Organization, Week by Week: Week 1

I like to think that I can offer people helpful advice on how to organize their life.

Hence, my first series of posts – Organization, Week by Week!

Introducing Week 1 – the desk.

This is my desk. In a relative state of disarray. It's usually a lot neater than this, but you can see my to do list on the right and my assortment of containers and baskets that organize my overload of school supplies and organizational crap. I have organizational tools to organize my organizational tools.

(When I took this, I was playing a fun game of moving all the pictures on my wall around and putting a few more holes in the wall.)

I am a firm believer that you can never have enough paperclips or sticky notes.

Also, those green buckets I have are fabulous. They're 3 for a dollar at Dollar Tree, which I'm not usually a big frequenter of, and I love them for pretty much all of my desk organizing needs. I'll probably get some more next time I have an opportunity to horde away in my closet. I'm a habitual storage container horder.

That little green cup is a piece of FiestaWare from my mom's china cabinet! My mom was a collector of that brand while I was growing up, and when we moved to our new house in North Carolina she got rid of a lot of it. These made the cut, but we never actually used them for drinks – Mom has used them for pencil cups since I can remember, and I have four of them myself that I store small sticky tabs, glue sticks, and other crafting supplies in!

Here's my ever wonderful calendar!

I feel the need to know what I have to do and to be reminded of it constantly

Also, see those cute metal buckets! They have chalk labels on the front, and they are simply the cutest darn things I've ever seen. A dollar a piece at Target!

Here's my very organized desk drawers! More baskets.

On my side of the room, everything has a place. Rarely is something not in its place, but when it is, it doesn't usually stay long. Especially if my stress level is at its current level of "Minor Tears" on a scale of "1 to Hair Pulling".

Now, the point of this post:

September is a time for going back to school, and that means having an organized desk!

First thing's first. Take everything out of your drawers or shelves or what-have-you.

Look at it. Sort through it.

File random papers in a crate or your filing cabinet.

Separate pens and pencils, throw away the pens that don't work and pencils that are out of lead or too small to be useful. If you don't ever write with it, get rid of it. 

Group things together. Arts & crafts, office supplies, etc. Keep your arts and crafts separate from your office supplies if you have space in your desk. If you don't, you'll constantly be stumbling upon glue instead of glitter and ribbon instead of staples. Different drawers for different jobs. You'll get frustrated very quickly.

Use containers or jars. Like I said, I use bins from Dollar Tree that I get for pretty cheap and galvanized metal buckets from Target's dollar section!

Use duct tape or some sort of adhesive. Keep your containers/drawer organizers/buckets/baskets/what have you where you want them, and prevent sliding when drawers are opened/closed. 

Don't be afraid to steal someone else's methods. I get a lot of cute organizational tips from Sew Many Ways. She uses the most mundane things to organize a lot of stuff, from fabric to crafting stuff to office supplies! Some methods I use are my own, some are from blogs like Sew Many Ways, and some are passed down from my mom - like using little green FiestaWare glasses to store small things on a desk or in a drawer!

Now, get rid of what doesn't belong!

Things that don't belong in/on your desk:

• Trash!
• anything that doesn't work or is dried up, or anything you don't like to use
• anything that doesn't get used - either come up for a use for it or throw it out!
• anything you keep just because it's cute - the place for pens topped with stars is not in your desk, unless you use those pens
• Tools, flashlights, any sort of hardware that you can't use to complete homework or do business

Things that do belong in/on your desk:

• Plenty of supplies - sticky notes, pens, pencils, paper, folders, notepads, whatever you like! Load them up! Some people like to keep their overflow of supplies in a big plastic bin or basket in a closet or under the desk – I am one of those freaks. You don't have to be, though. 
• Baskets, buckets, bins, and jars
• Projects you are working on – not projects you hope to work on at some point or projects you started and never finished – projects you are currently working on
• Pictures of family, friends, pets, beautiful places, etc. 
• Anything to comfort but not distract you when you're doing work – a shell from your trip to the beach or a figurine from your grandma, not anything obnoxious

A clutter-free desk makes for a happy desk-user! Happy organizing!

Love,

The Sticky Note Addict