become organized. "They have more self-esteem. They seem more at peace and more confident.

"You have to realize organization is like a journey. It's not a destination. The goal is not just to have a perfectly organized home or office, but to free yourself so you will have the time and energy to do the things that are important to you," she said.

Here are 10 ideas to help make the most of space, from Ruth Wong of Organization Plus:

1. Select furniture that is decorative and functional.
2. Use a folding screen to hide bulky items.
3. Store items under a table covered with a floor-length tablecloth.
4. Use vertical space.
5. Use space under the bed. Drawers or plastic containers under a bed are hidden by a bedspread.
6. Add a second shelf above the closet rod.
7. Use the back of doors, for example, an ironing board can be attached to the back of a linen closet door.
8. Put turntables in dead-end corner cabinets to access items easily.
9. Use decorative baskets to store books, magazines and newspapers.
10. Leave out and use attractive table service pieces as decorative accessories.