Friday, December 3, 2010

Help for the Unorganized Desk


Can you see the top of your desk either at home or at work? Or does it look like an office supply store threw up on your desk (yes, I know that is a gross analogy)...

I love organizing my desk. I mean love it. I have stacking trays. I have containers for supplies. I have a box of tissues. OK, that one doesn't have to do with organization, but it's a handy thing to keep on your desk.

Of all my organization tools for my desk, my absolute favorites are my two bins. They are deep paper trays that do not stack and are kept side by side. One is my "To File" for papers and things to be put away. The other is my "To Do" things. Don't have a large enough desk? Get the stacking kind....just make sure they are deep.

My "To Do" Tray:
If I get a sweet card from a friend that I want to keep, but it doesn't belong on or in my desk and don't have the time to put it away then and there...it goes in the "To File" pile. When my "To File" tray gets full, I take 15 minutes and go around the house and file everything in it. I put my kid's art where it belongs. I put that sweet card in my memory bin, located in the garage. I put the button off my jacket in my sewing items. I put the screwdriver back in the garage. You get the point.


My "To File" Tray:
Say I get an invitation in the mail for a slammin' event that I want to go to. I either IMMEDIATELY write it and all the details in my calendar (and throw the invitation away) or I put it in my "To Do" tray. When that tray gets full (or if I have 30 mins. of free time) I start going through the tray and get stuff done. I mail the letter that's sitting in there. I RSVP to a Christmas party. I put batteries in my child's toy so it can annoy everyone again. I write the birthday card that needs to get mailed next week. Again, you get the point.

TIP: Have a system for your time sensitive items. I have a 3-Ring binder of important information that stays on my desk. It includes my calendar (yes, I'm still in the dark ages and don't have an iPhone, Droid, or online calendar). It has pockets in the front where I put all my time sensitive things. Nothin' worse than going through your "To Do" tray and finding things that are now too late to do.

3 comments:

  1. some nice ideas. thanks

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  2. I love the idea of putting things in trays and boxes. I have stacks of paper in piles on my desk and the one I hate the most is the receipts. It's like a pile of trash but I need something to store it in. Then I found these boxes that come in different sizes, nest together, and make it easy to store all of my stacks: http://www.blegalbloss.com/storage-boxes_file-boxes_secure-boxes.php

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