One of the major reasons for me starting this blog was to help me try to get on top of the mess and chaos that is my home. There is so much clutter and that makes it difficult and time consuming to clean. I’ve read countless books about decluttering and have come to the conclusion that simply reading about it is not actually making my house any tidier. I need to take action, now. So this is my post about how I decluttered my desk.
How do you start to declutter?
There are many different ideas about where to start and how to declutter. Whether to do it room by room or whether to go through all your clothes before moving onto the next category, item type by item type. Item by item is not going to work for me. I have books, shoes etc in every room of the house and trying to find all my items from any particular category and bringing them all into one place to sort out doesn’t feel very practical. Maybe when I have less stuff and it’s all a bit more organised this would be a good way to keep on top of it though.
I’ve decided to work my way round my house room by room, breaking each room down by walls and then the middle of the room. So five areas for each room. Some areas are going to be much easier than others of course.
The first place I’ve chosen is my work area. This is in our bedroom and is a total state. It’s also where I spend a lot of time so creating a tidy, calm, clear workspace will benefit me hugely and hopefully inspire me to keep going.
How I Decluttered My Desk
This is my desk before the decluttering. A bit of a mess right? I asked myself some questions before starting to tackle it. I needed to try to get a clear picture in my head of how I wanted it to be.
1 – What don’t I like?
Well, it’s cluttered, messy and this makes me put off doing things I should be doing or enjoy doing as I have to clear away a space first. I can’t relax when I’m there and feel uninspired and tense.
2 – What do I use it for?
I use it for internet use, work, craft, education and relaxation. I spend a lot of time at my desk.
3 – How do I want it to look?
Really uncluttered and calm. Inspiring, efficient and ready to use and easy to keep tidy.
4 – What needs to be there?
The things I use all the time (at least weekly). I want anything on my desk to have a home where it can be put away easily. Everything else needs to be put away elsewhere.
5 – What would my dream space be like?
I’d like a new desk eventually. I’d love a set of matching wall units, preferably behind doors to look more streamlined and keep the dust away. A new chair and some inspiring mood boards/wall art would be nice too.
Clearing the desk
The first thing to do was to totally clear my desk. I made these labels to help organise each item as I removed it. However, I soon realised I was putting almost everything in the keep pile. In the end I abandoned this idea and just chucked everything onto the bed so I could see what really was amongst all this junk.
How did all this fit on my desk?
And I still have all this to remove!
That’s everything removed from the desk now. Including this dusty pile from underneath. There are magazines here from 2009!
Now for a thorough hoover and clean up of the whole area
And that’s how I decluttered my desk. It looks and feels so much shinier and fresher. I now need to work out what can continue to live there.
How I organised My Desk
I then went through everything I had removed and tried to group things in similar categories. There was quite a lot of rubbish that could just get thrown straight out and anything that I felt would be better stored elsewhere I put away. Gradually the mountain on my bed started to look a bit more manageable so I started putting back what I knew I wanted to keep there.
I’ve always liked to keep the latest projects I’m working on at my desk so that they don’t get forgotten and left half finished. This was what my “current” project is –
My Christmas journal…. from 2013! I’m about half way through it and haven’t felt like I could start another one until this got finished. My messy desk has stopped me doing so many of my hobbies that I really used to enjoy. This is going back on my desk and I’m going to finish it by the end of the year.
I was pretty ruthless about what could go back on the desk and here is what I ended up with. A lovely, tidy, calm desk and drawers.
So much space now for me to work and play. It feels so organised. I just need to make sure I keep it tidy like this. It doesn’t feel like that should be a problem as everything has a clear home.
I also managed to fill 2 bin bags of rubbish. How it all fitted on my desk before I have no idea.
All of this work took me around 4-5 hours but I’m so pleased I did it. My head feels clearer and I am looking forward to spending my time there planning more decluttering sessions. It’s a great start and if I can get my whole home as clean and tidy as this I will be one happy woman.
If you enjoyed reading How I Decluttered my Desk, check out my post 15 benefits of decluttering your home to find out why decluttering is good for your health.
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