Where's The Tape?

Have you heard this question asked at your house lately?  Chances are you have, and not only tape, but scissors, the stapler, a favorite pen, (just ask my husband!) and more!  

Today's subject is desk drawers.  The place where these necessary items for daily life are most likely to be found.

This shows the contents of a typical desk.  Spread out like this, you can see lots of items that if not organized, can quickly shift into chaos.

I see lots of tape piled here!

Desk drawer #1

Desk drawer #2

Realize that these drawers are pulled out and sitting on top of the desk.

When they are actually in the desk, the contents are even more crammed and inaccessible.

Drawer #1

                                                                                                       Drawer #2



















The first step is to pull everything out and sort into categories.  Then decisions are made as to what to keep in the desk drawers.  In this case, not everything is going to fit!  Anything broken or unusable is thrown out.  

Items to toss include:  old contact lens cases, old phone cases, phonebooks, movie tickets/event stubs, expired coupons, ink-less markers, broken crayons, broken sunglasses, old hair accessories, broken flashlights, dead batteries, address labels to previous home, and last year's calendar.

If there are many of the same items, decide that some are going to be kept and stored elsewhere (or donate them!).  Restocking post-it notes can be easy.

The desk owner had this handy piece of furniture for the overflow items.  We labeled all the drawers! It seems like these drawers were tailor made for labeling.  I may be overly excited about labeling things.

When it comes to labels, use names that make sense to you.
 You'll want to be able to find the thing you're looking for!

Next, we set up a "practice" system using any old containers (plastic food storage?) we can find around the house.  We're not looking for beauty at this stage, merely functionality.

Drawer #1 

Pardon my foot!

                                                      Drawer #2

Then we see what happens...

The desk owner will quickly know if items are in the right places and if the right items are in the right drawers.  Trust in the process.

A few days later we install the correct containers for the items that the desk owner has decided to keep...and finally, beauty and functionality reign,

Drawer #1

Hey, where did everything go?!

                                                                                                        Drawer #2

Pared down to the easily-maintained minimum.
I love that the labeler made the cut!

So what about that tape dispenser and scissors and favorite pen?  We placed them on a pretty tray above the desk.  Easier access for all.

What household item are you constantly on the hunt for?

What's the most interesting item in your desk drawers?

(Leave a comment, I love to read them.)