If you follow me on Pinterest or have seen my posts on Facebook and Twitter you will see that I love looking and having decluttered, organised desksHere are my tips for organising and cleaning your desk to ensure you have an enjoyable environment around you:

1. Clean your desk every day - I have a packet of disinfectant wipes in my drawer which I use to clean the desk every day. Even if your office cleaner is cleaning the desk, I would do a clean as I find they tend to use dirty cloths. Bulk buy disinfectant wipes in Lulu and Carrefour.

2. Review your desk - look at what you use often. Items you never use should be removed from your desk. Either return it to the stationary department or give it to someone else who will use the item. Remember your desk is for utilising not storing.

3. Good clean up - Whilst doing the review in point 2, remove everything off the desk and give it a good clean to remove all the dust, bugs and paper dust.

4. Broken? - Throw away the broken items including pens, hole punchers, etc.

5. Happy supplies - Get office supplies that make you happy when you look at them every day. I have Mickey mouse sellotape which is silly but fun to use for my personal admin. I also have bought pieces from Paperchase to add some variety to the normal paper holders. Mugs which I will never use for drinking as they are too precious (especially my Madonna Confessions tour one) has now been used to hold my pens and pencils.

6. Filing trays - keep the filing trays and boxes minimal. Papers held in the trays are for matters I am dealing with now and filing for today. My magazine holders hold articles Decluttr Me has been and business items which I refer to during the week.The Ferrari bear was a gift by a lovely client, which I treasure for various reasons.

7. Diaries, calendars and weekly planners - I use electronic and paper to record my activities as follows:

a. Ical - this electronic calendar syncs between my devices and I can note personal and work appointments in different colours. It's also great for sending meeting and session requests to clients and suppliers.

b. Diary - I bought one this year after a long time being without. I keep it in my car as it is useful for reviewing as I am always on the move between clients and suppliers and also useful to have something to write in when I am on the phone.c. Weekly planners - these are a great investment. I bought this one for GBP2 in a little shop in Maidstone, Kent. I can write my appointments and to do list for each day. It is on my desk constantly and I review it every so often during the day and also before I go to bed. Update - You can buy the Weekly Planner 2015 at the Decluttr Me Shop today. 7. Keep your notes in one area -I also use electronic and paper items to keep my notes.a. Evernote - I use Evernote on my Mac devices as they sync with each other. You can create separate notebooks for different matters. I have one for Decluttr Me, one for personal matters and the last one with recipes (I didn't like the Evernote Food app). They have a new tick box feature which is great for creating shopping lists.

b. Notebooks - I have a project notebook which I purchased from Paperchase which is great when visiting clients. I also have a quirky notebook I purchased from an Emirati cartoonist - Wafaal Marzouqi, which I use for my day to day note-keeping.

c. Post it notes - there are numerous professional organisers that will talk about getting rid of post it notes and note pads but they are so easy to pick up when you receive calls or need to make quick notes. I transfer the details later into my notebooks, Evernote or calendar.

d. Notice board - My board is pretty sparse for now. As I obtain papers, mementos or notes, they will go up there. The Madonna magnets are ready and waiting to be used :).

8. FAT - file, act, toss - Read any incoming mail daily. Once you have opened the mail use the acronym – FAT – File, Act and Toss. The same rule can be applied to all paper that comes into your office.

9. Unsubscribe to marketing mail - Usually you can write on the envelope "REMOVE OFF MARKETING DATABASE" and return the envelope to the sender. If that fails, which it inevitably does with bank here, email them to request they stop sending you marketing material.

10. Newspapers and Magazines - throw them in the recycle bin. If you do need to keep a copy as you have an article in there, etc, keep one copy and store in a magazine box or in a box file.

11. File everyday - Give yourself 15 minutes each day to file documents in their place. If the filing cabinet is overstretched, book a day to take all the files out, sort them out, throwing away (shredding when required) paperwork not required any more and filing the remaining in properly marked folders.When filing, consider if you really need to file the paper or if it can be saved electronically.

12. Are you overstuffed? - If your cabinets, drawers and filing areas are overstuffed, you need to review why. In this age of electronic servers and internet, there is limited items that need to be filed.

13. Extra extra - never print extra copies of documents. Actually why do you need to print that document? Save the ink cartridge and review the document on your computer. If your boss needs a copy send it by email.

14. Get a plant - I haven't got the greenest fingers as you can see by the picture of my flowers (they are budding again, so not bad for me), but plants are great for increasing oxygen around you and it looks nice on your desk. If you are low maintenance get a cactus. They are great for killing bugs that dare come near your desk.Going from a messy desk to an organised desk takes time. Be realistic and start on an area of your desk step by step. Some of the points can be completed immediately but others may take time.If you cannot face decluttering and organising your desk and filing cabinets alone, Decluttr Me can help you decluttr and organise the area so that you can work in a happy place again. You can contact us using the form on the right and we will contact you as quickly as possible.

Decluttr Tip - The Messy desk clean up

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