How to Tidy Your Desk: A Step-by-Step Guide

When your desk is overflowing with papers, books and half-empty mugs of coffee it can be hard to concentrate. How can you get more organised when there’s no more space for new piles? Follow our clear, simple guide to learn lots of simple ways to tidy your desk without needing an entire afternoon or special supplies.

Define what you’ll keep and discard

Before you do anything else, you need to decide what to keep and what to discard. If you’ve been using your desk as a dumping ground, you’ll have lots of paper, clutter and odds and ends. Getting rid of all this clutter will help you tidy your desk quickly and effectively.

Begin by moving quickly through the papers and sort into three piles; file, shred and recycle. For now, save the filing and the shredding and we’ll finish those later. You can recycle items like old magazines, takeaway menus and other items you’ve picked up on your travels. Anything that you no longer need but which has personal information shoould be shredded.

For everything that’s not a paper, put it in the empty container, discarding any rubbish and junk as you go.

Sorting the papers

Now your desk is should already be looking more clear, and you’ll have space to work with. Next, we’re going to through the papers that we kept. Organise papers like bank statements, bills and receipts in a way that makes them easy to find again when you need them. You can do this in a number of ways, including using a paper tray, folders or a filing cabinet.

Tidy by function

Before you tidy your desk, it’s a good idea to think about what you use it for. Doing this can help you make an informed decision about where to place items when you tidy. If you already use a desk for work, you might want to separate your work items from your personal items. Look through the items you put in the container and group them by function, such as stationery, cables or art materials.

When you’re doing this, think about which items you use regularly and keep them close to hand. For items you use less frequently, they can be stored in desk drawers or cupboards and if you can’t remember the last time you used it, think about whether you could recycle or donate it to give yourself more space.

And finally…

Once your desk is tidy, it’s important to keep it that way. To do this, try to keep it clutter-free and organise it on a regular basis. You can do this by using decorative items like baskets and boxes to organise the items you decided to keep. Making your desk look beautiful and feel inspiring will help you stay motivated to keep it tidy.

Ready to tidy some other areas? Explore Joyful Minimalism further with our Step by Step Guides to tidying your dressing table, your bathroom cabinet, your children’s toy box, or your craft supplies. If you’re feeling overwhelmed and don’t know where to start, we have just the guide for you.