It would be helpful to know what you have to organize. Like, do you have a lot of paper clutter? A lot of reference books? A lot of shipping supplies? It makes a difference.

Also, see what you can get rid of completely or scan to store electronically. A workspace is definitely one place where less is more. Most paper we think we need to keep isn’t necessary. When my work switched to work in office to work from home due to current events, we discovered that we didn’t need to print 99% of the things we were printing for the files.

FWIW, my ‘computer desk’ for a full time work from home position fits inside a backpack and is put away completely at the end of every work day. Then it becomes the dining room table again.

I have all kinds of things. anything that involves paper, Printer ink, a scale for shipping things, notebooks, information of all kinds. you name it its probably there,

What type of space do you have available? We believe in binders. We have binders for everything, well-labeled (at my request, the paper we use as label inserts is color-coded).

We have a narrow stack of drawers, just the right size to hold a ream of paper. Besides paper, there are drawers for labels, printer ink, writing implements, cutters, measures. Each drawer is labeled.

Of course so much depends on what you use your office for. You'll have different needs if you're running a mail order business out of your garage than if you're trying to keep your household finances organized.

I struggled with office organization and clutter for a long time. I tried many configurations but none of them worked well for long because they were too much trouble to maintain. Finally I got serious. I went through all of my stuff and, of course, realized I didn't need half of it -- almost everything is available online. I donated my printer/copier/scanner because I seldom used the copy/scan function and was spending a small fortune on ink. I got a compact laser printer which takes up little space, needs no ink cartridges, and honestly I rarely use that either. Everything is electronic.

I bought a beautiful glass desk with two shallow drawers. The only things on the desk are a lamp, a cup for pens/pencils, a small box for paper clips and my laptop. The drawers hold frequently needed supplies -- note cards, notepads, envelopes, a tiny stapler and a pencil sharpener. All other files and supplies are stored off the desk. I bought and painted a low bookcase (two drawer lateral file cabinets would be a good alternative) for the wall next to the desk. The printer sits on top -- you could put other office machines there too. Office supplies are in baskets and decorative boxes on the first shelf. Binders and reference materials sit on the bottom shelf. All of my files are stored in a file cabinet in the closet of an adjacent bedroom. A small fire-proof safe with important documents, sits on top of the file cabinet. I try to clean out the cabinet annually after taxes and find I'm STILL keeping too much paper.

The trick, I think, is to let go of those binders, files, office machines and books from long-finished classes and projects. Almost all information can be retrieved elsewhere, and supplies easily procured, so think twice about allocating precious space to them. Keep your desk for your computer, a good lamp, and a cup of coffee. Find a home for everything else.

Most paper we think we need to keep isn’t necessary.

Agree, but the things that ARE necessary are important!

One of the smartest things I've done with paper: Years ago I bought a huge pack of green file folders, and I labeled them with the year ... for the next 50 or so years. Whenever we have an important receipt or something we'll want for taxes, we drop it in that file. Keeps everything together. Every couple years we ditch some of the older folders.

I have all kinds of things. anything that involves paper, Printer ink, a scale for shipping things, notebooks, information of all kinds. you name it its probably there,

Get a couple boxes or baskets for the cubbies:

- Gather things like printer ink, tape refills, extra pencils -- things for which you don't reach for on a daily basis -- and put those things into one cubby. Make it the least accessible cubby.

- Put all your shipping items -- envelopes, labels -- into another cubby.

- Gather all that information into notebooks, and store them neatly in a cubby.

We believe in binders.

I like storing in binders too! BUT be sure you're keeping only what you really need -- make digital storage choice #1 and paper only for what MUST be kept in print form.

Do you have a system for storing -- and backing up -- digital information? Knowing where everything is stored will make it easier to give up papers.

I bought a beautiful glass desk with two shallow drawers. The only things on the desk are a lamp, a cup for pens/pencils, a small box for paper clips and my laptop. The drawers hold frequently needed supplies -- note cards, notepads, envelopes, a tiny stapler and a pencil sharpener. All other files and supplies are stored off the desk.

That sounds lovely.

I so agree that good light matters in a work area.

Another thing for the OP: You mention it's a COMPUTER desk. Do you have an outlet at a convenient spot? If not, attach an extension cord to the back side of your desk so you can "plug in" when you need to.