Desk Organization 101: How to Keep Your Desk Organized Even when Your Not

No matter how many times a day I clean off my desk it always seems to be a mess. It is a workspace for me and a play station for my kids. The whole family sits at the desk with the computer at least once a day. It’s a landing zone for some many things from paper work, scribbling done things I need to remember and of course school work and coupons. It’s a disaster area! I had to find ways to minimize the stuff and find some sort of order to the mess. Here are the things I came up with to help my desk stay organized even when I’m not.

Mount a bulletin board on the wall above your desk. My bulletin board is such a lifesaver for all the scattered papers that seem to go from one end of my desk to the other. If it’s something I must keep then on to the board it goes. I also keep a box of pushpins in my desk draw so they are always handy for hanging things on the board. Once a week I take five minutes to clean off the board of things I no longer need so the board doesn’t become over run by out dated items.

Under the bulletin board mount a small shelf to the wall. This shelf should be large enough to hold things you use all the time such as scotch tape, stapler and other small items you use on a daily basis. This will keep these items off the desk but still within arms reach for easy accessibility.

Next to the bulletin board place a calendar. This will help you to be able to write down important dates and appointments you need to remember. I also have an ink pen hanging from a shoelace pinned to the wall so I have something to write with on my calendar.

On my desk I have a large plastic cup for catching all my ink pens, pencils and markers. That way I always know where they are and they are not rolling around on my desk or worse yet on the floor and stepped on.

I also have a wire mesh basket that I use for holding envelopes that need to go to the mail box, stamps for sending items in the mail, address labels, my check book and of course bills that need to be paid or have been paid already. This basket keeps all my items in one place. The basket doesn’t have to be a wire mess but I picked this one up at the dollar store and it works wonderfully.

Is my desk always organized? Sadly, no but with these items in place I have at least begun to fight the battle with the mess and things are much more easily accessible. These items also make for a much easier clean up when things to do go a bit crazy and get out of hand.