Happy New Year!! I know it’s been a little quiet around here, but I kind of crashed after the holidays and needed a few days to just chill out. The break was good though, and after a couple of days of doing nothing, I was ready to start back on my organization kick! Behind the scenes, I have been working hard on the 31 Day Household Detox and have already got a good trunk load of stuff to take down to Goodwill. It always feels so good to get some order back in the house!
In honor of the new year, today’s 10 Minute Decorating Blog Hop is devoted to all things organizing and we will all be sharing some easy, organization projects to help get 2016 off to a fresh start! You can find all of the links at the end of the post, but first, let’s start off with some simple ideas for organizing your desk space!
My main blogging space is actually this small desk in our master bedroom. Since I hate having a messy bedroom, this desk area really needs to be organized to prevent it from taking over the room.
If you are just starting to organize your desk space, I highly recommend pulling out everything and getting rid of those items that you don’t really need or use first. The less items that you have, the easier it will be to organize AND maintain! As you can see I love my paper products, but I promise that I actually use everything!
A planner for me is a MUST, and I always look forward to getting new one at the start of each year. I fell in love with this one from Rifle Paper that I found at Chapters – it’s so pretty and it fit in perfectly with the pink and turquoise color scheme that I had going. There is nothing like writing in a fresh planner at the beginning of the year and looking at all of those unfilled dates!
I keep all of my basic paperwork in this desk organizer from Martha Stewart. {This one has sadly been discontinued, but I have seen similar ones at The Container Store and Target}. It pretty much has everything that I need – some little slots to hold my planner and notebooks {and my favorite coloring book!}, a section for files, and a drawer to hide away some of the messier items. It also holds my stapler and paper clips that I keep in a simple egg cup. File folders are also a must for me to keep all of my paperwork organized and I love that they are easily portable in case I need to take them to other areas of the house to work or to take more important papers down to our filing area in the basement office. Be sure to go through your file folders on a regular basis to clear them out, as the unneeded papers can really start to add up!
The drawers in the desk are quite long and really narrow so I try not to keep too much stuff in them {keeping your drawers less than 80% full at all times is a great rule to follow to help you keep things organized!}. The white containers are actually stackable, so there is another set underneath them that holds all of the computer, phone, and camera cables. The pencil case holds my colored pens and washi tape that I use in my planner.
I am kind of a notebook addict so the other drawer is for my notebooks and a few little personal supplies that I like to have close by.
Since there is not a lot of storage in the desk itself, I purchased this rolling cart from Ikea to hold additional items – some favorite books and magazines, extra office supplies, our budgeting binder, and of course, my little notebook that I use every day!
There is nothing uglier than a bunch of cords hanging down, so I rigged up this cord controller on the back of the desk. I stuck two Command hooks to the back of the desk to hold the excess cords and then put some adhesive velcro between the hooks to hold the computer battery. We often take my computer to the bed to watch movies so it is still easy to pop on and off.
I love little desk calendars and found this one from Rifle Paper when we were in San Francisco in the summer. I was so happy to finally be able to put it up!
If you are still on the look out for a desk calendar, you can always download my free 2016 calendar HERE. We have ours in our kitchen command center. 🙂
I always love adding some color to my planner and have also really been enjoying coloring again {have you tried any of the adult coloring books?}, so of course, I needed some new pencil crayons! I just have them stored in a simple mason jar so they are easy to move around and add some color to my space!
I always find that an organized desk helps me stay on task and focused on my work so much better. Hopefully these tips will work for you too!
For more simple organization ideas, just click on any of the images in the collage below to view the post!
Happy Organizing!
Love your desk Jennifer, it’s so pretty and functional!
Thanks Susan!
Love your tips – especially the cable management idea!!
Great tips Jenn! It all looks so pretty! And I’m totally a notebook addict too!
Mmmm, pretty notebooks! They are my downfall. Along with planners and patterned paper and…okay, I’m a stationery addict xD I too have a small desk and am constantly trying to find ways to get it all under control – but sadly my desk is lacking drawers! I have one of those Sterilite three drawer “cart” things next to my desk, but I’m finding that since they are so big, everything gets to be quite messy! I think I will be referencing this post soon to do a major overhaul – thanks for sharing! 😀
Have you thought of using the vertical space (wall space) around or above your desk for storage? Some floating shelves or rack systems can do the trick. Check out IKEA for how to use their spice racks – you will often see them used for children’s rooms for holding books, but there is no reason the same idea could not be used to hold your calendars, boxes of stationary, or notebooks. I just put in “Ikea hacks.”
