Keeping your desk tidy not only helps keep you organised, it keeps your desk neighbour happy too! When everything has its own home it’ll be so much easier for you to find it, and save time so you’re not scrambling around for half an hour trying to find your favourite pen. It’s also a nightmare if you’ve printed an important document that you need for a meeting and 10 minutes before the meeting starts, it appears to have gone missing.

It’s also a lot easier to keep your desk clean when it’s clutter-free. Desk hygiene is important, especially because of COVID and during flu season. There are lots of places on a desk that germs can hide in, even more if it’s cluttered. Keep some antibacterial wipes to hand so you can quickly wipe down your desk throughout the day. It’ll also be worth having some hand sanitiser around too. If you want to have even more in-depth knowledge into desk hygiene, give this blog post a read!

Desk clutter does seem to amass quite quickly, and you don’t want to let it get on top of you. That’s a one-way ticket to losing important meeting notes. You want to make sure that you’re putting everything back where you found it, have a cleaning routine, and know when to throw things away. Don’t hang onto those notebooks if you no longer need them!

Assigning a space for everything is one of the easiest ways to maintain a clean and organised desk.

Using a simple desk organiser such as the Osco Wiremesh Desk Organiser with Drawer (£13.99), you can keep all of your pens, paperclips, and sticky notes in one place and avoid cluttering up your desk. Having small, loose items scattered around your desk can be really frustrating, but you never know when you might need one of these things so you can’t get rid of them. This is when you know it’s time to get a desk organiser.

For anyone who has multiple documents scattered around their desk, invest in the Bisley Cabinet (£59.99). This handy set of drawers will fit nicely on any desk and keep everything organised. You can even label the drawers so you know exactly what goes where. As we said earlier, everything needs a home. A set of drawers doesn’t function as efficiently if you’re mixing up documents and putting them in different drawers all the time. Have one drawer for meeting notes, another for spreadsheets, and one for presentation notes.

If you’re needing storage inspiration for your home office, we have just the blog post for you here.

Getting your desk clean and clear is extremely satisfying. Keeping it that way is where the struggle lies. 

Creating a strict cleaning routine is the best way to keep your desk clear and organised. Set a time each day that you will clean your desk. This could be at the start or end of your work day. We know that it’s hard to stay in the office for a few extra minutes when you’re desperate to go home. But when you arrive early the next day to a clean desk, you’ll be so glad you spent the time tidying the day before. Sticking to the same time to clean each day will help make it a habit. Once it becomes a habit, you won’t even have to think about cleaning your desk, you’ll just do it. 

Desks become messy places when people hold onto things they shouldn’t “just in case” they need them. There is no need to hang onto that broken pencil just in case you lose your favourite one. 

Create a system that you stick to, to make sure that you don’t leave clutter on your desk. A great system is “if I haven’t used this item in 2 weeks, I’ll throw it away”. This system can of course be adapted for specific items. You don’t want to throw away the notes to your most recent meeting. However, you probably don’t need to hang onto those meeting notes from 2 years ago, so they can go in the bin. 

Learning when to let things go will ensure you don’t have any desk clutter getting in the way while you’re working.

Having a clean and tidy desk will make you feel more positive and productive in the office, and will make sure your desk neighbour doesn’t get annoyed! Remember to give everything a home, maintain a cleaning routine, and don’t hoard items you don’t need. 

All of our desk organisers can be found on our website, make sure you grab one for your office desk!

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