TIPS TO CLEAN OFF YOUR DESK
* If it’s not too embarrassing, take a photo of what your desk looks like before you touch anything. When it’s finished, you’ll always be able to see what a difference you made!
* Go through the piles of paper and discern what is rubbish, what needs filing or what needs editing and what are personal papers. Discard the rubbish, file the filing papers including the personal papers and put the to-edit pieces in a folder for easy access.
* Make a pile of everything that doesn’t belong on your desk – from broken bracelets to hair bands. Rubbish goes straight into the bin. Find the right home for everything else.
* Dust and wipe down the desk so it’s nice and fresh.
* Take another photo of what it looks like now that it’s in order to remind you of what it could look like!
Let me ask you another question; What is the purpose of your desk? Is it for you to do your schoolwork, or is it for recreational and craft activities? Is it where you do your office work, or is it just for storing papers? Determining your purpose for your desk helps you know how your system needs to operate to achieve the greatest efficiency.
Here’s how the Letchford Family functions:
In our family, we have a tray on top of our desks where we keep our school diary, pencil case, ruler, finished work folder and an assignment folder.
* In that assignment folder (a presentation folder) we have sleeves for every subject we study. There we keep unfinished work, loose pieces of paper and lists.
* In the finished work folder we place all our finished work ready for Mum to edit.
Keeping paper in folders keeps paper out of sight, neat and it doesn’t matter if there’s a bit of a holdup.
Other Paper work systems
* Furthermore, we all have a box under our desks where we store our notebooks and text books we are working on.
* On a bookshelf, we keep our filing folders for finished work, which are separated into different categories: Bible, Character, General, Interest, Writing, Art and Timeline.
Our system makes it easy to file finished and unfinished work, keeping the paper fresh and neat.
My Mum also keeps a system in her office. She has a bookshelf, full of magazine boxes labeled with her different subjects. On the right of her computer is a rack with folders she accesses daily. On the left is a pile of assorted paper. She also has several filing cabinets with information she uses not-so-regularly. Although there is the stock pile from time to time, it keeps her assorted papers under control!
Our God is a God of order; look at this verse in Job 25:
"1Then answered Bildad the Shuhite, and said,We are made in God’s very image! I think God wants us keep our space orderly, so we can be efficient with our time and have the freedom to help others instead of working on our own area.
2Dominion and fear are with him, he maketh peace in his high places.
3Is there any number of his armies? and upon whom doth not his light arise?
4How then can man be justified with God? or how can he be clean that is born of a woman?
5Behold even to the moon, and it shineth not; yea, the stars are not pure in his sight.
6How much less man, that is a worm? and the son of man, which is a worm?"
Whatever system you use, I encourage you to find one that achieves the greatest efficiency. Show responsibility, add a good dose of individual creativity, stick at it diligently and enjoy your clean desk!
Miss Jessica is a 14year old homeschool girl who lives in Australia. She loves the Lord and enjoys music, reading, history, computers and sewing. Jessica has a warped sense of humour and is always ready for a giggle. She helps her mum around the home and participates in the local church music team. You can find out more about Jess at her blog Little Miss Giggle.
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