Three Tricks to Keep Your Desk Clean This Year

Your office can easily slip from a well-oiled machine to a disaster zone throughout the day, but you know what they say about cluttered desks. If you’re resolved to get more accomplished this year, it starts with an orderly desk. “You’re at work to make money, you’re at work to be productive, and if you’re unorganized, those things don’t go hand in hand,” says professional organizer Betsy Miller, who owns the 2B Organized franchise. Miller offers her advice for your most organized desk yet.

Channel Your Inner Marie Kondo
Shopping for stylish office supplies sounds like more fun than dealing with stacks of documents or scattered paper clips and gum wrappers, yet purging all the stuff you don’t need should be the first step. “There is no system until you’re purged,” Miller says.

Embrace Open Space
Next, organize to keep your desktop as clear as possible. Go cordless, Miller suggests, and get a file cabinet if you don’t have a desk with good supply drawers. Put pencils, staplers and tape in drawers, too. For this, Miller prefers clear dividers for these, though she also uses muffin tins. “Those are $1 at the dollar store, and you probably have some at home you could use,” she says. And don’t overlook wall space—pocket organizers and hanging photos also help eliminate desk clutter.   

Make It a Habit
Every day, dedicate a short period of time to staying organized. “Take that one minute,” Miller says. “If you take one minute rather than waiting, you’re going to add hours to your day.”