Desktop Organizer

I'm the type of person who needs a junk drawer in every room of the house...but since I'm on a mission to eliminate all junk (who likes a junky drawer anyway?), I've decided to have an "office" drawer in each room of the house. Well, maybe not in every room of the house...but my bedroom is a definite must!

Utilizing My Desktop Organizer

I admit it, most of my weekly planning occurs from the comfy folds of my bed. I tend to work on things like my menu plan, shopping lists, and blog, very early morning or late in the evening. Thus the need to have my dry erase markers, sticky notes, and few other office-like items within an arms reach of my bed. 

I purchased this fantastic desktop organizer from Target. It is perfect for keeping all my bedside needs organized! It has a little drawer for storing my small items, and a paper organizer! Careful organization of both of these compartments ensures I'm not taking precious minutes searching for things I need to plan my week. 

Organizing The Paper Divider
Paper has always been my kryptonite. Papers to be filed, cards to be sent, they just start piling up and before you know it the room has random piles in every corner. Ugh! 
Thank goodness for this paper organizer! The perfect place to keep those odd end papers you reference every so often, items not long term enough to file, but you may need to reference within the next month before tossing.
In order to keep the paper organizer organized *grin*, I created a dry erase catalog for my papers. With 31 spaces, it helps to section items into like categories. 

Papers? Tackled!
My sections are: 

• Bills: Requiring action within the next couple days, rebates to be mailed, etc.
• Family: Local event fliers, grade book, article to read, etc. 
• God: Sermon notes, ministry agenda items, teacher schedule, kids lesson study, etc.
• Misc: Network key, personal mail to be opened, etc.
• Materials: Envelopes, note paper, blank cards, etc.
• Action Required: Things to share with the hubby, bills or business that requires immediate action, etc.

Notes? Taken!
On the back is a section for additional notes or reminders to keep your paper organizer under control.

Free Paper Organizer Printable
Do you own a desktop organizer? Are you always loosing track of what's in it? Try out my printable, maybe it will work for you! 
Customize, print, fold in half and laminate. Then trim to size. 

• Download the Desktop Paper Filer Word doc and customize categories. (Must be downloaded to view properly)
• Print Desktop Paper Filer in pdf format here. Can be printed directly from Google drive.

Dry Erase Marking Of course, you don't have to make your printable a laminated dry eraser version, I just find that it suits my every changing need best. It means my list is durable, and I won't have to continue to print...I hate messy wrinkled papers, with crossed out lines, or erased pencil markings. I use dry erasers quite, thus the set in my office, and another set in my desktop organizer! If you opt for the dry erase version, the trick is to use fine tip, fast drying markers. If you choose cheap markers that aren't fast drying, it will slowly come bit by bit when your hand rests on it to write...moral of the story, don't skimp on good markers! *grin*

An Organized Drawer
I had this organizer for only a couple months before the drawer went all junk-a-geddon on me. Eeeep! To salvage my organizing dream turn disaster, I knew I needed some drawer dividers to wrangle my run-away stuff. 

Create Dividers: Dividers are incredibly helpful for keeping everything in it's place. Tidy, and pretty! Make dividers for small spaces by using cardboard ( cereal box will do), some wrapping paper, double stick tape, and a little foam.

Here are Instructions: Cut cardboard to fit the length and height of the drawer, be sure it fits snugly so the tension helps hold it in place. Then use those gift wrapping skills and little double stick tape to cover. If you need a little extra "hold", a little rectangular piece of foam wedged between the drawer and divider will do the trick! 

Canister Storage: These wedding favor canisters are perfect for storing small items! I found these on sale at Walmart in the party supply section, a set of 24 for $5! Whaaaat?! I danced a little jig right there in the aisle. Check out the wedding and party section of your local supermarket or craft/fabric store. Just in case you can't find them at your local store, I will be sure to list the canisters online for you to easily purchase...click  here to buy the canisters via my Amazon store finds. 

The best part is that the inner plastic can be popped out to accommodate larger items, or kept intact to contain the little items. Oooh how I love canisters. Some day I'll show you what I did with the leftover canisters. In the meantime, what do you think of my bedside desktop organizer? Are you like me, do you need duplicate office supplies ready for use in various rooms of your home? Or are you a loyal to your office and do any and all work in a dedicated space? Whatever your needs, I hope you were inspired to organize your work space to it's fullest potential!