9 Desk Drawer Organisation Ideas for a Productive Workspace

Whether you’re in the office or working from home, a tidy workspace helps you stay organised and stay productive throughout the day. Desk drawers are the perfect place to store all the work equipment and documents you need, providing quick and easy access. Letting them become disorganised and filled with clutter will interrupt how well you can do your job. Some people may struggle with keeping their desk drawers tidy, that’s why we’ve come up with nine desk drawer organisation ideas to help you maintain a productive workspace.

1. Have a clear out

Start by removing everything from your desk drawers. This way, you can have a good look at all the contents and be ruthless when it comes to deciding what you need. Don’t keep any unnecessary clutter and it’ll be a lot easier to keep your essentials organised.

2. Prioritise the top drawer

When you’re putting everything back, put the stuff you use the most frequently in the top drawer. This will include the likes of stationery, notepads or phone chargers. The top drawer is the easiest to get to and will save you reaching down for your most-used items.

3. Organise by function

Separating your desk drawers by function will mean you know exactly where to go for different items. These categories could be:

• Stationery
• Documents
• Notebooks
• Cables, chargers and electronics
• First aid
• Personal items

If you don’t have this many drawers available you can always sensibly group them, for example, putting notebooks and documents together. This could save you small amounts of time throughout your day and help you stay focused on your work.

4. Order by what you use most to least

Now you’ve decided what should go in each drawer, you should look to organise it further by putting the items you use the most often closest to the front. This is to allow for easier access and to avoid you messing up the drawer constantly reaching to the back for an item you use all the time. 

5. Don’t worry about empty space

If you have empty spaces in your desk drawers, don’t feel like you need to fill it with other items. More space just indicated you’ve done a good job of organising your desk drawers and makes them easier to keep tidy. Empty space is good for efficiency and productivity, making it easier to find what you need!

6. Wrap up and label loose wires

[H2] 6. Wrap up and label loose wires

Messy cables can take up a lot of you’re the space available in your desk drawers. Wrapping them up in ties and labelling them is a handy organisation idea. This will keep all your wires together, allow you to use your space wisely and help you remember what each of them is used for.

7. Go paperless

Paper can often take up a large part of desk drawer storage. Going paperless can be a smart way to save space and keep your desk drawers organised. Take notes and save documents on your laptop and leave your desk drawers for other, more important items.

8. Use containers

It can be easy for loose, smaller items to become scattered and unorganised in desk drawers. If you have the likes of pens, pencils and post-it notes in your drawers, try storing them in containers to keep them together and prevent them from getting lost.

9. Stick to a system

Come up with a system that will help you keep your desk drawers tidy after you’ve reorganised. One example would be operating a “one in, one out” rule – don’t put anything new in your drawer without replacing something you no longer need. This will stop your drawers from becoming over-cluttered and undoing all the work you’ve done to keep them organised.

Following these tips will help you maintain an organised, productive workspace, saving time wasted when rummaging around for missing pens or documents. If you’re looking for any new furniture to add to your workspace, you can find desks, chairs and other supplies on our website.