Desks have the tendency to become extremely cluttered. They fill up with paperwork, mail, correspondences, books, pencils, pens, etc. It is not only the desks at work that become messy but also the desks at home. Have you looked at your desk lately? Some of the most important pieces of paper reside on that very desk. It is about time you organized your life and so, you can’t ignore the importance of office cleaning. Here are 7 tricks to organizing your desk:
Make yourself a list and plan your attack
As the old adage (more or less) states, planning well most likely leads to success. Write down everything you know you need to keep on your desk; pens, stationery, computer (!) and anything else practical.
Move Bulky Things
The next thing to do is move anything bulky off your desk; such as textbooks, files and folders and so on. Place these on the floor out of the way. Having done this, you will need to sort through any and all paperwork.
Are business cards threatening to overtake your desk?
Are they spilling out of drawers, boxes, folders just waiting for you to find the time to deal with them? There are many ways to organize your business cards-books with plastic pages that have slots for cards, Rolodex-type card organizers, you can even scan business cards! It’s really up to you and what will be easiest for you. The important thing is to gather them and do something with them!
Desk Clutter
Clutter is the number one enemy of a desk. It seems like anything that has no designated home gets placed here. At least once a week, clear your clutter. The more aware you are of adding to the clutter, the less you will do it. For example, when you open your mail, make sure you do it beside a wastepaper basket. This way you can throw out all the unwanted junk mail without having to make a pile that you will toss later.
Desk Space Planning
Sometimes, the reason desks become messy is because they are planned poorly. For instance, if you constantly need an address book, but its home is in the back of a bottom drawer, you will probably keep it out all the time. Instead, make sure the items you will use constantly have a home that is easy to reach and retrieve at a moment’s notice. This will make it much easier for you to de-clutter and clean when the time comes.
Move Desk Items to Bulletin Board
If you need to rid your desk of loose pieces of important papers, install a bulletin board nearby. However, like your desk, bulletin boards can become cluttered. Make sure you read your messages each day and clear the outdated paper from the postings.
Another element of desk clutter is email clutter. How many emails do you have in your inbox that have already been read and addressed? One of the best ways to organize emails is to create email folders for important messages you will need from time to time. Then, each week, clean these folders, including your inbox. Respond to those that you have not already responded to and delete the old.
Desks can say a lot about a person. They can tell your significant other, boss, friends, how organized you are mentally and emotionally. The more organized your desk, the more relaxed you will be.