I do actually have those spice racks down in my craft room and I love them! Since this desk is in our bedroom though, I wanted to keep the “office gear” to as small a space as possible so the storage that I have now is enough. I find that the more storage space I have, the more it fills up! 🙂
Jenn, I need you to come to my home and organize my desk. Yours is so pretty! No wonder you can crank out all those amazing posts! Such great tips! Getting rid of unsightly cords is the best!
I bet a clean desk would help my productivity. Thanks for the tips!
Yes, I find I work so much better when things are organized! 🙂
These are all such great tips, thanks for sharing!
I’m amazed how peaceful and calming your desk look! Love the colours. It’s always a mess at my desk and I’ll definitely try some of your tricks.
Thanks! I work so much better that way! 🙂
Great way the maximize a small space!
Found you on Show and Tell. We have a store called DIASO and we bought most of our organization stuff from them since they are $1.50 store. I can tell you we have become so much better at finding things since doing just that Getting Organized!
Great tip for me ?… Empty and get rid of what I don’t need. you should see my desks,yilkes! I love notebooks too
I could get a lot accomplished in such an organized and beautiful space. Thanks for sharing on the #HomeMattersParty – I hope you will join us, next week.
This is a beautiful desk, Jenn. I especially love that rolling car you purchased from Ikea. What a great way to chorale all your things and neatly store it in one place. I have a small desk too, and it’s been a mess lately. Your post is motivating me to do a total overhaul today. Thanks for the inspiration! So glad I found you on Ladies Collecting link up today!
Thanks for dropping by! Good luck with your desk! 🙂
Great ideas! I love your organizing tips – I might be getting a bit addicted! Thanks for bringing this by Throwback Thursday! We hope to see you next week, and be sure to follow our Pinterest!
Mollie
If you have to be addicted to something, it might as well be organizing! 🙂 Thanks for hosting!
I love your desk! It is so well organized and inviting. If I could ever get my space this organized it might keep me from procrastinating. Thanks for sharing!
Love this post and love your desk! Love the way you’ve use all the storage space and have organized everything in so simple way. I just moved to my new place last week and my current task is creating the perfect storage around my desk and of course organizing it. Your post gave me some good ideas and I’ll have it on mind when I start organizing. Thanks for sharing! Greets, Michelle from Self Storage Kingston.
Thanks Michelle! Enjoy your new place!
Love your space! Where the blue file folders from?
They are from the Martha Stewart line at Staples. I purchased them a few years ago, so I am not sure if they are still available.
This was fantastic!!! I love your desk. These tips were so good and I enjoyed reading it. Well who can stop buying stationary!? Lol! Micheals takes all my money away from me:p or even the dollar stores at times. Thanks for posting this!
Bess
Thanks! I am a total paper junkie! I love a good notebook. 😉
Loving this desk! Where can I find it?
It’s from Ikea but I believe that it has been discontinued. 🙁 Maybe Craigslist? I believe it was from the Hemmes line – I think it was actually sold as a vanity but works great as a little desk.
Where is your planner from? I love the floral design!
It’s from Rifle Paper. They have the most beautiful paper and stationary products!
I’m in love with your desk organizer! I’ve looked at Target and The Container Store, and can find nothing even close. I know you wrote that yours is from Martha Stewart Living, but I can’t find one at either of the other places either. Also looked at Ballard Design. Has anyone else found a source for something similar? Thanks, Jen! Love your blog!!
I believe that they’re sold exclusively at Staples. I think they were discontinued for a while but looks like they are back in stock!
http://www.staples.com/Martha-Stewart-Desktop-Organization/cat_BI1263377?icid=MARTHA:NAV:DESKORG
I am sooo in love with your entire desk setup. I am in the process of adding a work space to our bedroom. This has really given me so much inspiration. Thank you!
So glad that it was helpful for you! This set up has worked really well for me and is easy to maintain.
I love your desk organization! Do you have any suggestions about where to keep a printer? That is a space consuming item which is currently is taking up a lot of space on my desk (which I also keep in my master bedroom!).
so pretty! where did get the white containers you put in the drawers?
They were from the Martha Stewart line from Staples. A lot of the products were discontinued (sadly!), but I’m not sure if this was one of them or not. I really like the stackability and they’re pretty durable too.
So, I’ve seen a few of your blog posts on Pinterest, and your turquoise/aqua pens are in a lot of the pictures. I have to know what brand they are! They’re super cute, and I have a slight pen obsession.
lol! I share your obsession! They’re Poppin pens – they have a whole line of fun office supplies. 🙂
Can you tell me the name of the ikea rolling cart? Can’t seem to find it and I’m in LoVe!!!
Hi June! It’s called the Risatorp. I think it was in the kitchen section. 🙂