How to Clean Up Your Desk

If you can't see the top of your desk because of the massive amounts of paperwork, mail, file folders and general clutter, you are not alone. A messy desk is just part of the territory when you have an office job. During the course of the work day, things pile up. If the piles aren't tended to at the end of the day, they grow bigger the next day. By the end of the week a small mountain occupies the space formerly know as your desk.

While the thought of using your lunch hour to clean up your desk is not appealing, try to imagine how you will benefit from your cleaning. A clean desk makes for a more productive and less stressful work environment, so why not skip lunch and get cleaning?

Instructions

1. Create places for everything cluttering your desk before you attempt to clean up your desk.

2. Clean out your file cabinet so that it is once again usable. When the file cabinet is a mess, it is easier for you to stack files on your desk than to stuff them into a bursting file cabinet. Get your files under control so that it is quick and easy for you to place something inside. You'll be motivated to take the extra step to place a file in the cabinet when you know that doing so will not be difficult.

3. Eliminate the clutter from mail that piles up on your desk. Attach magnetic mail trays (available at office supply stores, or check with your office manager) to the front of your desk or to the side of your filing cabinet. Make the trays easy to access so you will be likely to use them. Conquering the mail pile will make a noticeable difference in the level of messiness on your desk.

4. Designate an area of your desk to house the materials you will need on a regular basis. hese will vary according to the line of work you are in. Just be sure that you have allotted a section of the desk to them so that you will be able to locate and use them whenever you need them. You'll be much more efficient when you don't have to dig through everything in the office just to get your hands on a scientific calculator or a thesaurus!

5. Keep a wire basket on a nearby shelf to hold all of the paperwork that you don't have time to place into an appropriate place. Some of the things that come across your desk will not have a home in your organizational system. It is important to recognize this and give these miscellaneous items a landing spot that you can keep neat and orderly.

6. Clean up your desk once you have created storage areas to hold everything. Work through the entire desktop until everything is in its designated spot. Once you've cleaned up your desk, make a commitment to regularly cleaning it up and you won't have to skip lunch again just to take care of your desk.

Tips & Warnings

• Once you've finished cleaning up, wipe the desk down with a multi-purpose cleaner to make it extra clean.