With teaching comes the great responsibility of organizing your desk with the needed supplies and items. A desk is a prominent part of the teaching process as it is the place where you store all essentials. While teachers love to decorate their space with creative ideas and thoughts, organizing the space can still be a tedious process. At times, you might not be aware of the cost-effective solutions available for desk organization.
Similarly, some teachers might wish to revamp their desks for a fresh appearance. A structured and clean desk enhances productivity and efficiency. The organization of the desk comes with planning and considering the space, size, and look of your desk. In the following sections, you’ll find some creative teacher desk organization ideas to help you transform your space into a creative wholesome corner.
Simplistic yet appealing teacher desk organization ideas
Incorporating desk organization tools and techniques helps create a clean appearance. One formula or style does not apply to every desk. Here are multiple options to style your desks in a desired manner that matches your teaching method and personality.
1. Best use of the wall & table shelves
A teacher’s desk is the place where you need the highest amount of stationery items, books, important files, and personal belongings. An ideal thing is to use the walls and table shelves to equally decide the materials. You can install wall boards and cabinets for storage. Such usage ensures that the desk is not too clogged, allowing you to think in a creative space. You can also use various organizers to make the space look clean and neat.
2. Desk Caddy
A desk caddy is a versatile tool for organizing quick stationery items and books. Investing in such a storage item helps you find the right things in an efficient way. The desk caddy can be used for markers, highlighters, small diaries, personalized notes, tapes, and scissors. You can also organize data cables, charges, and USB drives. It creates a clutter-free environment ideal for teachers and educators.
3. Neatly Labeled Storage box
Small and little things are always hard to store and find when needed. Teaching students and managing classroom-related stuff involves these little stationery items like staples, pins, clips, stickers, tapes, and stamps. Arranging them can be a tedious task, and they can often get lost. Use a storage box with multiple cabinets for neat organization. Such a box can be labeled according to the supplies needed. This ensures all little things get a specific place and are easy to access during their needs.
4. Using desk pocket organizer & Rolling Cart/Trolleys
When you do not want to load your desk with too many baskets and storage bins, go for a pocket organizer instead. It is an efficient way of saving space and fully utilizing the desk. The pockets can be used for pens, pencils, notes, small diaries, brushes, and cards.
Even a rolling cart is a great way to elevate your space. The cart offers flexibility as it can move across the teaching space. You can keep the remaining stationery, files, papers, and art supplies in the rolling cart. Even cables and cords can be kept for clear visibility.
5. Pen/Pencil Holders
Creativity is all that is needed to teach students, no matter their age. A lot of creativity comes from the usage of colored pens, sketch pens, markers, and highlighters. Instead of keeping them in drawers without a fixed position, use pen and pencil holders for a neater desk. You can then divide the stationery items as per their usage. Label the holders to better categorize things as per their purpose.
6. Washi Tape Organizer
Washi tapes are a teacher’s favorite thing when it comes to decorating the classroom. They are your perfect companions for creating labels, elevating bulletin boards, marking important dates, and art projects. It is best to organize washi tapes with the support of hooks and sticks as shown. Similarly, you can use small storage containers to arrange the tapes in a color-coordinated manner.
7. Using White Board Holders
Nothing is better than investing in something that turns your desk into a versatile place. Whiteboard holders are an ideal choice for utilizing the space in a smart manner. These magnetic holders are perfect for everyday stationery, stick notes, keychains, and small plants. They add a pop of color along with multiple options of holders to select from.
8. Sticking pouches on the wall
Simplistic changes near the teacher’s desk can prove to be beneficial in saving space. Using stickable pouches is a smart idea to store small notes and cards. Additionally, you can label them as per your need to add versatility. Such pouches can be used for to-do lists, flashcards, or sticky notes.
9. Stationery Organization
Organizing stationery for the teacher’s desk can definitely be a theoretic process. When every stationery gets a definite place, you experience a sense of relief. Teachers can buy small organizers or they can recycle their old makeup organizers for storing sticky notes, stamps, highlighters, pens, pencils, and small tools. It looks so calm and satisfying to the eyes and helps find the right stationery easily.
10. Recycling Glass Jars and wine rack
Best out of waste is surely a creative idea to indulge kids into art. However, even teachers can use this hack to elevate the look of desks. Place a wine rack as shown in the picture. You can then use old jars by placing them horizontally on the rack. Such jars can be used for storing crayons, sketch pens, pencils, markers, and highlighters. This idea certainly enriches the vibe of the desk.
