How can I organize and clean up my desk?

Not sure if you're familiar with Pinterest, but I've found some amazing ideas on their website. Just go to Pinterest.com and search for desk organizing ideas. You would be surprised at how many dollar store ideas there are!

I was the same way! I watched a "get organized" television show a long time ago and the lady said, "Creative people are pilers, not filers." She was in fact helping a lady who was an artist and had piles and piles of "stuff" in her apartment. The solution she had for her papers (mail, bills, etc) was to purchase an open rolling filing cart. She said the reason why stuff isn't filed away in a cabinet is because you need to see it to know it's there so the open rolling filing cart thing was the solutions because you don't have to open a drawer or anything. Well, I bought one at an office supply store (only about $30), used it for awhile but it proved to still be "work" to file papers. (Maybe I am more lazy that I want to admit?) The problem continued - piles and piles of papers. Ugh! So then I had an idea: I needed something to just sort stacks of piles -- and this has worked for the past 5 years and still working like a dream -- a letter/mail sorter. It's the kind you sometimes see in classrooms that are cardboard and they hold a sheet of paper. The one we bought was around $100, because it is wooden furniture. But, let me tell you that thing has worked perfectly. Just stand at the open slots with your papers in hand and distribute them to the right slot. And when you need a certain paper, just go to that slot and pull out the papers -- everything is there! So easy and simple and no more stacks of papers laying around. We can finally find what we are looking for!

OH YES!!! THE JOYS OF A DESK!!! DO ONE AREA, ONE DAY, AND VOW NOT TO MESS THAT PART UP AGAIN!!! THEN ANOTHER DAY, LIKELY THE NEXT DAY, DO THE OTHER SIDE, THEN WORK ON TO THE OTHER AREAS, IN THIS SAME METHOD. AIM TO PITCH, RATHER THEN TO STORE THEM, OK? WHEN YOU ARE DONE, YOU CAN HELP ME, OK? HA HA, BEST WISHES, J.

We invested in a scanner and a paper shredder. We scanned all our papers and then shredded most of it (we kept hard copies of legal documents). We back up our files onto a hard drive regularly. It's so much easier to find the electronic copies. But I was surprised at how infrequently we needed to access most documents.

I was and still am trying to stay organized. I have everything necessary to be organized but the problem is not putting things back once I have used them. This is a lifelong habit with me and spending more money for organizing ideas amounts to insanity--which is described as doing the same things and expecting different results. My organization amounts to a folder for paid bills and unpaid bills get paid immediately via my computer. The filing is done "whenever". And, yes, I do have a filing system, it just is never a priority. It might require a change of habits in order stay organized and so far I have failed. But all bills are paid on time, appointments are kept, and clutter is still clutter. Good luck.

I love to be validated, don't you? By the way, my son is exactly the same way and earned a PHD in spite of it. Maybe it's hereditary and maybe we're smarter than we think. LOL. Thank you for your response, sister.

You're very welcome. I know exactly how you feel about being buried under everything. Sometimes I feel like my piles are growing by the minute!! Good luck!!

You can try. Best wishes, J.