A Functional & Organized Desk

Today I am linking up with one of my favorite bloggers, Andrea over at Momfessionals. She is doing a new serious called Show and Tell Tuesdays & today is all about showing off your organizational tips and tricks. Because I am still in college, today I am going to show you all about how I keep my desk functional and organized.

It is my senior year of college and I am still experimenting to find the perfect organizational solutions for all of my belongings while I am at school. However, through my experiences so far I have discovered a few things along the way that I wanted to share with you all.

Rule #1: Less is more

...and let me tell you people.. I have hoarding tendencies so this one is a real challenge. Purge your belongings before you come to school and only take what is ABSOLUTELY necessary. My suggestion is if you get to school and find that you aren't using something regularly, take it home with you the next time you are visiting your family.

Rule #2: Bring your clothes in stages as seasons progress.

 Put all of your spring, summer, winter & fall clothes in labeled plastic tubs for easy transportation to and from school. This will also allow you more room in your closet at school for storage of other belongings you may need on a more regular basis.

Rule #3: Baskets, baskets, baskets. 

Store like things in baskets for easy organization. Not only is it practical, but it is absolutely adorable as well. Stick a cute label on it and BAM... it is perfection.

Rule #4: Find containers for food that allow air flow to help keep your food more sanitary and fresh.

Rule #5: Build yourself some shelves. I HEART SHELVING UNITS.

Here is how I have combined all of these rules to create a cute, organized and functional desk space.

I love to throw in a little cute personalized decor into my organization. Here is a cork board I made out of an old picture frame that I use as my inspirational board. I put pictures of things I aspire to be one day or things that mean a lot to me. It is a great daily reminder at my desk everyday. To learn how to make one yourself click here.

 These cute little canisters are from Hobby Lobby for under $2.00 a piece. They are the perfect size to store beauty essentials in while at school. I use one for chap-stick,  hair ties, bobbi-pins, and q-tips.

Here are some really similar jars to mine on sale at Hobby Lobby right now. To take a look click here.

My Scentsy is another must have for me at school. It makes me feel at home and cozy, especially when up late studying. I can't wait until the weather cools down and fall approaches so I can start melting my pumpkin spice scent! 

 Love the effect of layering. Here there is a canvas behind a cheap, Michaels frame from the dollar section, a stack of the books I don't use too frequently, and my precious Anthropology giraffe ring dish. 

Anthropologie has all different kinds of adorable ring holders. Look how cute this umbrella ring dish is! 

It is cute & practical and only $8.00. To order click here.

and if umbrellas aren't your thing, than I am sure a little piece of Paris will tickle your fancy.

This adorable Eiffel Tower ring dish is only $9.95. To order click here.

 My coffee station is one of my favorite little spaces in my little desk corner. I love love love apothecary jars and it works as a perfect solution to store my k-cups because the glass allows me to see the variety of blends that are stored inside. I also love my daily chalk board reminders right about my Keurig.

If you love apothecary jars as much as me, check out the variety of options at Hobby Lobby.

I love this one! It is so unique & the height adds a unique feature. It is only $44.99 and if you use a class 40% coupon, you have yourself a great deal worth storing your K-cups in.

As my polish collection continues to grow, another one of my hoarding tendencies, I have to keep adapting to new solutions in order to store all of my polish in the same place. Here is a $5.00 jar from Walmart that I used to put all of my polish in. The soap dispenser is a $2.00 find from IKEA and makes the perfect nail polish remover container. The cotton ball jar is an old pickle jar that I cleaned out, painted and attached a very inexpensive nob from hobby lobby onto. I used my Cricket to cut out vinyl letters and it turned out to be just what I needed to store all of my nail supplies. 

My love for baskets is revealed again here! Perfect for all of my sticky notes and small note pads. I use a smaller canister from hobby lobby to store my thumb tacks.

Here are my daily reads that are easily accessible and held in place by a "B" book end from IKEA. I love my little tin containers from the dollar section at Target. They came with chalk labels already on them and are perfect for storing my pens, pencils, and other random desk supplies.

I love these paper bins from IKEA. They come two in a box and are very inexpensive. They are easily stackable and are very spacious for storing various things. I use this adorable basket to store first aid supplies like bandaids and medicines. I love incorporating color throughout my shelves with some cute little picture frames. 

So there you have it! A few tips on how to keep your tiny space organized while at school.

Hope you all have a great day! Happy organizing my friends!