The Office Gal

Hey, is that you behind that monstrous assortment of stuff cluttering your desk? Most people don’t even realize it, but a disorganized desk can cause tremendous frustration and lost productivity that can mean staying late at the office. Fact is, a messy desk makes it extremely difficult to go about your daily routine.

To follow are some practical suggestions for avoiding desktop distractions:

1) File immediately. Anyone who visits our news articles section regularly knows that we cannot say this enough: avoid pile-ups! We know it can be difficult to keep up with your filing when you get really busy, but to keep your desk neat and orderly, its imperative that you don’t allow paperwork to grow into unmanageable stacks.

2) Use the tops of credenzas and lateral file cabinets. These pieces of organizing furniture can be found in almost every office. And even if you work in a cubicle, there’s probably a flat-top credenza or cabinet nearby, providing space where you can store such things as binders and catalogs…rather than letting them clutter your desktop.

3) Utilize shelves. This is another smart location for storing things that might otherwise cause confusion by taking up space on your desk. A shelf, not your desk, is the proper place for items such as phone books, magazines and videos.

4) Create drop spots. Perhaps a basket designed to hang on your wall, or some other kind of receptacle to temporarily drop memos, notes and other small papers…keeping those kinds of easy-to-lose documents off your desk until you have time to look at them.

5) Try not to get too personal. Minimize the urge to clutter your desk with an excessive amount of personal items, such as photographs and knick-knacks. Of course, its great to have some of these in your workspace, just don’t overdo it so that your desk is covered with them.

6) Accessorize. Office organizers, such as file sorters with different compartments, and plastic bins that can hold almost anything, are ideal for storing a wide array of office materials that might instead accumulate on your desk.

Do you have a tip or suggestion when it comes to cleaning the desktop? Then share it with the readers of The Office Gal. Leave a comment or contact me and I will add it to our list!

This article was originally posted at and written by Jane Servenio of American Folder Company and has been re-printed at The Office Gal with permission.

Here at The Office Gal we love products. Neat products, weird products – but all are products that will help our office out a bit better. What else do we love – free products – but we don’t get many of those, so we settle for inexpensive.

Well, an item that is inexpensive, takes up no space, uses only man-power, and is a priceless necessity in the office, that item would be Shredder Scissors. Yes, scissors that will shred all of the important items and a fraction of a cost to electric shredders. With five blades, anything can be shredded, even those pesky credit cards.

Yes, it does take some manual power to use this shredder, but it is light-weight and quick to use. Stashed right there in your desk this is a smart alternative to to large bulky shredders when you really have no space for another office tool. Definitely a positive tool for the small home office or one person team.

The downside to using the Shredder Scissors is you will need to shred documents as you go or at least once per day. The plus side is that you won’t have pesky piles of paper accumulated in the corner. Plus, you won’t spend hours at a time trying to get everything shredded.

Remember, I said at a fraction of the cost of shredders? At around $8.00 the purchase price is about half the price of an inexpensive small electric shredder.

Time to go shopping! Take a peek here @ Solutions.com to pick you up a pair of scissors that shred!

Do you have an item that is perfect for the office – any size or type office? We would love to feature it at The Office Gal, just let us know!

This is an original The Office Gal post.

I found some items that would have fit perfectly into some of my previous corporate jobs. Companies that I would have liked to have made a not-so-nice-gesture as I walked out the door forever. I thought I would share these file and organization items with you. These funny and comic relief tools will help you get through a few tough days at work and will offer a few snickers and chuckles from the co-workers.

Offered by Knock Knock, these three fully functioning file folders offer some humorous filing throughout your busy day and also include note space inside. There are six file folders per pack purchased. Can you say that five times fast? These are not the only items of course, but I wanted you to have an idea of what you were in store for.

Knock Knock is not a conventional store front that offers boring office product. Oh no, all the product you will find on Knock Knock may be a bit over the top for a very calm, stickler when it comes to business. All products are paper; sticky pads, file folders, checklists, and more, but all are humorous and can lean towards vulgar on some.

Have an open mind when you enter Knock Knock and don’t be afraid. It is a fun store for sure and a definite must-stop just to see all of the product that is offered. You never know, you might find the perfect gift for the wise-crack talker or the quiet, well mannered one within your office.

Visit Knock Knock for your own fun products.