Day 29: Desk Drawers {31 Days of Easy Decluttering}

Hilda Rodgers
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Welcome back to 31 Days of Easy Decluttering! Welcome back to 31 Days of Easy Decluttering! If you’ve missed any of the previous posts, there are links to them all here.

Today’s Easy Decluttering Project

Today we’re talking about decluttering your desk drawers.  If you don’t have a desk, then you can declutter whatever drawer or cabinet that you keep your office supplies or files in.

Desk drawers are helpful for keeping clutter off desk surfaces, which helps the overall room feel less cluttered.  But without a good organizational system in place, desk drawers can become dumping grounds.  Then they become chaotic and you can’t find what you’re looking for, which wastes time (and money if you end up buying more of something that you already have).

Let’s stop the frustration, and declutter a desk drawer today!  I recommend choosing the one that frustrates you the most.

Easy Decluttering Steps

Throughout the series, you’ll follow these steps to complete each daily task.  {Don’t forget to take before and after pictures to share too!}

31 Days of Easy Decluttering - Steps 1. Determine the purpose of the space. 2. Empty everything out of the space. 3. Throw out garbage. 4. Put "relocate" items in a box. 5. Purge using daily tips (keeping purpose in mind) 6. Put everything you're keeping back (optional: organize as you are putting things back) From overwhelmed to organized.

Note: The main purpose of this series is to declutter so don’t get overwhelmed doing too much cleaning.  Once your house is less cluttered it will be easier to clean so you can always come back and do it later!

Also, if you have the time, you can organize the space while you’re doing this step, but don’t get overwhelmed with too much organizing this month.  We’re focused on decluttering!

Purging Tips for Desk Drawers

Follow the steps listed above, and use these tips as you purge (step #5) your desk drawer (depending on the contents and purpose of the drawer you choose some of these steps may not apply):

  • Throw out or recycle all garbage that you find (including pens that don’t work!)
  • Relocate items that don’t belong in your desk drawer (based on the purpose you determined in step #1 above)
  • Give away or donate excess office / school supplies (see note below)
  • Consult with your accountant or local guidelines for how long you should keep important documents (most fall into these timeframes: forever, 7 years, 1 year, and 1 month)
  • Recycle paperwork that contains information you can find online
  • Shred any unnecessary paperwork with your name, address, or account numbers on it 
  • If your desk drawers contain “junk drawer” items such as batteries, cords, keys, etc., check out the tips in Day 3: Junk Drawers for more decluttering tips

Got a little too excited about those back-to-school deals and bought enough pencils, erasers, glue sticks, notepads, and pocket folders to keep a small school going for a few years?  Consider donating the items you don’t need in the next few months.  There will be more sales in the future and you can restock your supplies then.  In the meantime, you’ll be better able to see and use what you have if you can get your drawers open!

Schools and after-school programs are great places to donate excess office supplies. Charities will often take them as well. You can also use them up in gifts or for shoeboxes for various charities.

My Desk Drawers

Check out Desk Drawers Part One and Desk Drawers Part Two for all the before and after pictures when I first organized our desks several years ago. I’ve made some minor changes since then (and we actually got rid of one of the desks), but these are generally how my desk drawers look.

From Overwhelmed to Organized. Inside of file drawer. Snowflake printed boxes and hanging file folder.
From Overwhelmed to Organized. Desk drawer with pens, post-it notes, scissors, paper clips and other assorted stationary supplies.
From Overwhelmed to Organized. Red hanging file folders labelled with home related tabs including: tax, credit cards, loyalty cards, loans, pension, insurance, and utilities.

Pictures and Links to Inspire You

  • I love the labels sections of these drawer dividers! The post has some great desk drawer organizing tips too.
Colourful and well organized desk drawer with stationary and some craft supplies.
BHG
  • This post has a list with TONS of things you can declutter from your desk drawers, along with tips to help you organize them.
Home office and organized drawers - a house full of sunshine blog.
A House Full of Sunshine

*Please share from the original source if you choose to share these pictures. If you want to share this post please use the image at the top.

If You’re On A Roll…

You can declutter more desk drawers.  Or you can organize the drawer you just decluttered to keep the clutter away in the future. You can check out my Day 27: Offices post from the 31 Days of Organizing Tips series. A bunch of tips and ideas for creating an office area if you don’t have a separate room available.

Good luck with today’s decluttering project!  I’d love to hear how you did, so please leave a comment and use the hashtag #31DaysEasyDecluttering when you share your pictures.

How many items did you declutter from your desk drawer today?  How do you organize your desk drawers to help keep them clutter free? 

If you need help decluttering, contact me for in-person organizing services in the Mississauga area, or virtual organizing services anywhere else.

Happy organizing decluttering!


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