An Organized Desk Enables Efficient Work

Most people would admit they want an organized desk. If you're about to start organizing your desk, I hope you've first cleared out all the clutter. If you haven't, then you should first read Creative Ideas for Organizing Your Desk. Do that now and then come back here.

If you've done your de-cluttering, you're now ready to put back the stuff you actually need at your desk, in your desk. But if you just put it back in the drawers or on the surface in neat little piles, you'll soon be back where you started. Piles are not an efficient way of storing anything, particularly paperwork and files. By the way, if you want to know about what I consider the best filing system ever, read this article.

To maintain an organized desk, you'll need the right containers. Here are some ideas.

First, the drawers. OK a drawer is a container in itself, but it's a lot of space and the stuff you put in it has to be kept in place. Every time you open and close a drawer, things can shift. The shallow drawer, usually the top one, is designed to hold pens, pencils, paper clips, tape and the myriad other small items you use at your desk. If you're lucky and your drawer dimensions are right, you can buy a drawer organizer ready made. You can find them not only in office supply stores, but also in kitchen places and even dollar stores.

If you can't find one to fit, then buy individual smaller containers to fit. You can even use small cardboard boxes that came with other items in them, such as soap boxes, those little boxes that come from jewelery stores and whatever else you have. You need them to be open, so you won't need the lid. In fact, you might also be able to use the lid as a separate container. Gather as many of these as you can find and experiment with placing them in the drawer. You want to make the most of the space by filling it up with little containers. Remember to get some that are long and can hold pencils, etc. When you find the best arrangement, tape them together using invisible tape so that they don't move around. Now take the whole arrangement out of the drawer and spray paint it in an attractive color that will please your eye when you open the drawer.

Deeper desk drawers often have a lot of wasted space. You place things side by side because you don't want to pile them up, so there might be several inches above each one that's not being used. Solution? Turn them on their sides. For this you'll want one or more of those small plastic stands with dividers like the one in the picture. They're designed to put on surfaces, but I've found them to be very useful in making the most of the space inside desk drawers. When small notebooks and other flat items are stood on end like this, you can put many more of them in the drawer and they are much easier to find.

If you desk also has a deep drawer for hanging files --- use it for hanging files! These should be used for stuff you use on a regular basis and you want close to your desk for easy access. If you use The Paper Tiger (Organizing an Office Filing System), you'll put your Action files in here. Most deep desk drawers have a frame in place for this purpose, but if yours doesn't you'll need to buy one at the office supply store. Measure the drawer before you buy to make sure it fits, but they are a pretty standard size.

If your desk faces a wall, put some shelves above it within easy reach. Here you can put computer manuals and other reference books you use all the time, as well as a clock, your CDs and other small items. I also have a couple of photographs and my small Chinese lucky tree on here. It's nice to have a few personal mementoes even if your desk is in an office with other people --- just don't overdo it.

Letter trays are useful, particularly stacking ones. You can use these for incoming and outgoing mail, or different types of stationary.

If you receive magazines and don't always have a chance to read them right away (who doesn't?), then a plastic wall container designed for this purpose is a great idea. I like one that's not too big, because that encourages me not to hold on to old magazines that should be consigned to the trash!

Containers of all kinds are the solution to the clutter problem in every room of the house, and they're also an invaluable tool in organizing your desk.