Tired of a messy workspace? Organize your office and boost productivity with these simple yet effective tips to declutter your desk, manage cables, and create functional storage solutions.
Organize Your Desk
The first place to start when organizing your office is your desk.
The trick is to have nothing on the desk other than your computer because clutter attracts clutter.
Even though this can feel impossible, if paper organizers and pen organizers are present, the brain is going to signal that it’s acceptable to keep adding to the pile.
Instead, focus on the drawers.
Drawer Dividers
Take everything out and acquire some really amazing drawer dividers.
The ones from The Container Store have so many different sizes that a really custom look can be achieved.
It can fit the drawer exactly so it doesn’t slide around and absolutely everything has a home.
Prioritize Items
Make sure you’re only storing things in your drawer that are used at least once or twice a week, if not every single day.
A home for all the other stuff can be found somewhere else.
This is the secret to having a really tidy organized desk.
Storage Solutions
If there is a desk that doesn’t have storage, or if you’re a visual organizer, you want to have a storage unit that’s accessible without getting out of your chair for all of the stuff that would normally pile on the desk.
You still want a clear desk, so opt for a little shelf or a cabinet or a stand where you can put something like this.
A stacking system is perfect because you can see what is there and take the trays off to get to what is needed easily, then put them back, so it’s not clutter; it’s not taking up workspace.
If you don’t have storage or you’re visual, you need a system like this.
The Shi collection also has a matching pen organizer. Again, keep it off the desk, though; put it right beside your desk so you can still grab what you need, but you’re not having clutter.
Cord Management
All the cords at your desk can also add to the clutter, which again, clutter attracts clutter.
Go ahead and get a cord wrapper, put all the different cables and cords in it, and it will instantly make your entire office look tidier, which means you’re more likely to keep it that way.
Bigo Boxes
Offices come with a ton of stuff, so a lot of storage is needed, and bigo boxes are especially loved for hidden organizers because they come in so many different sizes.
Everything that is needed can be stored, but it gives that appearance of Simplicity. It doesn’t look like clutter; everything’s hidden away.
Shelves can be built, framed out, and painted white so that boxes can be added to it.
When professional organizers get that look that looks like a magazine or Pinterest when they’re organizing a space, they get their containers and put them empty on their shelving, staging it how they like it to look.
Don’t be afraid to get different colors; storage can be part of the decor, so you can use different colored bins and put it the way it is desired.
Then, take a picture, then move all of the bins to the floor or somewhere else and organize into the bins.
You want to organize for your space, not your stuff; that is the secret to having a beautifully organized shelf or closet that looks like a professional organized it, but it’s still functional.
But if that feels like a lot of work, go for a bigger bigo box and have broader categories like cords and cables and just toss everything in.
This isn’t about perfection; it’s about working with your natural style to create a system that will stay tidy.
It is definitely recommended labeling the bigo boxes using a label maker so that at a glance, one can see where everything is. You know what you have, but it doesn’t feel like a kindergarten classroom.
Visual Organization
Here’s the thing about being a visual organizer: you do need to see all your stuff, but if we were just to stack everything on these shelves, not in containers, it would just look kind of messy.
There’s no way of making boxes of labels look aesthetically pleasing, so your brain is going to always feel like it’s a mess.
Using a container that is see-through enough that you can see what’s inside but also, you know, pretty or at least visually appealing, is going to eliminate that feeling of mess.
Look for containers that allow you to see inside but also give enough of a visual break that it doesn’t feel like messy clutter.
Being visual, you still have smaller things that you want to contain, so wire bins are great.
You can see what’s inside, but smaller containers can be added inside to micro organize, and it does look contained; it looks neat, but it’s completely visual still, so you’re not feeling like it looks like mess and clutter.
Frosted bins are also super perfect for visual organizers; get the big ones if you are a butterfly, or smaller ones if you are more detail oriented, but because they’re frosted, you can still see what’s inside, but again, it doesn’t feel like messy clutter.
Paper Management
Paper causes so much clutter in an office, piles of paper, which is why it is totally recommended ditching the ugly filing cabinets and going with bigo boxes.
All of your long-term paper can be stored, having one for maybe home, one for finance, one for personal; they’re beautiful, but they give you a ton of storage.
But the biggest paper clutter issue isn’t the stuff we want to store and file; it’s the stuff we have to deal with, the things coming in, which is why we need a command center.
Even though you are not visual, having a command center on the wall is beneficial. Magazine racks right up on the wall, maybe a bulletin board, and drop the papers you have to deal with in here.
It’s visual, so it’s like that reminder you have to deal with it, but it’s not a pile on your desk.
Because everything is magnetized, you can move it around; you don’t have to be stuck with the same system; you can adapt it at any time.
Every home needs a command center, and probably more than one Command Center.
Think about the paper clutter and how a command center can be created to catch it and a system from The Container Store should definitely be considered.
Conclusion
If your office feels kind of messy and cluttered, you are not the problem; you’re just not using the right system. By implementing these organization ideas, a productive, functional workspace can be achieved.
