How to Organize Desk Clutter
If your desk looks like it should have yellow warning tape around it, it's time to organize your desk clutter. It is possible to have a clear work surface if you prepare yourself before you begin. Acknowledge the fact that you will have to get rid of something, possibly many things, that are just taking up valuable space. The rest of the job involves committing yourself to putting things away and keeping them there unless you're using them.
Other People Are Reading
Things You'll Need
- File folders
- Drawer dividers
- Plastic storage containers
- Plastic or hook-and-loop ties
- Storage cabinet, optional
- Extra file cabinet, optional
- Cutlery divider
- Screw hooks
- Shelves
Instructions
-
-
1
Throw away or give away everything you don't use. Ask yourself why each item on your desk is there. If it isn't helping you to accomplish something, it doesn't belong there.
-
2
File paperwork you're not using. If you don't have a filing system, create one. Make a folder for each document or pile of documents you can assign to its own category. For example, meeting notes and receipts for reimbursement forms should go into separate folders. Set up dividers in your file drawers to separate different types of files. Put expense-related folders in one section, folders containing correspondence in another section, and so on.
-
-
3
Put away everything you don't use on a daily basis. The less you use something, the farther away you can store it. For example, put a paper punch that you use once a month in a storage cabinet or closet. Put a calculator that you use once a week in a desk drawer.
-
4
Put items of the same type in a drawer. Keep notebooks, sticky notes, message pads and other note-taking items together. Put extra pens, pencils, markers and erasers together. If you don't have enough room to give each category of items its own drawer, use plastic storage containers to separate items in the same drawer.
-
5
Clean up cable clutter. If you must have extra components on your desk, such as a modem and printer, keep their cables behind the desk. Fasten them together with plastic ties or hook-and-loop ties.
-
6
Invest in extra storage if you need it. Buy a large cabinet for bulky office supplies or a second file cabinet for all of those new file folders you're now using. Purchase drawer dividers. If your desk has a shallow center drawer, put a cutlery divider in it and use it to hold your pens, pencils, markers and paper clips.
-
7
Store things in space you might have overlooked. Put screw hooks along the bottom of your bulletin board's wooden frame to hold cords for electronics. Hang shelves over your desk for items you use every day.
-
8
Resist the urge to pile things on your desk with the intention of putting them away later. File documents as soon as you're finished with them. Put the paper punch back in the closet.
-
1
References
- Photo Credit Ablestock.com/AbleStock.com/Getty Images
