Desk Drawer Done!

At the beginning of the week, I shared with you a deep dark space in my life. My top desk drawer. It was such a mess. I swallowed my pride and took a few photos, challenging you to organize your own drawer with me this week, in my “Tackle it Together” series. Check out that post here. I’d love to hear how you all did!

Here is the before:

Some of the things I found when I cleaned out this drawer were:

• Quarters!
• Thumb Tacks
• My NAEA National Conference name badge
• Granola bars
• Chap stick
• Ribbons
• Magnet Strips
• CD’s
• Keys

And that is just to name a few! All of these things I did not use on a regular basis…. My goal for the drawer was to only put things in here I use and can grab easily EVERY DAY!

Here is what I did. I started by dumping out everything on Monday. I cleared the drawer into a tub. I like to start organizing projects with a fresh clean slate.  I only added back in my favorite pens.

As the week went on, I would only pull things from the bucket that I needed, telling me it was an item I needed on a weekly or daily basis. I would gradually add things as the week went on. It turns out I didn’t need very much of what I had pulled out. My only putting a few things back, I really simplified my life!

Ready for the big reveal?

So, what did I choose to keep in my top drawer? The following are the items I grab every day.

• Sharpie Pens – Great for writing notes, lists and sticky notes
• Pencils – MY pencils, to keep save from the grubby hands of little kids. I hate using their pencils. I am constantly washing my hands! These are in my safe zone!
• White index cards – One of the office supplies that makes me giddy. I write all of my TO DO lists on these cards. Note, three different sizes, depending on how much I have to do!
• Highlighters – Another love affair. I highlight things all the time!
• Staple Removers – for those pesky bulletin board takedowns!

And then, I got a little drawer organizer, which is really just a serving tray I picked up for a dollar. In this, I have my highlighters, my professional cards to hand out, and also my recess whistle and key for the kiln room. Both things I do not want to lose!  Since this project was completed, it has definitely made my life easier and the system is working, which is a good sign!

So, there you have it. Lets see a side by side for effect. So tell me, what simple organizing thing makes your life a little easier? Did anyone else tackle their desk drawer or at least think about it after this challenge? Do tell!