Today, I'm sharing eleven of my favourite, creative desk organization ideas. These double as great craft storage ideas if you are on a tight budget. I'll be sharing some DIY small space, desktop storage ideas to corral all those small items, together with ideas for affordable under desk storage. We'll also be talking about how to organize a desk without drawers.
Let's face it, nobody likes to work on a messy desk! Especially, if you have a small work space like the one in my tiny landing office, clutter tends to accumulate in no time at all.
Today, we are going to tackle the clutter and create an organized desk where you can do your very best work.
The best part is that all of these desk organization ideas are affordable and some are even (almost) free!
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Decluttering
By the way, before you start organizing, you should start with decluttering. If you need some help with that, sign up for my free decluttering email series here. Declutter Success is a five-day email course with printable planning worksheets, checklists and room organising ideas and it's free when you sign up for our newsletter through the image in the sidebar.
Now, let's get started with my eleven favourite Creative desk organization ideas – on a budget!
Desk organization ideas for small items
First, let's tackle all those small items that need to be in easy reach. Things like paper clips binder clips, sticky notes and all those little office supplies.
If you're a crafter like me, you also need easy access to things like Washi tape, twine, ribbons and seasonal decorating materials.
Upcycle glass jars
A great idea for organizing small items on your desk is to upcycle glass jars into desktop organizers. The best part is that you can use jars in different sizes to accommodate smaller or larger office supplies.
I like to keep my desk storage jars plain and simple so that it's easy to see what's inside but you could also paint the jars all a similar colour if you like.
Create labels
If you're going to paint the glass jars, it's probably a good idea to use a label maker to create labels so you can quickly see what's inside the jars. Another way to make super stylish tags for your jars would be with air dry clay. I have a comprehensive tutorial for using air-dry clay on my blog. After you've read that (loads of tips), you can watch the air dry clay video tutorial here.
To create a cohesive aesthetic, it's best if you try to use jars that are similar in shape and size. I upcycle empty yoghurt jars to store my office and crafting supplies.
Paint jar lids to suit your decor
Here's another great idea if your jars don't have the same coloured lid. You can easily solve that problem by using spray paint to paint the lids the same colour. You can see how I painted some jar lids to create handmade taper candle holders in this post. The best thing about painting the lids is that you can match the storage jars to suit your office décor.
DIY craft supplies organization ideas
Things like pens, pencils, rulers, scissors, rubbers, markers, paintbrushes and all those crafty bits and bobs also deserve a storage space on your desk.
Recycle tin cans
Here's a quick and easy way to organize your desk with tin cans. These DIY desktop organizers look great but cost almost nothing to make.
Simply remove the labels and any residue glue from some empty tin cans. Glue a narrow piece of black card stock around the middle of each can and tie it with some striped twine. Add a label so you can quickly see what's inside even if the tins are on the top shelf.
If you've ever wondered what you do with empty tin cans - now you know!
Reclaimed wood desk organizer
If you have some bits of scrap wood lying around then, this DIY desk tidy is simple to make. Cut five pieces of pallet wood to size and use a nail gun to nail them together. You could leave your scrap wood organizer as it is or use a stencil or stamp to customise it to your taste. I've used a Fern stamp which I bought from Etsy, to create a design on my desk organizer.
Corner storage ideas
Desk corner storage can be a little bit tricky. The things you place there are too far away and if you leave the corner empty the space could look too bare.
Here are some nifty desk organization ideas to bring the corner space to life.
Mini storage chest
Add extra storage to your desk with a mini storage chest like this one from Ikea.
For this office refresh, the Ikea Moppe mini storage chest has been painted in a Farmhouse star quilt design which blends well with the style of the office. Mini paint pots, crafting accessories and office supplies are stored within the small drawer organizers.
You can find the tutorial for the Ikea Moppe makeover here.
The extra space at the side of the Moppe storage chest is a perfect place to store planners, notebooks and diaries.
Basket storage ideas
What can you store in a basket?
Things like printer paper, printer cartridges, craft paper, fabric (if you sew) and miscellaneous office supplies are all great items for storing in baskets. A friend of mine once told me that she stores a large comfy blanket in a basket in her office so that she can quickly grab it if she gets cold!
I use an extra-large Ikea storage basket like the ones under my coffee table, to store printer ink and paper. This rectangular basket fits perfectly on my DIY shelves under the eves.
How to use small baskets for storage
I like to use small baskets to corral similar items that I can quickly grab for use on my desk.
One of my favourite basket storage ideas is converted from a Christmas ornament container. Inside are small jars containing paper clips, file clamps, twine and glue sticks for use with my mini glue gun (always need those on hand).
Storage Boxes
Another great idea is to use cardboard boxes to add extra storage to a small office. Boxes are cheap, environmentally friendly and come in all sorts of colours and designs. You could even wrap shoeboxes with craft paper to make DIY storage boxes with a unique look.
What can you store in a box?
Using boxes is a great way to hide away files, important documents or unsightly office supplies too. I use my large white box to store paper templates and patterns.
If you are a crafter, you could store any number of craft supplies in a box such as threads, yarns, paints, brushes etcetera.
On my desk, an old cigar box is being used to hold all of my highlighter pens. You can see it in the photo of the reclaimed wood organizer above.
Files and folders
One of the best ways to organize important documents is by using file folders. Make or buy cardboard separators to make your file organizer even more efficient.
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Under desk organization ideas with paper bags
Did you know that you can make your own large paper bags? The paper bag you see below is a DIY and it's now stored underneath my desk. I use my pretty paper bag to store parcel wrapping paper in my office. Take a look at my tutorial for making paper bags if you are interested in making some yourself.
Corkboard Ideas
Schedules and notes
A corkboard isn't the most essential of my desk organization ideas but it's worth a mention all the same. A corkboard is handy for pinning up your daily/monthly schedules and it's a great place to pin all those sticky notes that would otherwise be cluttering up your desk.
Vision and mood boards
Other ways to use a corkboard in your office could be as a mood board or a vision/inspiration board. Gather images and quotes that inspire you and use pretty push pins to pin them to your corkboard so you see them every day.
I hope you've been inspired by my creative desk organization ideas and will have a go at making some of these yourself.
Next week, I'll be sharing my winter office makeover so keep a lookout for that if you're interested in room styling. If you don't want to miss a post, sign up for our weekly newsletter (form below) and you'll get my posts delivered straight to your inbox.
If you have any suggestions for more DIY small desk organization ideas, I'd love to hear them. Feel free to let me know in the comments below.
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Paula@SweetPea says
You have so many wonderful ideas for keeping a desk organized.
Jayne Westerholt says
Thank you, Paula! I love an organized desk!