Tuesday, January 29, 2008

The Care and Feeding of a Work Station


I sit before my computer in my otherwise neat, orderly house and stare at my desk, which looks like a hurricane hit it. I have all the tools for organization - a standing stacker filled with neatly labeled file folders (with the help of an electronic labeling machine), an in box and a desk with three drawers and one cabinet. Yet papers, envelopes, index cards, sticky note pads, pens, nail files, a stapler, a tape dispenser and a return address stamper cover the surface. And it's not like I don't clean my desk - I do - at least twice a week. But in a matter of minutes I can set off a clutter bomb worthy of my kids' bedrooms!

So here's my question to you, dear reader: How do you keep your work area from becoming a mess? Do you have a system? A secret plan of attack? Or are you like me, a frustrated clutter bug in your work space?

10 comments:

Katie Reus said...

Sorry, no clutter bugs here :) I'd go crazy in a mess. Sometimes my 'to be filed' pile gets a little high, but other than that, my office surroundings have to be neat. Wish I had some advice on how I do it, but I just do. I'm like that in my day job too so maybe it just falls over into my home office b/c I certainly wasn't like that in college!

Dara Edmondson said...

Strange thing is - I'm a neat nut elsewhere - it's just my desk that's all willy-nilly!
Wish I knew how to keep it neater longer!

Terry Odell said...

I got home Thursday night to a perfectly clean desk (because I'd left it that way before my trip.)

By Saturday, it was buried in paperwork. I absolutely HATE the tedious task of taking care of all those pieces of paper. Plus, my desk is my household station, for paying bills, keeping in touch with family, etc.; it's also my day job workstation which generates paperwork; and it's my writing place.

What I hate is knowing exactly where something is, only to find out that it's disappeared even though I've seen it every day at least once for a week.
Somehow, when I need it, it's no longer there.

I swear to adhere to a new 'rule' and clear my desk once a week. I don't have a lot of hope for success on that one, though.

Macy O'Neal said...

I have an aversion to filing. I can't find ANYTHING if I file it away. The DH has to do that. However, if I neatly stack things, I can immediately lift off the top half of a stack to grab the exact paper I was hoping to find. It's weird, but it's me.

Dara Edmondson said...

Terry - I use my work station for bills, other job stuff, etc, too. I also make myself the same promise!
Macy - I usually know where something is in the pile - but then there's that once...

Julia Phillips Smith said...

My day job work desk is always neat, my apartment is a tottery clutter sculpture, but my at-home writing desk still manages to be a functioning creative zone. I keep it clear of my husband's piling habit.

Anonymous said...

My desk gets cluttered with drinks and food and sometimes papers that didnt print correctly.. otherwise.. pretty average I guess.

April said...

I STRIVE for neatness, but my desk usually ends up looking like a complete mess. :o(

mimi said...

A clean desk is the sign of an orderly mind, right? Creativity rarely arises from order. Disorder and chaos bring about the really cool discoveries.

So saith the woman who has heard rumors that underneath all that paper is actual wood--nice walnut, actually, since under all the chaos (flash drives, notes, DD's Nintendo DS, a spindle of blank CDs, the TBR pile, and various playtoys) is a classic school principal's desk.

I love the idea of order. It's the execution that kills me every time. Love the photo on the post, BTW.

Dara Edmondson said...

I love that creativity tie-in. Makes me feel better;-)