The Desktop Five Minute Job

My "workspace" even when I was working a corporate job was never neat.  I am just not that person...yet.  I like everything to be in sight as a visual reminder of what I need to do.  I also am notorious for have no organizational skills - I just freeze when I have to figure out where to put things.

Half of the stuff (under the pile of plates) on my desk are items that have no home.  I hear that in the organizational world, this is bad.



So my goal today is to actually see the top of my desk and have a real workspace available to me.  I'm breaking it down into manageable steps since I'm the type of personality that

1.) Gets easily overwhelmed...where do I even begin?
2.) Loses interest quickly...oh look a chicken! and
3.) Breaks down into a frazzled mess...I'm never going to finish!!!


Step One: My desk is not a sink


Dishes must return to the kitchen where they belong!



Step Two: Use the Hamper


My son's pajama pants and yesterdays dish towel need to head to the hamper.



Step Three: Sort it out


This is the phase where I generally break down.  Sorting things one by one off the desktop just halts my progress.  First of all, almost half of those things don't have a place right now, so I'm left wondering what to do with them.  The other half need to be put away in about 50 locations all over the house...in my mind it just feels exhausting.

For me, the most rewarding part is actually seeing some progress.  So I cleared off the entire desk and sorted it into two piles - papers and everything else.  See where my organizational skills fall short?



And the reveal??



This is what five minutes of work can do for you.  Now to put away all that junk...

Total Time (including putting away the junk): 20 minutes
Total cost: FREE!