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How to Keep a Clean Desk

33 Responses (Add) | Saturday, January 5th, 2008 at 3:56pm

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Let’s face it… it’s hard as heck to keep your desk clear of clutter, and free of unnecessary junk. Let’s take a look at some ways to help us cut down on all the junk, and have a nice, tidy workspace.

  • Buy cable tidies. You can pick these up pretty cheap and you can get them at general stores. If you are anything like me over time, as you move things around your desk, the wires below or behind it can become tangled, and hours of frustration can occur when the time comes that you need to tidy it up. These will keep certain wires for certain pieces of equipment all separate from each other, and keep computing from being a chore.
  • Mark plugs with a sticking label. Be sure not to cover any fans which allow heat to leave the equipment, but you can use sticking labels to mark plugs so if you ever need to remove that piece of plugged in equipment you can do it easily, without having to unplug everything to see what is what.
  • Have a designated storage space for everything you need. It is useful to have a cupboard in your desk or a drawer in which you can store things, and that you know what inside. If you have some useful computing magazines, designate a cupboard or drawer on your desk so that when you need it you can go to that space and get what you need without having to try to find it under lots and lots of papers. This is also useful for printed documents etc. that need to be stored safely. If your desk does not have any storage space, perhaps invest in a filing cabinet.
  • Don’t let things lie around, especially liquid. Liquid next to electricity is, as always a bad idea. Make sure that you move everything like papers when you are finished with them, and if you have finished playing a computer game, don’t think you can’t be bothered to reach for a box which is at about arms length away from you to put it away. Your discs may also get damaged if you do this, and they might go missing.
  • Clean your work area and make sure everything is working. Often, get some tissue paper of a duster and wipe inside the nucks and crannies of your keyboard where dust can lie, and get a computer cleaning wipe to clean your screen. Never touch your screen with your fingers, and dust your desk often. After cleaning everything, make sure not with water, test that all of your equipment is plugged in and connected correctly and that all is working correctly. This will ensure that your computer will continue to work and will hopefully reduce the number of problems you have with it, and to keep clean and hygienic.

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33 Comments

slennzer

January 5th, 2008
at 7:24am

wtf? chris!these days your videos are getting crappier by the day! running out of ideas? ha-ha-ha! please, you have got to get a grip. i love your older videos, find them helpful but i dont know whats happened to you in the past month or so but man you need a kick up the butt! wake up! have you listened to the crap your talking about? honestly!

sinisterben1262

January 5th, 2008
at 7:25am

YES I AGREE!! I can’t stand it when people put the wrong cd’s in the wrong box=P and I never seen your wife except for the Christmas vid=P was the shit by the way!!

stevewondering

January 5th, 2008
at 8:52am

I smell a perfectionist!

XxEmo2DxX

January 5th, 2008
at 12:47pm

as much as I’d hate to admit his latest vids have been, how should I put this, dull? Where are the tech tips? Where is Chris’ Tech Tips? I know you want the community to be involved and it’s a great idea but we need your personal vids as well! We just want to see some of your material not just other people’s. This whole Top 5 Tip thing should only weekly or every few days or so but not every day. We just want to see the old stuff back!

XxnicckkXx

January 5th, 2008
at 3:40pm

I love my clean desk,the rest of my room is a mess though!

tallguyjv

January 5th, 2008
at 9:24pm

join the army ur room gets seached for cleanliness, push ups really help you keep things clean lol

Tara

January 5th, 2008
at 4:58pm

I’ve simply removed the desk from the equation. I have a couch instead, with laptop on a breakfast-in-bed type tray. All the wires go through the ex-cup holder – like you said, no liquids. :)

To make up for it, my husband has two desks and a giant wooden table, all of which could use some de-cluttering.

rodoflight

January 5th, 2008
at 5:02pm

well i just don’t care if its organize or not. i am 13 and my desk is fill with glass and candy wrappers. what i do is i have another table with drawers and all my hw and other stuff is in there. about 6 draws down( its plastic)

hfiles23

January 6th, 2008
at 1:36am

You are the same as me everything for me has to be perfect like at the moment the psp and the clock are staright! lol

TeddGCM

January 5th, 2008
at 6:41pm

I am probably one of the most disorganized person around. I call it “Disorganized Organization” because I can usually find what I want or need despite the apparent random way it lays about. Getting myself organized better is something I have worked on many times and, so far, have failed each time to follow through.

insurgent

January 5th, 2008
at 8:21pm

Glad you can’t see my desk!

Btw, that should be “nooks”, not “nucks”.

zerO700000

January 6th, 2008
at 4:54am

haha me 2 everything have to be perfect

pspaddict01

January 6th, 2008
at 5:28am

Does Chris live in a box?

Wire

January 5th, 2008
at 11:12pm

Thanks for the tips

I’ve always had little messy desk..but i want it to be clean now. Its much better to have organized desk :)

Seanuk

January 6th, 2008
at 6:54am

ok for charity.. chris do you want to move your office to a bouncy castle? lol

iMonitor

January 6th, 2008
at 8:04am

My desk is always clean, and I follow similar qualities as Chris does.

vinnycent56

January 6th, 2008
at 8:12am

yeah zero? everything perfect? deffinetly the way you spell words.

kainaussie

January 6th, 2008
at 8:48pm

chris do u have a job?

