How To Organize Your Desk | Desk Organization Ideas

This post is about how you can improve and organize your desk space to increase your productivity on a budget. This post is perfect for those starting college/ university and those who are starting a new job/ project or you just want some new desk inspiration.

*Please note, this post contains affiliate links. If you purchase anything via these links I may get a small commission at no extra cost to yourself.

Hello everyone, welcome to my first ever organisation post not within the confines of my bullet journal. Now don’t get me wrong, I love my bullet journal; it keeps me very organised. However, I can not stay organised if my surroundings are chaotic. I guess this is where the saying: ‘a clear space is a clear mind’ is appropriate. I may have just butchered that quote but you get my gist. I’m a true believer that having an organised, not necessarily clear, workspace promotes productivity. Therefore, this post is here to teach you how to organize your desk space on a budget so you can achieve your goals.

Back To Basics

Firstly, we’re going to go back to basics. Here we are going to discuss a few points regarding the environment around your workspace. Now your workspace doesn’t necessarily have to be a desk, it can be a table or anywhere comfortable.

From school and countless revision tips post and videos, we know that it is optimal to have your desk facing a window so you can get some natural sunlight. However, not all of us (like myself) can place our desks in front of windows, including most dorm rooms and halls. Therefore, make sure to get a light source for your desk. I spoke about my desk lamp in my Amazon Must Haves post, but this rechargeable desk lamp is amazing and you don’t have to worry about any pesky wires. It is also transportable therefore you can take it anywhere, perfect for those who work on the sofa or their floor.

How To Organize The Top Of Your Desk

The clearer your workspace is the more productive you are. Therefore you do not want to have a cluttered space where you cant reach for things easily or find what you are looking for.

I recommend purchasing the following for things that you constantly reach for:

• Stationary organiser
• File holder
• Bookshelf Desktop organisers

I also recommend, if you don’t have something solid to work on, getting a lap desk. This enables you a bit more movement and gives you more room to put things such as, a drink and your stationary organiser on.

Stationary Organisers

These stationary organisers are so cool and effective. Some will allow you to organise your pens by brand and colours whilst others you can use to just store them altogether, like I do! I personally use a big pot to store my most reached for stationary, similar to the marble ones below.

For this post, i have included links to both amazon UK and US.

I love single and dual compartment holders. I love having organised pens but I also love seeing them mixed altogether. This also saves space, instead of having multiple pots.

File & Book Holders

No matter how many files/ books you have, these are a few options that will help you find your files easily and keep them all in one place. I have also included a book holder which you can use for studying and also as a holder for your tablet.

File Holders

This file holder is perfect if you have multiple projects or are studying for multiple subjects as each subject can have its own dedicated space. If you don’t have a desk, these can be put anywhere such as on a shelf or a set of drawers.

If you are studying A-levels, this is perfect as there is one for each of your A-level subjects (check out my A-level success guide here!)

These rose gold triangle organisers are so cool and come in three different colours. Not only will this organise your workspace, it will also make your workspace look cool.

Book Holders

Book holders are a perfect way to maximise space on your desk. Instead of having a book lying down, which is quite difficult to read, this book holder will have it upright for you. This is also great if you are working on a tablet or watching Netflix.

Desktop Organisers

If you would rather have only a few things on your desk or want to add more dimension to your space, these desktop organisers look ah-mazing! I’m so tempted to get a white one when i complete my room transformation. The perfect thing about these is that they are adjustable so you can transform them to your liking.

How to Organize your Desk: Drawers

If you have any drawers in your desk then this section is going to teach you how to organise them effectively. Again if you don’t have any drawers you can still use these items as storage as they can be easily stacked.

Personally, I avoid having loads of things on my desk; opting to put them into drawers. I use acrylic trays to organise my stuff, including extra stationary, post its and loose paper. These come in multiple sizes and I use them to store everything. As the image above, each stationary item has its own compartment. Therefore, if you needed your sharpies you can easily reach in and grab them. The great thing about these is that you can stack them and arrange them however you like! This also means that they can be kept out of the way if you do not have drawers.

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Desk Wall Organisers

These organisers aren’t as important and essential as the top desk organisers but they do help with your productivity. With wall organisers you’re able to stick random thoughts up and most importantly you can use them as constant reminders of your goals. It also takes a way some of the things on your desk, which allows you more room to work, which is a plus!

My favourite organisers are the grids where you can use clips to stick notes and your visions on. Of course the traditional cork board and white board work just as well. The great thing about cork boards and white boards is that they now come in a range of sizes and shapes. They are also the most easy to put up on walls.

I also know that Ikea do these clip boards where you can clip a bunch of things on such as, pen pots, and note boards. These are really worth looking at (please see the picture below as my description did not do it justice.)

As for the peg board, I found these on Amazon. They’re cool but I am not sure about putting them up in your dorm room or university bedroom as they might tear off some plaster with it if they suddenly collapse with however much weight is added onto them.

That’s a wrap! I hope you enjoyed this post and have taken some inspiration from it. I really do love organisation and finding the best solutions to store my things. If you have any other storage ideas, I’d love to hear them.

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WANT MORE ORGANISATION/ UNI POSTS?

• Ultimate University Packing List
• The Best Stationery List For College/ Uni

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