Paper Clutter Control: Organizing Your Desk

Many people at home and work need help with clutter control. It is too easy to let the situation get away from you. By the time you notice that you need to clean up, your office is trashed. If you are not diligent, your clutter will get out of control. Paper and office supplies become strewn across your desk, and it seems you need a search party to find your tax papers. Your work area feels like it is beyond repair, and it will take hours to get everything where it goes. The best way to fix this mess, is to prevent it. Take action, and you will find that your life is much easier.

Step 1 – Check Your Needs

Before you buy things for your office, you must ask yourself, "Will I use it, or will it just live amongst the clutter?" People like to buy new technology and decorative items for their desks. If you believe that you will use the object you are adding to your office, get it. If you are just going to let it blend in with the rest of the trash, you should reconsider. You should limit your personal items to a couple of pictures and a plant. Simplicity adds to clutter control.

Step 2 – Dump it

This is where a paper shredder and trash can come in handy. Start clutter control and go through all of your papers and shred every useless piece of trash. Keep your good papers aside for now. Throw away every item you are not using. If it contributes to the mess, but not your work, it belongs in the trash.

Step 3 – Find a Place

Every document and item should have its own space. You need file-folders and a file cabinet. Books can often end up on your desk. Keep a shelf handy for your books. One of the best things for clutter control is to reserve a spot for every item you need. Your lamp belongs in one spot on your desk. Your laptop and everything else should have its own domain. Label each file-folder into categories that are relevant to your work. Place them in your file cabinet alphabetically. Put the files you are not using in a folder. Keep pens and pencils in your desk drawer or a pencil holder. Use paperclips for papers that need to be on your desk. Keep them together.

Step 4 – Be Diligent

It is easy to care about your work area one time and clean it up, but so many people backslide. It is part of human nature. Your work gets overwhelming, and you become too tired to care about clutter control. Many people believe they can put it off until next time. In most cases, this will become a habit. You put it off too many times, and the mess will be back with a vengeance. Keep your file cabinet, drawers, shelves, and waste bucket handy. Do not procrastinate. If you have a paper that needs to be thrown away, toss it. If something needs to be filed, do not toss it on the desk for later. Locate the correct file folder and send the papers home. A good rule of thumb for clutter control is never to handle a piece of paper more than once, if you are not currently using it.