TheGnomeLocker

January 6th, 2008
at 8:56pm

If nothing else least make sure only computer stuff is at your computer. Nothing is more annoying to me then people who clutter there desk with dirty dishes.

88chrisb

January 6th, 2008
at 11:10pm

This video has made me clean my desk

tetranoob

January 6th, 2008
at 11:18pm

“has” to be perfect.

SwingSwingKid

January 7th, 2008
at 12:41am

When I’m working, cooking, doing things to my house I always like to use the term clean up as you go

Directoroflego

January 7th, 2008
at 10:34am

My desk has:
5 speakers
A little lamp
Mouse
keyboard
Mouse PAD
Monitor.

I’m amazing =D

joe

January 7th, 2008
at 6:13am

Perhaps a nuck is a new geek term…looking for an out here Chris?

Eric

January 7th, 2008
at 7:51am

Chris the advice you gave about wires, A+. My wife calls me the Velcro king, in fact I have a drawer full of it. I have two sided Velcro stapled to back of the desk making so the wires have to travel a certain trail… looks allot better, and avoids tangling. As my desk is a workstation and entertainment center in one, with the cable box, VCR, DVD, X-BOX, printer, scanner, police scanner, security system, X-10 camera system, and stereo all in some way connected to the computer the wires are plentiful.
I also used small strips of duct tape and labeled all the wires at the three power strips that are under the desk, you are right, when you need to unplug something, this makes it a breeze.
It was just in the news that having all those AC adapters and other un-used equipment plugged in still costs money approx. $1.00 per plugged in unit per month. For example, my VCR which is hardly ever used but is plugged in showing the time with the power switch off, is costing me $1, the adapter that goes to my cell phone cradle is costing a $1 just to keep plugged in… My solution to this is… I when through all the labeled plugs under the desk, plugged all the cords that went to things that don’t need to be powered 24/7, plugged them all into one power strip then plugged that into an X-10 outlet. Now when I need to charge the phone or pull out a video tape, I just click on the outlet with the remote or computer interface and Walla. If you don’t have X-10… mount the power strip on the underside of the desk where you can easily reach the switch that most are equipped with.
The other thing to remember while cleaning your desk is… when was the last time you blew out the inside of your computer. Cleaning out the inside of your computer should be done twice a year min. (more so if you have pets, an older home, if your computer is used in a dusty environment, or if your computer is like mine that is on 24/7 to run my home automation. Just remember to clean the computer before the desk…the dust will settle and your desk will need to be done again. One of my clients has birds and every time she has me clean her computer out, I find it full of dust and feathers.
As always Chris, love reading your newsletters.

–Eric

P.S. “Btw, that should be “nooks”, not “nucks”.” Who cares about spelling, the more educated readers I guess are able to figure out what you ment or what you were saying. I read your newsletters to be informed, not to correct your spelling or grammer. If people did that to me they would be wasting thier time and lots of it. Must be nice to be perfect all the time.

Eric L

January 7th, 2008
at 8:00am

Chris the advice you gave about wires, A+. My wife calls me the Velcro king, in fact I have a drawer full of it. I have two sided Velcro stapled to back of the desk making so the wires have to travel a certain trail… looks allot better, and avoids tangling. As my desk is a workstation and entertainment center in one, with the cable box, VCR, DVD, X-BOX, printer, scanner, police scanner, security system, X-10 camera system, and stereo all in some way connected to the computer the wires are plentiful.
I also used small strips of duct tape and labeled all the wires at the three power strips that are under the desk, you are right, when you need to unplug something, this makes it a breeze.
It was just in the news that having all those AC adapters and other un-used equipment plugged in still costs money approx. $1.00 per plugged in unit per month. For example, my VCR which is hardly ever used but is plugged in showing the time with the power switch off, is costing me $1, the adapter that goes to my cell phone cradle is costing a $1 just to keep plugged in… My solution to this is… I when through all the labeled plugs under the desk, plugged all the cords that went to things that don’t need to be powered 24/7, plugged them all into one power strip then plugged that into an X-10 outlet. Now when I need to charge the phone or pull out a video tape, I just click on the outlet with the remote or computer interface and Walla. If you don’t have X-10… mount the power strip on the underside of the desk where you can easily reach the switch that most are equipped with.
The other thing to remember while cleaning your desk is… when was the last time you blew out the inside of your computer. Cleaning out the inside of your computer should be done twice a year min. (more so if you have pets, an older home, if your computer is used in a dusty environment, or if your computer is like mine that is on 24/7 to run my home automation. Just remember to clean the computer before the desk…the dust will settle and your desk will need to be done again. One of my clients has birds and every time she has me clean her computer out, I find it full of dust and feathers.
As always Chris, I love your newsletters

–Eric

shaolindreams

January 18th, 2008
at 2:26pm

yee i label my plugs.. when you got 10 wires coming behind furniture to 2x 5sockets strips, its good to know which one is which without following the wires :D

MrTard

April 22nd, 2008
at 6:41pm

I know how to keep my Desk Clean…..I just cant be bothered untill i notice i cant move my mouse for the forest of coffee mugs……..Shame on me :D

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