Day 2: Desk from Disaster to Decadent

...ok so maybe not decadent, but definitely a billion times better!

I am actually really embarrassed by this, but for the sake of the challenge.. Here is the before.

Get a package in the mail..stick the box on the desk.. Hey, I might need it later.

Get a box full of stuff from my sister... stick the box on the desk.

Find something random laying around.. stick it on the desk.

Papers? O, stick those in the desk drawer...

.

See a trend here?

The desk had basically been the dumping ground for things that I didn't want to deal with. I kept telling myself every week that I would get around to cleaning the desk...but it never happened.

For this very reason, I decided that the desk would be the first project in this challenge. It desperately needed to be done and there was no way I was going to put it off any longer.

First I purged. I took everything from the top of the desk and the drawers that we no longer needed and threw it in a pile to be taken to the trash.

Then I sorted.

I decided that one drawer would be used for all office supplies, and the other for paper.

Office Supplies Drawer:
I stuck all of the miscellaneous school supplies such as pens, highlighters, staples, etc. in these plastic utensil organizers. I think I got them at Walmart, 4 for $1.

I organized the drawer so that everything had its own place, nothing overlapping. I can now open the drawer and see everything, without having to dig through multiple layers of stuff.





Paper Drawer:
Where there are obviously safer ways to store important papers (i.e. a safe), with our limited space its not an option right now.
First I sorted everything into 4 categories:

1. Medical Stuff- Insurance information (pamphlets, providers...), Vaccination Records, etc.
2. School related stuff- Degree plans, financial aid information, and so on
3. Big Bills- Things we pay on monthly such as my car.
4. Manuals for various electronics and baby stuff we may need.

Then each category got its own, labeled, manila envelope.

Now when I need to look at my daughters shot record, instead of rummaging through a drawer full of random pieces of paper, I can simply pull out the medical envelope.

**I actually ended up moving the manila envelopes to a different place (post to come later this series), so I could put printer paper in the desk. It made more sense to me considering that the desk is where the printer is. **

This is probably a common sense thing, but PLEASE, if you do get rid of a bunch of papers, SHRED anything with credit card numbers, social security numbers, bank account information, etc.  You definitely don't want anyone to get a hold of that!

 Before......

                                                                                                                                 ........After

What are some things that you do to organize your desk or work space?

This is day 2 of a 31 day series. To see the rest of the series, click here.