5 Ways To Keep Your Desk Neat And Organized

Keeping a desk clean and organized can be a daunting task. It’s especially frustrating to have a cluttered desk the day the cleaning company comes as your desk is likely to get little attention as most cleaning companies tell their employees not to move anything on a person’s desktop. Suddenly your desk is not only filled with papers, pens, and other clutter, it is also dusty and dirty. 

Keeping your desk neat and organized (and clean) doesn't have to be painful. With a few simple adjustments you can have the desk you want!

Prioritize with a paper tray.

Use a paper tray or shelf to organize important papers. The top tray should be for those papers and documents that need immediate attention. The second tray should include things that are waiting on a reply followed by a tray for papers that need to be filed.

Sweat the small stuff….once.

Pens, pencils, paper clips, highlighters and more need a home. Buy a tray intended for the top drawer of your desk or buy one of the many accessories found at office supply stores to organize these items.

Keep things you use frequently close at hand. 

Choose the essentials whether it be a pen, stapler, notepad, etc… and find a permanent place for it that’s easy to access. Again you might use a tray inside a drawer of your desk or find a place on top. When you use the item, return it to its rightful spot.

Conduct mini-cleaning sessions 

Depending on your desk, keep a supply of wet wipes for wood or metal at your desk and wipe it down from time to time. Use a little mini-vac designed to clean your keyboard or use one of the sprays.

Limit your personal additions 

Everyone loves to have a little bit of home on their desk whether it’s a family photo, plant, candle or other trinket. Limit your personal touches to one or two items depending on the size of your desk. Don’t get carried away bringing a lot of home to the office and keep additional clutter to a minimum.

These few steps toward keeping your desk in order will help increase productivity.