♦Your desk is
possibly your most used item in your office---prime real estate. Yet it's hard to work on your desk surface if you can't find it.
So first you must clear it of most items not relevant to immediate work projects.
♦Keep a
vertical sorter
with "hot" or "tickler" folders on your desk. No other
file folder should be on your desk unless you're actively working with it at the
moment.
These are files you're using daily, or frequently, for current projects or
pending chores. This Vertical
Sorter
 above
is sold by Stacks and Stacks.
♦Also, if you can afford a flat-panel monitor (approx.
$250 and up), you'll save at least a foot of depth space (compared to using
those big bulky monitors quickly become outdated in the modern office).
♦For convenience, set your printer on the desk next to your
monitor. Put your scanner on the other side of the monitor. Or buy an all-in-one printer, copier, and scanner.
♦A
multilevel printer/machine stand next to your desk can hold the peripherals
within arm's reach too (and paper reams). Convenience is important in your home
office. Everything you use frequently should be within arms reach while you're
seated.
This is a
Mobile Printer Stand sold by Instawares.
♦Unless you have a desk drawer, a rolling storage chest with
"shallow" drawers work best for holding daily office supplies like your staple
remover, staples, rubber bands and more. You can find these carts in office
supply stores or in major retailers in the storage container section (as well as
in dozens of online stores). Though you can put the cart next to your
desk, you may want to measure the height under your desk since that may be a
viable location too for this rolling drawer cart.
6 Drawer Chest with Divided Top
 sold
by Stacks and Stacks
♦ Store the bulk of your office supplies in a portable plastic bin in your office closet. You don't need to keep five extra
boxes of staples and 10 boxes of tape that handy.
Plastic Container
 sold
by
Stacks and Stacks.
♦Or get
a desktop lazy susan type organizer. These can hold notepads, pens, message pads,
envelopes, CDs plus some have a cork bulletin board on one of its four sides. A
"Desktop Lazy Susan" is always a space-saver because you can put four-times the
amount of stuff in one space and have it always within arms-reach with a twirl.
It spins. The
Desktop Organizer
 to the left is
from Collections Etc.
♦You could buy the vertical desktop sorter for your hot files, the sorter
basket for your mail and bills and the revolving organizer for your scissors,
pens, pencils. Place all three types of sorters side-by-side on your desk if
you'd prefer. They'll take up lots less room than having everything spread out
in different cups, drawers and trays.
♦If you're looking for a desktop organizer that's
clever and stylish, consider the
Desk Organizer
pictured to the left by Lillian Vernon. It has eight compartments. It's perfect
for holding checkbooks, mini phone books, stamps, small paper pads and more.
♦Keep file cabinets in your home office for "active files"
only. All inactive files or active files not frequently used can go in cardboard file storage boxes,
also sometimes called bankers boxes, in the garage or a closet.
Stack the boxes on a shelving system that allows you to access each box
separately without having to move any other box.
The banker
storage box
 pictured
above is from Instawares. Notice the convenient lift-off lid; others don't have
lift off lids but rather attached lids that tie closed with strings.
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