Do you arrive at work each day to be greeted with a cluttered, depressing, loaded desk? While your desk may not be a representation of your mind, it can still make working more difficult and lower productivity to have a messy desk. For one thing, it’s simply annoying to look at messy piles all day long. But a messy desk is more than frustrating. It can actually make your work less effective, especially if you lose time-sensitive or important things or can’t find room to work. Here are some of the best tips for getting a clean desk- and keeping it that way.

Keep Only Immediate Papers On Hand

One of the best ways to keep your desk clean and usable is by eliminating paper stacks. Implement an easy-to-use pre-filing system for sorting papers so that the ones you don’t immediately need aren’t cluttering up your desk. Sorting papers into “to-do”, “to-file” and similar broad categories can help you keep track of what you need to deal with right away. Wall-hanging organizers are a good place to put these papers until you can do more permanent filing but remember to sort them often or papers will pile up and your system will fail.

Use Color-Coded File Folders

When it’s time to do more permanent filing, consider using color-coded file folders. This makes both the task of filing and the task of retrieving files much easier. Buy file folders in color packs and designate a color for each category that you need. For your home office, color coding files can help keep work information separate from home files such as tax returns and medical records.

Keep the Area Around Your Computer Clear

When you are deciding where to place important things on the top of your desk, keep an area in the middle clean of all storage and decoration items so you have a clear work space. While it can be tempting to have your phone, pen caddy, and lamp right next to your computer, it might be more efficient to place those things a bit farther away (but still within reach). If you frequently write by hand, such as in a paper planner or sketchbook, you will want a larger area cleared so that you have room for both your computer and for your other activities. In this case, it may help to install low shelves near or over your desk to make room for those other items you need to keep nearby.

Put Like Things Together

This might seem obvious but it’s always a good tip to keep in the back of your mind while organizing. For example, when deciding where to place your office supplies such as stapler and scissors, consider keeping them in one drawer together. In the same way, all your mailing supplies such as envelopes, stamps, and note cards can be kept in the same place. If you use something frequently consider keeping it in a caddy on top of your desk. This will help keep your drawers neat and clean and it will make it easier to get when you need it.

Think About What You Place Near Your Dominant Hand

When you’re deciding where to place items on your desk consider which things you want to have near your dominant hand. If you have a utensil caddy full of pens and scissors, you might want to place it near the hand you write with. This way you won’t be reaching over your computer to grab a pen every time you need one. Also, consider placing your phone and lamp on your dominant side. Items you use less frequently, perhaps your printer or your inbox for papers, can be placed on your non-dominant side.

Use Technology to Help

Technology can help keep your desk organized by minimizing the amount of clutter you need. For some people, digital reminders and organizers are much more convenient than paper planners and piles of sticky notes. For other people, that visual reminder is more important and they will want to continue using more traditional paper methods for reminders. If you do continue using paper methods, come up with a way to organize them or to keep them from becoming overwhelming. Methods like a wall board specifically for placing sticky notes can help keep them from becoming lost or buried.

Spend 5 Minutes Each Day Cleaning Up

One of the best ways to keep your desk clear of clutter is by having a designated time each day to clean it off. If you spend the last 5 minutes of your day cleaning up the clutter, filing the papers you won’t need anymore, and straightening up for tomorrow, you will always arrive to a clean desk and you will never have an overwhelming mess to organize.

Along the same line, consider having a designated time at the end of each week to do a more thorough cleaning and filing session. At this time, you can go through all of the papers in your temporary organizers and get them filed, remove all unneeded sticky notes and reminders, and make sure you’re ready for the new week.

Minimize Memorabilia and Decor

One way to keep a clutter-free desk is to minimize the personal items that you store on it. While everyone wants pictures of their family, pets, and vacations in their office, these items don’t have to be stored on your desk. Some people prefer to have a small shelf nearby for these items so they can easily be seen but stay up out of the way. Other people prefer to minimize memorabilia in general and keep just one or two pictures on the wall.

In the same way, minimize decorations on your desk. Again a wall shelf, bookshelf, or wall hanging it’s a great way to personalize and decorate your office without adding things to your workspace.

Use a Monitor Riser With Storage

If your desktop is small or you don’t have enough storage, consider using a monitor riser with storage drawers or shelves to help keep things handy and organized. In addition to adding storage and keeping things nearby, a monitor riser also contributes to better posture when sitting at a desk by raising your computer to a more natural height and encouraging you to sit taller.

Use a Utensil Caddy to Keep Things Handy and Save Space

Not everything has to be stored away in drawers. If you have items you use every day or even more frequently, consider keeping those items on your desk in an organized way. You’re more likely to put them away when you’re done with them if that storage area is nearby. For example, a storage caddy for the pens, pencils, and scissors that you commonly use can be kept on top of your desk. If it’s easy to stick pens back into a caddy you’re more likely to do that rather than leave them laying on your desk. For other people, there might be different items that they need to use frequently and want to keep nearby, such as a stapler, USB storage devices, or a notebook. Find a way to store these things so that they look organized and neat and your desk area will stay cleaner.

Use Drawer Dividers

If you have a large desk or large drawers they can become filled with clutter because there’s no way to organize them effectively. Use dividers in your drawers to help them stay neat and to further organize them. Dividers are especially effective for small items such as pins, pencils, sticky notes, USB storage devices, and paper clips. However, dividers are also useful for larger items such as external hard drives, staplers, and some electronic devices.