January 8

National Clean Off Your Desk Day: 6 Easy Tips

 January 08, 2013

Corral your papers and reclaim your work space — spend an hour organizing your desk today for National Clean Off Your Desk Day.
M. Colleen Klimczak, a professional organizer in the Chicago area, says that papers often get piled together and set aside instead of finding a home. She offers up six easy tips for creating and maintaining an organized office system.

1. Remove non-work related items from your desk.
2. Set up a physical system for “Passive Papers” — documents that have been acted upon and are now waiting for a pre-determined time until they are no longer needed for reference (e.g., receipts, bills, bank statements, etc.). Klimczak suggests creating a system of hanging folders, labeled by date, either on your desk or in a nearby drawer.  
3. Set up a physical system for “Active Papers,” also in vertical folders, labeled with the action that need to be taken, or by client name, or project.
4. Set up a specific space for “Archived Papers” for long-term record keeping and label by date, client, or project.
5. “Treasures,” such as your children’s school projects, received greeting cards, and photos, should be moved to a shelf or wall, out of your desk’s active workspace.
6. Grab two bags, one for papers to shred and one for recycling. Start distributing your desk papers to their new homes. 

Last but not least, Klimczak says put the stuff away that needs to go elsewhere in your home or office. “Then bask in the glow of your clean desk top, and keep going,” she says.