14 Mar Budget Organization: Creating a Desk Space that’s Fashionable and Functional

I’m pretty much all over the place. I have a million different things to do and at least a dozen deadlines at any given moment. Also, I tend to get pretty overwhelmed at the drop of a dime {I’m working on that!}. But one way I’ve been able to tackle pretty much any large task is to be conscious of my work space. I finally got out of the habit of doing work in bed, so I knew it was time to have a designated work space. But not just any space, I needed something that was functional, aided in my productivity and because I love all things fly, it needed to be fashionable and a reflection of me.

And also since I do everything on a budget, I achieved the perfect desk space for just a few bucks with the help of Walmart.

Before I even purchased anything, I made a list of what I wanted to achieve. I had two main goals: the space should look cute and benefit my work style {I’m extremely visual and write everything down}. And luckily, Walmart has 2-day shipping so once my list was made, I didn’t have to wait forever for the products to arrive.

It wasn’t in my budget to buy a new desk and truly, I didn’t need one. So the most economical and easiest upgrade involved covering the white desktop, which had a ton of scuffs. It took me less than a minute to put this Duck Smooth shelf liner down. Yup, it’s a liner you would normally use in your closet or kitchen but the pattern was too cute to resist. And if I get bored, it’s easy to replace. And because I have to write everything down and constantly refer back to notes, this clear desk pad is a lifesaver. I can place any notes, photos or documents that I refer back to often underneath the pad without worrying about them being lost, damaged or crumpled by any books or my laptop.

Another major revamp involved clearing the clutter from my desk. I had a million pens. Or at least what felt like a million pens, markers, pencils, you name it. So I knew I needed this organizer and business card holder. It’s small enough to only fit the essentials {sticky notes, a pencil and pen, business cards} and there’s even a magnetic roller that makes it easy to retrieve and never lose paper clips.

But the real star of the show involved what I call a command center. Again, I’m a super visual person so I need to write out and see my to-do list for the day or coming weeks. I intentionally faced my desk toward the wall because I wanted to use the short wall space in front of me to hang a few items. This freed up actual desk space and made the area less cluttered.

My command center revolves around using cork tiles. These came four in a pack and were less than $6. The neutral cork made them perfect for being jazzed up with a little DIY action. In my head, I’m a DIY queen, but in actuality, I hate craft projects that require too many steps or tools. But I simply used items I already had around the house and in my office space to create a visual, interchangeable to-do list.

I used colorful pages and folders from an old planner and taped them to one of the tiles. The small folders are great for me to organize my week’s receipts {before I file them away} and even have a few of my favorite quotes or phrases that I like to refer back to on a regular basis. But in the future I might use the folders for something else, which is why I added chalkboard tape as labels. The chalk can easily be wiped off. Again, all about playing around with and changing things to suit whatever projects are important to me at the moment. And I also have a cute key-shaped flash drive hanging up that’s easily accessible. Since everything is just taped down, that means I can swap out the phrases or folders at any time or change them based on seasons.

[bctt tweet=”How to use affordable products and easy DIY projects to create a beautiful workspace” username=”PatriceJWill”]

As for my hanging to-do list, I wanted that to be just as easily changeable as well. It’s divided up into tasks for the day or week {now} and stuff I need to get to in the near future {later}. The sticky letters were from an old craft project. And the small notes are just tacked to the cork tile.

I seriously love this space. And not just because it looks colorful and vibrant, but it really functions for my needs.

*This post is sponsored by Walmart. All opinions are my own, but you know that already.*