11. Colorful Containers for Colorful Stationery
We know teachers who like it all organized and structured on their desks. That’s when colorful containers and storage trays become your go-to option. Without investing too much, you can simply buy colorful glasses for sketch pens and markers. Purchase a versatile white tray for organizing stamps, notes, or erasers. It helps teachers easily put back stationery items due to instant color recognition.
12. Clip holder steel wire grid basket rack
If you wish to keep it minimal, use a steel wire grid basket rack. It not only saves space but also gives a vintage vibe to the overall look. The rack can be used for hanging small notes, thank-you cards, positive words, or group pictures. You can also hang additional containers to place small yet cute personal belongings to elevate its look.
13. Pocket Hanging Organizer
A pocket-hanging organizer gives the freedom of space as it can hold bigger things too. The strategic location of an organizer minimizes the usage of space. You can literally hang it on an empty wall and use it for storage of multiple items. Stationery items, small diaries, flashcards, or small stuffed toys can be kept inside. They can also be labeled for better visibility.
14. Sticky Note Tower
Imagine getting fresh classroom arrangement ideas and not having a pen and paper to note them. You wouldn’t want to feel frustrated simply because a great idea skipped your mind. So, you should definitely invest in a sticky note tower right on the desk. It helps you organize your quick thoughts and creative ideas. You can also stick these notes on books, files, and papers for project management or planning.
15. Montessori Bookshelf for Books and Copies
A bookshelf just near the teacher’s desk is a helpful way to store books and declutter your desk with unnecessary lying books and copies on the table. Installing a bookshelf helps create a versatile space for multiple copies, documents, and files. It can also be used to categorize activity books according to the lesson plan for the week.
16. Use the Corners for Storage
Teachers can creatively make use of the wall corners for storing supplies and organizing other materials. Instead of a straight wall, a corner creates an appealing look near the desk. You can use hanging baskets, wire racks, and small planks for storage. Similarly, important notes, pictures, or hangings can be put with the use of board pins.
17. Label Everything in Bold letters
The best way to organize school supplies is to assign a perfect place for them. That’s when storage containers come into play. They are subtle and can fit into different cabinets. Opt for transparent boxes and label them with bold letters. The big letters increase visibility, enabling you to find the right stationery smoothly. You can also go creative and draw a small picture of the respective stationery to make it look attractive.
18. Creatively recycling used jars
We all have used jars that lie in the silent corners without any purpose. What if you can use them to elevate the teacher’s desk? These jars are an ideal option for placing pens, pencils, glue sticks, scissors, and brushes on the desk. All you need to do is paint them or stick printed papers to modify the look and feel. It is an affordable method wherein all you need is an artistic approach.
19. Using Paper Clips for Labeling the shelves
Do you have too many paper clips lying around or the ones that are no longer in use? Instead of throwing them, use them to make labels. Big paper clips can be used for labeling open cabinets. They can also be color-coordinated for better visibility. You can label them into days, months, activities, types of games, types of books, and so on. It creates a subtle yet appealing look and saves time and money.
20. Organizing and Labeling the Cords
Teachers certainly require multiple technical gadgets to make teaching an engaging process. With these gadgets also come multiple cords. The best way to organize your desk is by labeling the cords. It minimizes confusion and helps you categorize them according to their colors. Moreover, other teachers or staff can easily understand them due to appropriate labeling.
21. Clothespins for labeling and organizing documents
At times, even the simplest elements around can transform the teacher’s desk. Clothespins are a great choice to save time and money. Use wooden pins for organizing your documents. They are easy to compartmentalize different papers, books, and files. You can stick colorful paper on the clip and write the category with a marker. This easy idea is sure to save time in finding documents.
22. Install Pegboard
A clutter-free desk is all that you need to feel motivated and energized. That’s when you can install a pegboard to make it all neat. A pegboard offers versatility as you can organize multiple supplies in one place. Moreover, pegboards are essential for hanging pockets, baskets, small storage bins, and plants. Similarly, you can also hang a wire rack for displaying notes or pictures.
Wrapping up
Organizing your desks promotes a healthy environment where managing work becomes an easy task. A workspace with proper structure helps you manage responsibilities and enhances personal belongingness. Exclusive desk organization ideas help create a stress-free atmosphere for teachers as well as students. Create an efficient, clean, and inspiring desk that meets the evolving demands of the teaching profession.
Hey, I’m Riya Jogi, a keen educator, guest lecturer and a graduate of marketing studies. With my passion for child development, I strive to make every word count. Developing strategies, ideas and easy ways of learning is what inspires me! I’m hoping to create a more inclusive and positive world for every learner and educators out there.