FOOT SOLDIERS IN THE WAR ON CLUTTER\Organizationally challenged, take heart; help on the way.

Byline: Lori Moody Daily News Staff Writer

Dorena Knepper was born to be organized.

In her job as director of governmental and community relations at California State University, Northridge, she categorizes information on meetings and events, complaints from constituents, and pressing e-mail and telephone inquiries in color-coded rows of paper.

At home, she hired a firm to get more out of her limited closet space. She keeps track of magazine subscription renewals on a 10-by-12-inch card. She doesn't run out of coffee, or much else anymore, because as soon as she opens a can or box, she jots it down on her list of things to buy.

"I know I drive my sister nuts and people in the office nuts," said Knepper of Northridge. "They think I'm overorganized. On the other hand, it relieves me of having to worry about details. ... There are enough stresses in my life."

Anal retentive, or just smart?

Getting organized makes life a lot easier and gives one a sense of control, experts say.

Face it, we're a nation of the organizationally challenged. And there's a whole industry that has developed around us to prove it.

Catalog companies sell every kind of handy-dandy device to help one systematize, methodize and categorize. Stores like Hold Everything, which has a branch in Woodland Hills, have been built around the concept. Who doesn't have a planner or some other kind of toteable calendar? There are even classes in organizing.

And if you really need help, you can hire someone to organize you.

"We have found that there is an insatiable appetite for being better organized," said David Hochberg, a spokesman for the New Rochelle, N.Y.-based Lillian Vernon Corp.

How many of us have started down the righteous path of organization, only to have all good intentions of getting rid of the clutter in our closets, garages and kitchen cupboards fall prey to thoughts of "I'll use it someday."

"There is a significant amount of emotional pain in getting rid of your stuff," said Lila Gruzen, a Sherman Oaks psychotherapist who has taught classes at Everywoman's Village in Van Nuys on getting rid of clutter.

One reason is that living with all this stuff may fulfill a psychological need. If you grew up in a chaotic family, maybe in an alcoholic or argumentative situation, clutter is a perfect way to have a continued disruptive life, she said.

"If you have clutter everywhere, it makes you feel like you're always at home," said Gruzen, who last year put together a clutter kit, complete with a video titled "Letting Go of Clutter," a bumper sticker that states "One Drawer at a Time" and "Throw Me Out" stickers for $29.95.

Living with clutter also may be an avoidance measure.

"It's kind of like when people say, 'I'm going to take French lessons, get a resume together.' We find ways to avoid it," Gruzen said. "You keep saying to yourself, 'As soon as I clean it, I'll do it.' "

Or, clutter can be the result of simple burnout.

"Some of us are leaving a trail of clutter behind because we don't have time," Gruzen said. "People busy themselves into oblivion. ... One of the reasons people stay busy is for self-esteem - the busier I am, the more important I am."

Gruzen's husband, Brian Link, is highly organized in his job selling computer software, but at home, it's a different story.

He has been known to take dead batteries out of a camera and throw them in a drawer instead of the trash. His wife refers to his desk as a "black hole." He thinks he needs a bigger computer, while she believes he just needs to kill some files in the one he has.

"It's a challenge for me to stay organized all the time," Link said. "It's easy for me to let things get out of hand. ... The whole idea of doing it a little at a time is really helpful."

The couple, who have been married five years, have found their organizational skills tested with the addition of twins, Connor and Griffin, now 7 months old.

"The first thing I did was designate toy areas and adult-owned areas," Gruzen said. "The living room and den are for Mommy and Daddy and there aren't toys everywhere. If toys are in there, they get put away. Toy areas tend to get messier. Unfortunately, the computer room has turned into a toy area."

The bottom line is, don't bring home more stuff than you have room for. In the mantra of organizers, less is best.

"I see so many people who want to move into a new house because they don't have any room," said Tom Nevermann, of the Moving Doctor in Beverly Hills. "If they took the time to weed out and get rid of the stuff they don't need, they wouldn't need to move."

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Photo (1--Cover--Color) If you can't find the kids... IT'S TIME TO GET ORGANIZED (2) no caption (Child) David Crane/Daily News (3) Castaic resident Stella Macey, owner of Stella's Organizing Service in Santa Clarita, uses all forms of containers to help organize around the house. Shaun Dyer/Special to the Daily News