Organizing your desk drawers will help keep you productive. A drawer is a container in itself of course, but it’s not usually the most effectively managed space. First, drawers are often quite deep, while the items you put in them are not, so all that space on top of the items is wasted.
Another problem is that drawers are opened and closed all the time, making it likely that things will shift.
The answer to this problem is: containers. Containers come in all shapes and sizes, so it’s not hard to find exactly what fits your needs to organize your desk drawers.
The top draw a desk is usually shallow and designed to hold pens, pencils, paper clips, etc. Many desks have built-in trays to accommodate this, but not all. If yours doesn’t, you need to put one in. Measure the inside dimensions of the drawer and then check out your local office supply store for one that fits. If you have an odd sized desk, which sometimes happens, and you can’t find one made for this purpose, try looking in kitchen stores for cutlery drawer organizers. The compartments are about the same size and they work well for this purpose.
I’ve even used a collection of small cardboard boxes taped together and spray painted. Worked well and looked nice too!
The bottom drawer is usually a deep file drawer, and this is the place to keep files on the projects you work on all the time. Buy a metal frame designed for the purpose and a set of hanging folders.
The middle drawer is usually the one with the problem, because it’s too deep for many of the things you’ll want to put in it, so this is the one with the most wasted space.
Here’s a solution that takes care of both the wasted space and the shifting problem. Find one of those metal desk stand organizers that look like toasters. They come in various heights, so you’ll easily find one that fits your drawer. Then take items like notepads, Post-it notes, diaries, address books that you might otherwise have stacked in the drawer and stand them up in the dividers. While stacks make it hard to find what you want and get it out without disturbing everything else, standing them on their sides makes it easy and convenient.
If your desk stands against a wall, you can expand its storage space by placing some shelves on the wall above the desk. Put things on these that you don’t want taking up space on your desktop but you want to put your hand on them easily when you do need them. Magazine boxes, CDs and DVDs come to mind.
Containers are a major part of the solution to clutter in all areas of your house, and none more so than in organizing your desk drawers.