011011_tf_messydesk.jpgTake a look at your desk, now back at the screen. Does it look like a blog-worthy home office or is it the room you close off when company comes over? Is it clean and minimal or piled high with papers and books? Your desk might need a make-under—and here's how to tell.

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1. Your desk drawers won't close.
Solution: Edit the gear you keep in your drawers. Those pull-outs are designed for your most easily accessible stuff, so if there's anything in there that gets used less than once a week, move it to another spot. For the rest, invest in a drawer organizer.

2. Your desk is piled high with paper and you can't see the desktop.
Solution: Get rid of it. Trash the sheets you don't really need and scan everything else. For the stuff that absolutely needs to be in paper copy, grab some accordion folders to keep on your desktop—they look way neater than stacks of paper.

3. Your shelves are double-layered with books and magazines.
Solution: Bookshelves look great in a home office, but they can go very wrong very quickly when you over-stuff the shelves. Instead, make the switch to e-books. Your reference books might even become more useful when they have a search feature.



(Top Image: Flickr member paladinsf licensed for use under Creative Commons.)